Hotels in Camden, ME
Camden vies with Kennebunkport, Maine, and Manchester, Vermont, for the title of “bed-and-breakfast capital of New England.” They’re everywhere. The stretch of Route 1 just north of the village center—called High Street here—is a virtual bed-and-breakfast alley, with many handsome homes converted to lodgings. Others are tucked away on side streets.
Despite the preponderance of B&Bs, though, the total number of guest rooms in town is still too small to accommodate the crush of peak-season visitors, and during summer or fall, the lodging is tight. It’s best to reserve well in advance. You might also try Camden Accommodations and Reservations (tel. 800/344-4830 or 207/236-6090) for help in finding anything from overnight rooms to seasonal rentals.
In the name of keeping these folks in business, Camden has recently cracked down a bit on townsfolk offering private rentals through Airbnb and VRBO, prohibiting standalone properties (as compared to spare rooms) from renting for any duration shorter than a week. Further permitting and inspection regulations may be forthcoming, but for now, there are still plenty of properties available in summer via these online rental platforms.
If the inns and B&Bs listed below are unavailable or out of your budget, a handful of area motels and hotels might be able to accommodate you. South of the village center on Route 1 are the Cedar Crest Inn, 115 Elm Street (tel. 207/236-4839), a handsome seasonal motel (peak-season rates $200–$300, spring and fall cheaper), and the longtime mainstay Towne Motel, 68 Elm Street (tel. 207/236-3377), within walking distance of the village (open year-round; peak season rates $134–$149 double, cheaper off-season).
Also right in town, just across the footbridge, is the modern, if generic, Camden Riverhouse Hotel and Inns, 11 Tannery Lane (tel. 207/236-0500), with an indoor pool, fitness center, and Wi-Fi. It’s open year-round; peak season rates range from $249 to $399 for a double room or suite, while the off-season is far cheaper.
CAMPING
Seasonally open Camden Hills State Park (tel. 207/236-3109), about a mile north of the village center on Route 1, has 107 campsites, which cost $35 to $45 per night for non-Maine residents in summer ($10 discount for residents), depending on whether you snag one of the new water-and-electrical hookup sites or not. There’s a discount from mid-September until the park closes.
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9 Results
- Hotel
16 Bay View
Until this boutique hotel opened in late 2015, Camden strangely lacked any true waterfront hotel lodging. A former moviehouse and restaurant, 16 Bay View is just steps from the harbor, with views of the waves and the tall-masted ships from the top-floor accommodations and the rooftop…$$$Around Town
- Hotel
Blue Harbor House Inn
On busy Route 1 just south of town, this pale-blue 1810 farmhouse has been an inn since 1978. It’s decorated throughout with a floral, country look. Rooms and suites vary in size; some are smallish, with slanting angles and low ceilings, but you can expect touches such as four-poster…$$Around Town - Hotel
Camden Harbour Inn
This 1871 mansion sits in a quiet neighborhood on a rise with a view of the sea and mountains beyond, on the way to Rockport -- think of it as Camden's quiet side. This had been just another fusty, Victorian-era hotel until 2007, when it got a complete makeover from the two Dutchmen…$$$Around Town - Hotel
Camden Maine Stay Inn
The Maine Stay is one of Camden’s friendliest bed-and-breakfasts. In a home dating from 1802 (later expanded in Greek Revival style in 1840), it’s your classic slate-roofed New England manse in a shady yard within walking distance of both downtown and Camden Hills State Park. Guest…$$Around Town - Hotel
Inn at Sunrise Point
This peaceful, private sanctuary 4 miles north of Camden’s bustling main drag, in the quieter village of Lincolnville, seems a world apart. Service is crisp and helpful, and the setting can’t be beat: the edge of Penobscot Bay, down a long, tree-lined gravel road. The property is a…$$$Lincolnville - Hotel
Lincolnville Motel
It’s far from the most opulent lodging on the Maine Coast, but it might be the most fun. Built as a motor-court motel in the 1950s, this set of six cabins and a four-room motel got a lighthearted, minimalist refresh when Alice Amory reopened the place in 2015. The outdoor pool is…$$Around Town - Hotel
Norumbega Inn
You’ll have no problem at all finding the Norumbega: just head north out of town and look for the castle on the right. Well, it’s actually a mansion (built of stone in 1886 by telegraph system inventor Joseph Stearns), but it looks like a castle. Wonderfully eccentric and full of…$$$Around Town - Hotel
The Belmont Inn
A handsome, shingle-style 1890s home with a wraparound porch, the Belmont is set in a quiet residential neighborhood of unpretentious homes away from Route 1. The inn has an updated Victorian theme throughout, with handsome polished wood floors and scores of eclectic antiques and…$$Around Town - Hotel
Whitehall
Set at the edge of town on busy Route 1, Whitehall is a venerable Camden institution, thanks partly to its association with local poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who was “discovered” here by a guest who went on to fund Edna’s college education. But with new ownership and a…$$Around Town
