Hartstone Inn

An 1835 Mansard-roof inn in downtown Camden, Maine, owned and operated for two decades by a chef who turned the dining room into the town's tasting-menu destination. Twenty-two rooms across the main house and outbuildings, a working garden, and a kitchen that takes itself seriously. Hartstone is the Camden anchor for diners — the alternative to a beachside resort, located in the actual village.

You stay here for the multi-course dinner and walk to the harbor in the morning.

The setting

Camden sits on Penobscot Bay, on the Maine coast about an hour and a half north of Portland. Hartstone is on Elm Street, two blocks from the harbor and a five-minute walk from the public landing. The schooner fleet is in the harbor; the climb up Mount Battie is at the edge of town. Acadia is two hours north; Portland is an hour and a half south.

This is the working coastal Maine — fewer pretensions than the Hamptons, more chowder, smaller portfolios.

The building

An 1835 Mansard-roof — symmetrical clapboard with the curved-roofline style of the late-Federal-into-Second-Empire transition. The interior keeps original wood floors, marble fireplaces, and twelve-foot ceilings on the ground floor. Public rooms include the dining room (where the prix-fixe dinners happen), a fireplaced parlor, the bar, and a small library. Materials are clapboard, oak, brass.

The rooms

Twenty-two rooms across the main house, a coach house, and a few cottages. Categories include classic Mansard rooms (smaller, with period detail), larger king rooms with sitting areas, and the cottage suites with private decks and fireplaces. Beds are kings; bathrooms are tile, refreshed in recent cycles. From-rates open around $365 in season including breakfast.

Food & drink

Hartstone Restaurant — the dining room, run by the chef-owner — is the destination. Multi-course tasting menus, an à la carte option, and one of the better wine lists on the Maine coast (deep on Burgundy, the Loire, and a thoughtful American selection). Non-guests book months ahead in summer. Breakfast is included; the bar pours late.

On the property

A working garden that supplies the kitchen, a small parlor, and the dining room. There's no pool, no spa, no gym. Camden's harbor and the Mount Battie climb are short walks.

• Multi-course tasting-menu dinner
• Full breakfast included
• Working garden
• Walking distance to Camden harbor, Mount Battie
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Diners planning around a single multi-course dinner
• Couples doing the Maine coast who want a real kitchen as the lead
• Travelers who'd choose a chef-owned inn over a polished resort
• Wine drinkers who'll appreciate the Burgundy depth on the list

Who it's not for

• Families with kids — the inn is configured for adults
• Travelers who want a pool, spa, or full beach-resort program
• Pet owners (verify policy with the front desk)

Nearby

Camden Harbor is a two-block walk; the schooners run day-sails. Mount Battie at Camden Hills State Park is a fifteen-minute climb for the bay view. Rockport's harbor, with the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, is fifteen minutes south. Belfast is twenty minutes north. For dinner outside the inn: Long Grain in Camden is the Thai pick; Suzuki's Sushi Bar in Rockland is the sushi destination; the lobster pound at Bagaduce is forty minutes north.