Maine Stay Inn ~ An Insider's Guide to Kennebunkport

The Maine Stay Inn, Kennebunkport, Maine is celebrating its 60th year of welcoming guests.

First opened in 1946 as The Maine Stay Guest House by Grace and John Eldridge, this former sea captain's home is now one of the oldest and most distinguished inns along the coast of Southern Maine.

Just about 18 months ago, while Janice was welcoming two new guests to the inn, she asked if she could give them a map of Kennebunkport, the surrounding area and its interesting sights. The gentleman replied that he had grown up "here." Well, after a couple of comments back and forth, Janice soon came to realize that "here" meant at the Maine Stay Inn. His mom, Grace opened the guest house while his dad sold insurance from one of its front parlors. That front parlor is now a part of one of our most luxurious suites, The Deluxe Fireplace Suite.

After raising their family in this grand home, Grace and John Eldridge decided to open their doors and welcome tourists to the Maine Stay Guest House in 1946. They later chose to expand the business and built a small cottage in which to live so they could offer more rooms in the main building to guests. They continued to expand and built a total of four more buildings, all of which were also built in a New England cottage style. Each of those four additional buildings now comprise two Cottage Suites. Some of these suites have fireplaces and double whirlpool tubs, while others are decorated in an English Country style and have full kitchens. The cottage that Grace and John originally built for themselves now has three cottage suites, each with fireplaces and whirlpool tubs.

Today the Maine Stay Inn has a total of 17 guest rooms and suites, is a proud member of the Select Registry and is on the National Register of Historic Places .

In addition to the 60th anniversary as an inn, this April Janice and I (George) are celebrating our forth year as the innkeepers. We have met an extraordinary number of wonderful friends in these four years and are looking forward to many more.

Labels: Kennebunkport Inns, New England Inns, Specials at The Maine Stay