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February 2024 by Richard Pothier
They did not have the room that we had booked upon check in, and has not fully refunded me despite us immediately leaving. As of writing this review, I'm still paying $150 for the Inn's mistake - and a room we did not stay at. The room was not a reasonable replacement for what we had booked, and for reasons I shouldn't have to explain, the room simply wouldn't work for us.The young women at the front desk were friendly and apologetic enough, but not able to do much to rectify the error beyond "refunding the price difference in rooms". You very much get the sense this establishment is being mostly run by very young people, which strikes me as a bit odd for a B&B that is supposed to be "upscale".It sounds like this is a common occurrence based on other reviews. I'll revisit this review should the Inn make ANY effort to rectify their error, and disruption to my vacation. As of now, I've essentially been scammed.
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January 2024 by Susan gg
Rooms: Televisions do not operate well. Faulty wiring and poorly done.Housekeeping was poor and poorly manned front desk.Rooms in the annex are unsatisfactory. If you go there make sure you are in the main building.Management is all very young and unprofessional.
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January 2024 by Tyler Heiden Jones
We arrived on Christmas and stayed for several nights.The Inn was a great location with quiet and very comfortable rooms.What really made the stay memorable was the warm welcome and service from the staff, with a special call out to Kaya and Lori who both just made us feel at home.The breakfast was impressive, and still dreaming of those blueberry pancakes. The Chef, Travis, and his team deliver on exceptional food for both breakfast and dinner. You will definitely want to make dinner reservations.We can't wait to go back!
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December 2023 by Marguerite Vichier-Guerre
We’ve stayed here twice now with the previous owners annd the new owners and had a lovely time both times. Incredible three-course breakfast with pastries, and beautifully crafted main dishes, included in the stay. Comfortable and clean rooms, jacuzzi tubs are wonderful. And it’s just up the street from the Main Street and shops.The service and staff are always so friendly and accommodating.But the highlight is always the food and the three course dinners and dining experience. Sensational menus and flavors.
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December 2023 by S G.
My wife and I do NOT recommend eating here. We went on Wednesday evening, 12/20/23. We had reservations for 5:30. When my wife walked in, all the help were sitting at a table opposite the entrance. When they saw her, they all got up and left. I arrived from parking and still no one had greeted either of us. We had to poke around several rooms to find them, and even when we found a group of them standing around in the back, no one stepped forward. Finally, a hostess said "follow me" and proceeded to walk away further back, so we followed, but she turned up from a different hallway to be where we'd already been standing, so it made us feel foolish. She took us to the front dining room to try to seat us at a table towards the middle of the room. We asked for and we're seated in the front bow window instead. It turns out that we were the only ones there until the middle of our entree, when a table for 6 was seated right next to where we would have been. It was the only larger table so we'd have been right next to them. I asked for a glass of red wine but the waitress delivered a glass of white. It was replaced with the excuse that what I had asked for sounded like something else. It didn't sound like anything else on their wine list. We ordered an appetizer and entrees. The soup was fine but not great. We don't like to rush dinners at all; we like to take our time at dinners out. But we were both surprised by how long it took for the entrees to be served, especially that we were the only guests there. And when they did arrive they were NOT hot. We left without dessert. A few hours later my wife was hit with FOOD POISONING. We suspect her scallops, but we know it was that dinner because we hadn't eaten since brunch that morning. My wife was violently I'll. So we tried to call the restaurant over the next several days but no one ever answered the phone. So we finally left a message about the food poisoning, inviting Hartstone to get in touch with us but no one ever called back. We're giving one star because we can't leave no stars, but the service and the food was worse than awful. And this place is expensive! NOT worth it !!!
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December 2023 by Kathy D.
