xracer

Just back from a long weekend stay here. I really wanted to love the place, but found it to be mediocre.

First the good:

The location is ideal. Close to the beach, close to town, and yet secluded away from both of them. Grounds are very well done, and with the leaves turning, everything was particularly lovely. The cabins and cottages were well spaced for privacy. The bed was very high quality.

The not so good:

I can only speak for the cottage that we stayed in (which was one of the 2br ones), but it was not in any way luxurious. The furnishings were cheap, and in many cases falling apart. Honestly, based on the quality of the furniture, I would have guessed that everything was purchased from a flea market. Wifi was not working properly the entire time. There were a number of other maintenance issues that were also never fixed. General build of the cottage and materials used were both poor, and it's pretty clear that no maintenance had been done in a long time. Outdoor shower did not work.

Service was extremely variable. A couple of people were excellent, most were friendly but inept. No management presence at all.

On site restaurant was a problem for dinner. We were told that it was generally booked 4-6 weeks in advance. So, unless you are a very good planner, you will not be eating dinner there during your stay. There is no room service or other dining option on site. You are left with either going into town or taking the shuttle to their sister resort on the beach. They do offer a shuttle into town, but only on weekends, and only between 5 and 10. They make no special accommodations at the restaurant for guests. We did eat breakfast here and it was fine, although there were only 4 options on the menu.

$50 per day resort fee is ridiculous. Maybe half that is justified, but with the prices they already charge, even that is a stretch.

Nice that they have two (small) pools, one for families and one for adults. Although the pools are supposed to be heated, we found that on our second day they stopped heating them (probably beginning to shut them down for the season). Gym was tiny but serviceable. Spa was completely booked during our stay, so cannot comment on that.

Overall...meh. I was underwhelmed. So much potential here, but not really utilized or managed correctly.

Booked via a Virtuoso agent, but getting the resort to honor the amenities was really, really difficult and time consuming, although eventually successful (and they ended up giving us a little extra because of the hassle).

uggboy

Thanks xracer, your review gives some fascinating and invaluable insights into this particular property.

Interesting also in regards to getting them to honor the Virtuoso amenities, that's something not many TA's telling us [that it's sometimes difficult to get all amenities "freely".] Extra hassle in the first place doesn't sound too good to us either.

Again, thanks and I'm glad you shared your experiences with us. It's good to know your point of view and stay experiences. Well received and appreciated.

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

DetailsIM

I agree with your pros as well as some of your cons (cottage fixture, wear and tear on inside of cottages). I would be pretty upset if the outside shower didn't work since that is a great feature to have at each cottage. I would love to see pics of the inside of the 2Br you stayed in. Always wondered how they looked. The porch seems to be a great space to unwind.

For the price they charge I can't see why they would add on a daily resort fee. That really drives me crazy. (We were able to get it waived b/c we asked what in addition do we get this year compared to last year?)

We really enjoy their restaurant. We never had any issues getting in and once in they never rushed us.

We never had issues with the pool either.

KatW

Updates since 2016? I continue to be interested — have never experienced sea-side New England and current rates are a bit less daunting than some venues. I’d prefer not to rent a car (flying in from SFO) — how would that work out?

javacodeguy

We've now been here 3 times in the last few years. Every time with at least one kid though, so if you don't have kids perhaps your experience will be different.

The service is not top tier by any stretch of the imagination, but almost every staff member is super friendly and tries to make your experience great. Last year we mentioned we wanted to buy some t-shirts and they said they didn't have HP t-shirts so they simply gave us a bunch of free ones they use for some art classes. The staff around the pool has a few really good members that are proactive and quickly know all our orders and try to get out ahead of any requests we might have. The cleaning and maintenance staff has always been super friendly and helpful with setting up and keeping things clean for the kids too. Our pre-stay requests have always been met.

With two small kids now we've opted for the single floor 2 bedroom units, but if your kids are older or it's just adults I would definitely go for the 2 floor. You get an extra bathroom and the layout is just nicer to have the bedrooms and living space separated. I would highly recommend the cottages over any of the other accomodations, because the full kitchen is a huge win. The rooms are clean and well maintained. But, all the units only have window AC. This doesn't bother me much, but it bothers my wife enough she mentions it every time. But, of course clearly not enough to not come.

The pastries in the morning are good, but repeat if you stay more than a few days and don't count on it being there super early if you are an early riser.

The family pool is quite small and with only a couple families is quickly crowded. We usually opt to just head to the beach. We have never been to the adults only pool, but I imagine it is much better since most adults likely aren't even swimming anyway.

Earth is really great and I imagine even better in person. We have actually never eaten there, but order it "room service" to our room a few times each time we stay. Tides is great too for lunch when you're at the beach. But there are tons of great restaurants within a 15 minute drive.

Unless you plan on staying between the beach and the resort you'll need a car. They have a shuttle that will take you to the Tides Inn where they have staff to help you on the beach and you can also enjoy lunch or dinner there. But if you want to go anywhere else around the area you'll really need a car. I can't imagine uber/lyft coverage is great around HP. It's a solid 10 minute drive from basically anything. You could try White Barn. That would be much more walkable to downtown Kennebunk and maybe have better uber availability. We have considered it, but have clearly chosen to keep coming back to HP.

Any particular questions on your mind, I'm happy to try and answer. Overall I think it's an incredible value for what you get.

KatW

Thank you, javacodeguy.

WandertheWorld

I haven’t stayed at White Barn Inn, but we did eat at the restaurant. It was very good but expensive enough, especially by Maine standards, that I question the value—-pricing approaching New York and Boston fining dining. I would expect room pricing would approach these levels too. I too can attest that the Inn is very centrally located. Honestly though, if it were my first time in coastal New England, I would opt for either Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. Much more atmospheric IMO and more car-free things to do across the island(s). I assume you are going in season, and I believe JetBlue may have summer service to both locales from NYC. The closest airport to Kennebunkport is PWM and that is not particularly convenient. BTW, if you do stick with Maine and want to stay in Portland for a bit, I recommend the Press Hotel very close to Old Port with lots of shops and restaurants.