Camden Harbour Inn

Camden Harbour Inn

Camden Harbour Inn sits on a hilltop above the harbor, with the village, the water, and the forested hills all visible from its eighteen rooms, spread across three floors of a historic New England inn. It sits close to Camden's center, an easy walk to Laite Memorial Beach, Megunticook Lake, and Camden Opera House, with its own garden and terrace and beach access next door. Several suites keep working fireplaces, two room categories come with jacuzzis, one has a balcony, and there's a bridal suite for guests marking something specific. What sets this address apart from other small coastal properties is Natalie's, the in-house restaurant that has made OpenTable's Diners' Choice Top 100 Best Restaurants in America, carries an AAA Four Diamond rating, belongs to Relais & Chateaux, and has cooked four dinners at the James Beard House in New York. Breakfast comes with a diet menu on request and can be taken in the room, and there's a bar for evenings after the restaurant closes. This suits a couple who plan a trip around one serious meal and a quiet room, and travelers who drive up and want free parking waiting for them. It suits less well anyone bringing a pet, since none are allowed, or a group needing more than the property's single conference hall. Check-in starts at 3pm, checkout is 11am, and an extra bed runs 100 dollars a night if the room category allows it. A concierge arranges transfers, laundry, and luggage, though the staff works only in English. Eighteen rooms and one kitchen worth planning a trip around: that's the trade this hotel asks a guest to make, and it mostly pays off. Eighteen rooms near Camden's harbor, steps from Laite Memorial Beach and the Opera House, with jacuzzis, fireplaces, and a bridal suite among the choices. The pull is Natalie's, an AAA Four Diamond restaurant and Relais & Chateaux member. Pets aren't allowed, but the kitchen justifies the trip.