Not the same quality or service, since their is a new chef! From the very start to finish a truly disappointing experience. We should have been warned when we saw the restaurant was only 1/4 full . We now know for a reason! To start, there was a twenty minute wait for a small portion of bread for the table (which one is charged extra for), in a practically empty restaurant. The lobster bisque soup was overpowered by tomato's, the scallop appetizer was over salted, the main entree of duck was served cold (the meat, sauce and pear and carrots all cold). This dish was returned to the kitchen to be heated correctly. The dish was returned with half the amount of duck. Our guess is that when it was attempted to reheat it many pieces of the duck were then over cooked and no longer able to be served. Two of us were served while one of us had no food for 10 minutes, and she only ordered flatbread! The previously friendly server suddenly had a negative attitude towards our table, after having to ask for the food to be reheated. In reality the chef should have apologized to the guest instead of punishing the guest with half the portion. Unbelievable! The overall quality of the food and service is not the same as it was since their is a new chief, or in this case, new cook in the kitchen, and two untrained high school kids as servers. Sadly it added a sore note to our special occasion night out.
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December 2023 by William Bly
Rooms were only OK, but the beds were SUPER comfortable. Nothing luxurious, which was my expectation. Food was very, very good and the service was very good as well. I would definitely come back for a meal and a drink again as the location on Main St. was ideal.Rooms: Needs more updating. My room smelled a bit musty. Bathroom, while updated and nice, was too small to accommodate 2 adults at the same time.Nearby activities: Lots of little shops and galleries to explore within easy walking distance.Walkability: Everything you'd want to do is within walking distance. .1 miles from the town Square and harbotFood & drinks: Quality of the food was excellent as were the drinks.
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December 2023 by Gary Lentzkow
Breakfast was phenomenal, room was next to a resident. Lot of noise. WiFi was on/off. Location right there in
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November 2023 by Chris R.
Awesome food! Meats seasoned and cooked just right! Fresh and crisp veggies! Desserts that make it hard to pass them up!
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November 2023 by N3547CHwillp
Worst hotel experience of my life. Beware of these frauds. I made sure to confirmed my suite booking for 6 people in August. Bought flights to east coast for our holiday weekend. At 9pm the night before check-in, the hotel emailed to say they never had a room of us and offered no alternative. Whole town was booked for the night. I was personally out thousands of dollars. They could careless. Oh wait, they did offer free cancelation (and maybe an airbnb that wasn’t bookable because they gave me less than 24 hr notice). I would be careful considering staying with this one!
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October 2023 by adrianabY1988FN
My husband and I stayed in the Rose Hip room. It is literally a two-minute walk from the main Manor. Not a big deal at all. Plus, the layout of the premises is clearly outlined on the website. Do your own research. The room was well-appointed and cozy. There are steps to get to the room, but the description on the website - and photos - clearly point that out, so, I don't get the complaints. Rose Hip is very quiet and comfortable, with lots of drawers and outlets to charge your devices. Every day the room is straightened out by a super friendly staff (we talked with them and they couldn't be nicer and warmer to us). The shower/tub combination could be a bit of a challenge for physically impaired guests, but I don't see a solution other than getting rid of the tub. But then again, some people would complain that there is no tub....The delicious and abundant breakfast is served in cozy rooms - we used two out of the three dining areas and they all were very cozy and comfortable. Lots of items for breakfast that are replenished as needed and very quickly. Everything was tasty. Yes, the same items every day...but I eat the same breakfast every day at home, I do not need to change the menu every day only because I am on vacation. It was super filling as it was. Plus, the scrambled eggs were delicious and so were the jams and the granola. Let's talk about Ms Cai....the highlight of Hartstone Inn! I have Celiac Disease - for those who don't know ...and there seem to be many... it is a severe allergy to gluten and gluten products. Cross-contamination is another immense risk.. a crumble of gluten-bearing items and I will be sick for a week if I am lucky. Ms Cai was so attentive! The gluten-free bread that she served me every morning came from the kitchen on a different plate. She personally made sure that it didn't touch any other breakfast bread. She - so graciously - let me use my own toaster so I could have warm and toasted bread with my scrambled eggs. She educated herself about the jams and preserves and confirmed they were gluten-free and safe for me to eat. She went out of her way to ensure I was safe and healthy and not once did I get sick. I can't thank her enough. She took her time to chat with us every morning with her sweet, warm, and kind manners. I ordered a picnic backpack to celebrate our 22nd anniversary...The food was delicious, not overdressed like so many times in the US. It was something I would cook in my own kitchen and completely enjoy. The Chef came out and reassured me that there was no gluten whatsoever and that he took all safety precautions...It was delicious, we had a fantastic rest of the day and - once more - I did not get sick. I am sure I am forgetting something, but thank you for everything. It was perfect, flawless. Maine stole my heart. We will be back to visit such a wonderful State and a wonderful Manor managed by wonderful people. All of them. Thank you!
