Columbus Weekend in Ogunquit

This is our first stay at The Beachmere Inn, we stayed in the new Beachmere West section. Excellent size room with a dining area, kitchen area, trundle bed which doubles as a couch, desk and flat screen TV. Large bathroom with double sinks. Bedroom wtih King bed and another flat screen TV. The best part of the room is the French door leading out to a small deck with chairs and a table overlooking Marginal Way. The Beachmere attracts a varied group of vacationers with many long time visitors, extended families staying in connecting rooms and lots of couples. This weekend they even hosted a wedding on the front lawn.

Friday evening dinner at the Blue Water Inn, another first, dinner was good, the experience made even more enjoyable by outside patio dining.

Saturday, The Beachmere offers a very good continental breakfast in their new Pub Room, took our second cups of coffee right down the lawn to a bench on Marginal Way. Dinner at Clay Hill Farm for our anniversary, an old favorite of ours.

Sunday, Lunch in Perkin%26#39;s Cove at Barnacle Billy%26#39;s chowder, lobster rolls and the best rum punch ever. Before dinner we have drinks in Bawdy%26#39;s Sally%26#39;s pub with Michelle the bartender and then head back into Oarweed Cove for dinner at The Oarweed, boiled lobsters and chowders which are great as usual.

The weather this weekend could not have been better, it was even better than our previous visit at the end of July. Monday morning, one more cup of coffee with the million dollar view and stop to make reservations for our next visit. I understand the Beachmere is going to open this winter for the first time. We highly recommend you consider the Beachmere for your next visit to Ogunquit.

Columbus Weekend in Ogunquit

First, happy anniversary! Sounds like you had a lovely weekend. We%26#39;ve been going to Ogunquit for over 20 years and stayed at various places. Love staying at Beachmere when we are without the kids. Waking up to the ocean outside your door, and having a peaceful cup of coffee with a delicious homemade, coffee cake is a treat! Gonna try that rum punch next time we head Billys!

Columbus Weekend in Ogunquit

Thanks for your report! We like to book a mid-winter ';get out of the house'; trip, so we%26#39;ll look into the Beachmere. I love a good rum punch, so will have to check that out on a summer outing to Ogunquit. I%26#39;m also glad to hear that you liked the Oarweed. Reviews have been mixed of late, and we%26#39;ve always enjoyed lunching and people-watching there.

Mahj, thanks for your well wishes. We love being close enough to visist Ogunquit several times a year. We previously stayed at The Grand Hotel, on Shore Road, which we also love, but Beachmere trumps them with their views. We also stayed at the Meadowmere this summer but would not stay there again I think it is just too big and too crowded. We booked a suite, but you could barely walk around the bed and the view of Route 1 definitely can%26#39;t compare with Beachmere. We have never been to Ogunquit in the winter and we are looking forward to returning in February.

CB48, I can%26#39;t think of booking anywhere else in Ogunquit after staying at the Beachmere. I noticed you are from Southern Maine. We looked at a property in Acton, Maine while we were up there for the weekend, that it why we booked a weekend for February to see what Southern Maine is like in the winter. We are thinking of relocating in the next few years. How do you like living in Southern Maine?

We like southern Maine. I grew up in western Maine, my husband along the southern coast. I also spent a few years in the mid-coast. We like the variety in southern Maine - its proximity to the ocean, lakes and mountains and ease of travel to Boston, airports, etc. Acton is a nice area of ponds and lakes. Did you like it?

We will always have a home here, but hope to also have a second spot in the northwestern mountains/lakes area of Maine some day. We both enjoy the woods and the greater privacy available ';up Maine.';

The second half of your question: what it%26#39;s like in February - again we like the variety. If you%26#39;re a shopper, there%26#39;s plenty around. If you like movies, plays, etc. you%26#39;re near Portland. Biddeford also has a nice city theater which has been recently restored. There is a thriving visual arts community.

If you are outdoors people, there is a lot to choose from including cross-country skiing, ice fishing, showshoeing, etc. There are two places within an hour that offer snow tubing. (They haul you up, you slide down.) Alpine skiing is within an hour and a half to two hour drive.

CB48, I fell in love with the Acton area. We only live two hours south of Acton so I don%26#39;t think the weather will be all that different, except for maybe a little more snow in the winter. I love to be near the water and my husband loves to fish and hunt. This would bring him a little closer to Northern Maine and yet I can still be near all the lakes and of course close to Ogunquit. I noticed your comment about Oarweed and I agree. We always make a point to have a lunch or dinner there and have never had a bad meal, I know that they are kind of pricey but I don%26#39;t mind paying for location, we stick to the Shore Dinner of a boiled lobster and chowder or a lobster roll and the lobster has always been perfectly cooked and not overdone. Another place that doesn%26#39;t get great reviews because of price is Barnacle Billy%26#39;s Etc. which is the more casual restaurant where you place your order and then pick it up. They do have drink service at the tables outside on the deck and the most delicious Rum Punch around, again I don%26#39;t mind paying for the beautiful view of Perkin%26#39;s Cove. I guess eating is not always just about the food, but also the experience of being on the ocean in Maine.