A Brief History of our Southwest Harbor Inn

Being an Acadia National Park area bed and breakfast has been a joy over the past 11 years. The beauty of this area known as Mt Desert Island, is with out a doubt, one of the most beautiful places on earth. Our Southwest Harbor inn has the distinction of being one of the earliest summer lodgings near Acadia. 

I thought a little history of our Maine bed and breakfast inn might be interesting to you. I hope you enjoy, and would love to hear your comments.

Originally called Prospect House, The Harbour Cottage was built near a steamboat landing on Clark Point in 1870 by Deacon Henry H Clark, as an annex of The Island House, the first summer Hotel on Mt Desert Island. 

Deacon Clark began his Southwest Harbor inn business by taking guests into his own home and he gradually enlarged his house and remodeled it completely. The Island House was torn down, but the Island House Cottage, as it was then called, was left intact. 

In his 1878 Handbook of Mt Desert, B.F. De Costa described the cottage as having “ twenty-two rooms, all well-lighted and ventilated, furnished with spring beds. The halls and piazzas are wide and airy.” 

The Island Cottage became a private residence and after serving as a home to 2 prominent Southwest Harbor families for many years, it became a Southwest Harbor inn once more and was renamed The Harbour Cottage Bed Breakfast Inn as it remains today.   

The inn, as it now looks, was totally remodeled in 2001. Take a moment when you come to stay with us to see the original “Island Cottage” sign as well as an early photo of our Southwest Harbor inn in the living room near the bookcases. 

We feel privileged to be the stewards of this lovely property and to serve visitors to the Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park region.

10 Years at The Harbour Cottage Inn

Well we are only 2 weeks away from the start of our 10th anniversary year at The Harbour Cottage Inn. After a relaxing 3 months in Mexico we are ready and eager to welcome new as well as returning guests. The inn sparkles and we have done a lot of work to improve the property with guest service at the top of our priority list. We are offering a number of special packages this year from sailing to bird watching. Be sure to check them out at www.harbourcottageinn.com

On another note we had a great opportunity to attend a fund raiser for our local community center in Southwest Harbor last night. The evening consisted of an 11 course Asian feast with everything from Sushi to scallops to flan and chocolate covered strawberries. The sponsor was Chow Maine one of the islands finest dining spots. Be sure to stop by for dinner here in Southwest Harbor during your stay with us. You will love it.

We have added a new video about Southwest Harbor to our website. The video gives the viewer a tour of the town and a true feeling of the amenities that exist here. Being on the quiet side of Mt Desert Island and surrounded by Acadia National park Southwest harbor offers the perfect alternative to busy Bar Harbor. Check it out on our Concierge page.

Our Haloween Bash!

Well we just had our 9th annual Haloween party for our friends, business associated and guests of the inn. It was a great success and everyone had a blast. We even ended up on the social page of The Mt Desert Islander weekly newspaper. About 70 guests attended the event and the costumes were over the top? It gets better every year. We always close the Acadia National Park season with this event. Join us next year!!!

We Have Gone Green!

We have gone

GREEN!

The Harbour Cottage Inn, to do our part to help the environment, has implemented a green policy using the following environmentally friendly products. We have invested substantially in this effort to provide comfort for our guests in a beautiful environment in a responsible way:

-Biodegradable fine line of soap and shampoo in all our bathrooms

-BIOQUEST cleaning system for all the Inn’s laundry washers which incorporates biodegradable surfactants, biological enzymes and natural water softener produced from renewable resources.

-We use biodegradable products to clean all our windows, rooms, showers and toilets in our bathrooms

-Our toilet paper is made from recycled paper

-Our paper towels are made from recycled paper

-Our napkins are made from recycled paper

-Our commercial kitchen’s dishwasher uses all biodegradable products to wash and disinfect all the pots and dishes.

-Our washers are water efficient saving thousands of gallons per year

-All our toilets are dual flush saving thousand of gallons per year

-Our bathroom sinks have water saving faucets

-Our bathroom showers have water saving Spa- like shower heads

-We do not change towels unless they are on the floor helping to reduce the use of water and expensive biodegradable detergents

-95 % of the house is lighted using fluorescent light bulbs

-We recycle cardboard

-We recycle all plastic and bottles even from guest rooms

-We just installed a new high efficiency furnace to provide heat and hot water

2010 Season is Underway Welcome Back!

Great news!