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October 2023 by ChuckD
We stayed at the Hartstone Inn for our honeymoon in 2006 and had a wonderful stay including our dining experience. We were hoping to repeat that experience and were very disappointed. We were the only diners for our reservation time of 7 pm on Friday which should have been a clue. Although our server was friendly, the service was very slow and inconsistent. We should have paced the meal ourselves. Both my wife's entree and mine were bland, tasteless and over-cooked. Her medium-rare filet looked and tasted more like well-done sirloin at best. The only real high point was the wine list which seems to have been carried over from the previous owners. Not recommended.
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October 2023 by 579lynng
We enjoyed our stay but felt that a couple of things needed improvement to give a 5 star rating. Pros - location , on site parking, large room, incredibly comfortable bed, great breakfast selection, friendly staff. Cons - no in room tea or coffee making facilities in the Hideaway & whilst they are available in the guest pantry, I don't expect to have to get dressed & to go outside to access another building if I want a cup of tea when I wake up in the morning. The water temperature in the shower & bath was lukewarm at best & although the front desk offered to send maintenance, we just wanted to relax in our room without being disturbed. Camden is a lovely town & the views from the top of Mount Battie are superb! Would definitely recommend a visit to the area.
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October 2023 by CliffordW
Electric Daisy was an outstanding experience. The service was outstanding, the food superb with new flavors, and ambience romantic. Can recommend this restaurant for a high quality food experience!
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October 2023 by michael jones
I am writing this review to share our recent unfortunate and disappointing experience at Hartstone Inn & Hideaway which resulted in our much anticipated trip to Maine being completely ruined.I had made a reservation for a two-night stay in September as part of a special birthday celebration. This reservation was specifically for a large ground floor apartment-sized two bedroom suite with a kitchen, more precisely, the Presidential Suite, which I had not only booked but also confirmed over the phone the night before my arrival. It was extremely important to us to have a suite with a kitchen because we planned to pick up local seafood in Portland and prepare it on the first night of our stay.Our initial excitement at our upcoming stay in Camden turned into utter shock and frustration upon our arrival. To our dismay, we learned that the suite that I had carefully reserved and reconfirmed was, for some inexplicable reason, unavailable. We were told that the unit was “under construction” and occupied by a long-term tenant. As the only other alternative we were offered a cramped upstairs room that had all of the look and feel of an attic and was devoid of the kitchen that was a pivotal part of our stay. Not only would we not be able to prepare the seafood which we had spent a considerable amount of money on but we now no longer had a convenient way of storing it. This was a clear and unacceptable deviation from the terms of my reservation.The most exasperating part of this ordeal was the manager's proposed solution— to find alternative accommodations in the neighboring town of Rockland, over 20 minutes away. This unexpected change in location turned our eagerly anticipated stay in Camden into a logistical nightmare. It completely disrupted our plans for a special celebration, which included being able to enjoy a walking experience of the town and reservations at the renowned Michelin-starred restaurant, Natalie's.To make matters worse, the room in Rockland not only cost more but also lacked the special features that we had specifically chosen and paid for at the Hartstone Inn. To add insult to injury it took us the entire rest of the day to gain access to the unit which was located on the extremely noisy main street in the center of a town which we had no plans of spending any time in. This horrendous experience was far from the level of service and comfort that we had expected and we were so thoroughly frustrated that we ended up canceling our reservation at Natalie’s, cutting our trip short and leaving Maine a day early. We requested that we be reimbursed for a one night stay which we thought was more than reasonable given how our plans were turned upside-down but have yet to get any response from management.To say the least, our recent experience at Hartstone Inn & Hideaway fell far short of our expectations. We will never return but I hope that my feedback will lead to improvements in customer service and communication to prevent such disappointments for others in the future.
