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!!!

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!!