Dunes on the Waterfront

Dunes on the Waterfront is twenty-one redesigned 1930s cottages on the Ogunquit River — a property that's been in roughly the same form, on roughly the same parcel, for about ninety years. The current iteration keeps the cottage layout, refreshes the interiors, and trades on the fact that this kind of mid-century Maine summer place is mostly gone now. The rest of the coast has filled in with rental houses and chain hotels. Dunes is what Ogunquit looked like before that.

It sits on the river side rather than the ocean side — quieter water, herons in the marsh, sunsets across the water — with the beach a short walk over the footbridge. Twenty-one units, a pool, a lawn with chairs, and not much else by design. The point is that there isn't more.

The setting

Ogunquit is on the southern Maine coast, 75 minutes north of Boston and 40 minutes south of Portland. The town's two assets are the three-mile Ogunquit Beach (the Maine coast's broadest stretch of white sand) and the Marginal Way, the 1.25-mile cliffside walking path between the village and Perkins Cove. Dunes is on Route 1 just north of the village, with the river bordering the property on one side and the road on the other.

To get from the cottages to the beach, you walk across the lawn to the inn's private dock, take a small skiff across the river, and walk down a short sand path. (In off-season the bridge route is the alternative.) That ferry-to-beach detail is a meaningful part of the property's character.

The building

The cottages are 1930s wood-frame structures, each freestanding, in the refined-Americana register with retro-motor-lodge crossover — clapboard siding, peaked roofs, simple proportions. The interior renovations have updated finishes (pine paneling, wool, white linens) without rebuilding the cottages into something they aren't. The main inn building has the lobby, the breakfast room, and the dock.

The rooms

Twenty-one cottages, ranging from one-room cottages for two to multi-bedroom units for families. All are freestanding — your own front door, a small porch or deck, often a view of the river. Beds are queens or kings; bathrooms are private; some cottages have small kitchens. From-rate sits around $345, with multi-bedroom cottages climbing higher and peak summer (July–August) booking months out.

Food & drink

There's no full restaurant on the property. A continental breakfast is typically provided in season. Ogunquit's restaurant scene is a five-minute walk south into the village: MC Perkins Cove (the Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier project), Northern Union, Five-O Shore Road, Barnacle Billy's at Perkins Cove for the lobster-roll lunch.

On the property

The lawn, the dock, and the riverfront are the property's spaces.

• Outdoor heated pool (seasonal)
• Private dock with rowboats
• Skiff service across the river to the beach (in season)
• Lawn with chairs, kayaks, paddleboards
• Operates seasonally — typically April through October

Who it's for

• Returning Ogunquit families who remember the old Maine summer.
• Couples and small groups who want a private cottage on water.
• Travelers who'd rather stay in a 1930s structure than a 2010s build.
• People who like the river side of a beach town more than the ocean side of one.

Who it's not for

• Travelers wanting a full-service hotel with restaurant, spa, and bar.
• Anyone who'll find the skiff-to-beach process annoying rather than charming.
• Off-season visitors looking for a December or January stay (closed seasonally).

Nearby

Ogunquit village center is a five-minute walk south on Route 1: restaurants, the Ogunquit Playhouse (a nationally regarded summer theater), shops. The Marginal Way starts at the south end of Ogunquit Beach and runs 1.25 miles to Perkins Cove — Barnacle Billy's, MC Perkins Cove, the lobster boats. Cape Neddick (Nubble Lighthouse) and York Beach are 15 minutes south. Kennebunkport, with Walker's Point and the Bush family compound, is 20 minutes north. Portland is 40 minutes north on I-95.