250 Main Hotel

A 26-room modernist boutique in downtown Rockland, Maine, in a 2014 ground-up build right across the street from the Farnsworth Art Museum. 250 Main is the contemporary-design hotel for the Rockland art district — the alternative to a traditional Maine inn and the only contemporary boutique in the city. Concrete, glass, white oak, and a serious art program, with the Wyeth-Farnsworth-Olson collection one block away.

If you've been to Rockland for the Farnsworth and stayed in a generic chain, this is the answer.

The setting

Rockland sits on the Maine coast about an hour and fifteen minutes north of Portland, on Penobscot Bay. The hotel is on Main Street, in the heart of the working-harbor downtown, directly across from the Farnsworth Art Museum. The Center for Maine Contemporary Art is two blocks away. The schooner fleet works out of the harbor a short walk south.

The drive from Portland is an hour fifteen; from Boston, three and a half. Camden is fifteen minutes north.

The building

A 2014 ground-up new-build, designed in modernist mode — concrete, large glass, white oak, and a deliberate refusal of the clapboard-and-shingle Maine vernacular. Public rooms include a fireplaced lobby, a small library lounge, and a roof deck with bay views. Materials are concrete, glass, white oak, with linen and curated contemporary art (much of it referencing the Maine art lineage — Wyeth, Hartley, Marin) throughout the public spaces.

The rooms

Twenty-six rooms in a few categories. Standard kings, deluxe rooms with bay views, and a few corner suites with extra glass. White oak millwork, lime-wash plaster walls, original art in every room. Beds are kings; bathrooms are concrete and tile, with rain showers. From-rates open around $285 in season — strong value for contemporary design on the Maine coast.

Food & drink

There's no full restaurant. A small lobby bar serves coffee in the morning and beer-and-cocktails in the afternoon. For dinner, Rockland's main street has a remarkably strong dinner program — Primo (the long-running farm-to-table flagship), Suzuki's Sushi Bar (one of the best on the East Coast), Rustica, and In Good Company. The hosts will book.

On the property

A small lobby bar, the library lounge, and a roof deck. There's no pool, no spa, no gym. The art and the walking-distance Farnsworth are the program.

• Lobby bar
• Roof deck
• Walking distance to Farnsworth Art Museum, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, harbor
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Travelers in for the Farnsworth-Wyeth program
• Architecture and design readers who'll appreciate the contemporary build
• Couples doing a Maine coast trip who'd rather a contemporary boutique than a traditional inn
• Anyone with strong opinions about the Maine art lineage

Who it's not for

• Travelers seeking a traditional Maine inn experience
• Anyone needing a pool, spa, or full restaurant on-site
• Pet owners (some rooms accommodate dogs; verify on booking)

Nearby

The Farnsworth Art Museum — Wyeth, Hartley, Marin, the Olson House outpost — is across the street. The Center for Maine Contemporary Art is two blocks. Owls Head Transportation Museum is fifteen minutes south for vintage cars and aircraft. Camden Hills State Park, with the Mount Battie climb, is fifteen minutes north. The schooner fleet runs day-sails from Rockland harbor. For dinner: Primo for the farm-to-table flagship; Suzuki's for sushi; In Good Company for natural wine.