The Harbour cottage Inn has just been chosen by

Yankee Magazine

as Maine's

"BEST QUIET REFUGE for 2010"

We are so pleased with this honor and it comes as a complete suprise. While visiting Acadia National Park you are sure to want a quiet romantic getaway. As a premier Southwest Harbor Maine bed and breakfast we will be sure to provide peace and quiet and to treat you some of Maine's best beds & breakfasts and send you out for dinner to some of the finest Acadia area restaurants. Several are in walking distance of the inn. You have to try Red Sky, Sips, Cafe 2, Top of the Hill and Seafood Ketch. For fantastic Mexican quisine don't forget XYZ. You will certainly want to visit Bar Harbor (just 12 miles away) but return to the quiet side of Mt Desert Island.

We look forward to our new and returning friends. Acadia National Park hiking, bird watching, biking and Maine coast sailing all await you and so do we.

Looking back at 2009

As the year comes to a close I thought it might be nice to look back at some of the highlights to our 8 Th season here at The Harbour Cottage Inn near Acadia National Park in Southwest Harbor Maine. Despite the troubles of our economy travelers still chose to stay at our Maine bed and breakfast in record numbers. We are so lucky to have a sizable following of repeat guests and we so look forward to them visiting the area and choosing to stay at our Maine Inn. A spring, summer and fall vacation in Maine is still a very affordable getaway as there is so much to do here that is free. Acadia National Park offers visitors unlimited opportunity for hiking, biking, rock climbing, sailing, kayaking, bird watching and just spending quiet time in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Southwest Harbor has several great places to get a nice bag lunch at very reasonable prices to take to the park. There are 70 million people living between Washington DC and Acadia which makes it an easy drive for people and families on a budget. Southwest Harbor is surrounded by Acadia and is a quiet and affordable option to Bar Harbor itself. Some of the finest restaurants on Mt Desert Island and the Bar Harbor and Acadia area are located here in Southwest Harbor. All are in walking distance to The Harbour Cottage Inn. Most of our guests call Southwest Harbor Maine's best kept secret.

In 2009 we added some great new breakfast offerings such as baked eggs with fresh crab and hollandaise, ""whole grain" pancakes with pure Maine maple syrup and more. We are always looking for recipes that focus on great taste and are healthy as well. If you have any suggestions please let us know here on our blog.

We are now booking up for 2010 and look forward to seeing our old friends as well as making new ones. If we can help you plan your Acadia visit let us know. We get high marks for our knowledge of the area and would love to share that with you. Happy New Year!!

A Southwest Harbor Maine Vacation & Celebration

This weekend marked the anniversary of a wonderful community event in Southwest Harbor called "The Quietside Festival". Guests of The Harbour Cottage Inn told us this small town event was the highlight of their Acadia National Park vacation. Many people visit Bar Harbor and never see the wonder and beauty of Southwest Harbor. This town makes the perfect getaway in Maine and is located less than a mile from Acadia and less than 20 minutes from Bar Harbor. Some of the finest restaurants and shops near Acadia are located here and are less that a 10 minute walk from The Harbour Cottage. The weekend was filled with parades and events with a Flamingo theme. The purpose of these activities is to raise funds for Harbor House which is an important resource for the town for both children and adults.


The staff of our Southwest Harbor Inn enjoyed the festival along with our guests. After a morning of parade watching we all enjoyed a couple of hours of Maine coast sailing around Mt Desert Island. The weather was fantastic and offered us a nice break from our busy summer. We even took time to visit Bar Harbor. We had our own little getaway in Maine.



Now for one of our favorite recipies served by popular demand at our Acadia B&B.

Harbour Cottage Inn

Baked Grapefruit

(Recipe serves 6)



Cut your grapefruit in half and cut between the sections and around the sides as typically done for easy eating.


Melt half a stick of butter and then spread butter evenly over the top of each half.


Sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar on top and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.


Cool for 5 minutes and serve. This recipe is unique and you family and friends will just love it!