Northern New England tourism is starting to catch up to the rest of the world, both in terms of both luxury and in terms of price. We're not entirely sure if this is a good thing, but it is undeniably getting easier to book cushy digs in this region. Here is some of what's been happening in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine during the first half of 2008.
Southern & Central Vermont
The Equinox Resort (tel. 800/362-4747 or 802/362-4700; www.equinoxresort.com) in Manchester has unveiled its long-awaited renovation project at last. Overseen by designer Geoffrey Bradfield, the new concept is inspired by the work of Swiss sculptor Diego Giacometti; its showpiece is the hotel's redesigned Great Room, which features an earth-toned palette Inn rooms are showing off newly chosen furniture and linens, as well as plush and plentiful pillows, according to management. Never can have enough pillows, right?
Northern Vermont
Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1609! At least that's the recent motto in the Burlington area, which has begun planning for next summer's celebration of the 400th anniversary of the French explorer Samuel de Champlain's "discovery" of Lake Champlain. Of course, technically speaking, the lake had been sitting there for tens of thousands of years in the valley waiting for Champlain's canoe to find the outlet to the lake, and local native peoples had already named it something else -- but still, any excuse for a party, right? Among the rumored festivities are food, fireworks, guided hikes and canoe tours, and a special riverboat (No word yet on whether Champ, the lake's fabled monster of the deep, will be attending).
Southern & Central New Hampshire
The former Inns at Mill Falls -- an ever-increasing complex of luxury properties on an inlet of Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith -- has just re-branded itself as The Inns & Spa at Mill Falls (tel. 800/622-6455; www.millfalls.com). The new Cascade Spa is housed in the Church Landing section of the property. Cascade offers everything from conventional facials and massages to a "Thai on the table" massage that combines stretching and acupressure; a raindrop-like cascade of essential oils; treatments utilizing heated lake stones; and a "Moor mud cocoon" of plant extracts and trace elements. Prices range from a $5 nail treatment to a $220 3-hour combo package. Don't have time to get all wrapped up in blankets, lotions, and oils? There's also a salon on the premises where you can get an affordable haircut.
Shake and bake! The Shaker Table Restaurant in Canterbury, part of the Shaker Village complex (www.shakers.org), is offering a new 8-week series of cooking classes focusing on traditional Shaker fare that has been updated for these modern Top Chef times. Registration fees include recipe packets, cooking demonstrations, and tastings. Organizers also promise to divulge vaunted Shaker Table recipe secrets, which are sure to include information about the local herbs for which the Shaker Village's organic gardens are famous.
And now for some more good news of an entirely natural kind: the eagle population in New Hampshire's Great Bay appears to be rising. The bay, which juts inland from the Atlantic near Portsmouth's Pease International Tradeport Airport, is home to about 15 breeding pairs of bald eagles. A mid-winter count by the New Hampshire Audubon Society, who should know, revealed an uptick in eagle sightings.
Coastal Maine
The spa trend has also hit the coast of Maine, prompting a number of properties to retrofit bathrooms or add spas to what had been plainer digs. Among the recent subscribers to this trend are Sebasco Lodge (tel. 207/389-1161; www.sebasco.com), on the Phippsburg peninsula just south of Bath, which has just built a brand new spa and a handful of "spa suites" close to the treatment action, and the Blue Harbor House (tel. 207/236-3196; www.blueharborhouse.com) in Camden.
Maine hotels are expanding in other creative ways, as well. The Portland Harbor Hotel (tel. 888/798-9090; www.portlandharborhotel.com) in downtown Portland, for instance, has just expanded its popular courtyard garden into a sculpture garden (with 14 pieces by four New England artists), Additionally, the hotel's ownership is said to be negotiating to buy up abandoned barracks on offshore Great Diamond Island in Portland Harbor and converting those into condo-hotels.
Portland's international ferry terminal has moved north along Commercial Street. The new terminal, located at the northern end of the waterfront, is known as Ocean Gateway Pier. If you're driving into town, hang a left at the terminal after you come downhill on Franklin Arterial instead of making a right towards the bar and restaurant action.
Portland's excellent Uffa! restaurant and its chef are also moving, west of town to Westbrook, which used to be a mill town but is rapidly becoming an exurban-chic bedroom community. The concept and name will be changed; both will be missed.
Just south of Portland, in Scarborough, the Black Point Inn (tel. 207/883-2500; www.blackpointinn.com) isn't moving, but it is shrinking after a change in ownership. The new bosses have sold off the property's exterior cottages while retaining the venerable main inn. What does that mean for you? Far fewer rooms to choose from, for one thing; at least rack rates include breakfast, dinner, and a small afternoon tea service.
And finally, just north of Portland in the outlet-happy village of Freeport -- which could just as easily be called Beanville by now, thanks to the sprawling sporting goods empire (four shops in town and counting) that L.L.Bean has built here -- further shop development is afoot. Freeport Crossing Outlet will be yet another shopping center, built on a big plot that was formerly an auxiliary parking lot just east of Main Street in the center of town. The whole shebang is supposed to open its doors later this year.