I haven't stayed at the Berry Manor Inn but we have freinds that stayed there last year and they raved about it. Aside from lovely rooms, they had fresh pie available just about whenever u wanted it. In Portland we have stayed at Morrill Mansion which is a nice B&B.

OK here's the plan:
day 1, Rockland at the Berry Manor
day 2&3, Bar Harbor at the Saltair Inn
day 4, gonna wing it (maybe Bass Cottage or head to Boothbay)
day 5, Portland, Residence Inn Waterfront
day 6, depart back to Va
now I just need to nail down where we're gonna eat some lobster..

Great itinerary!
I vote for Thurston's Lobster Pound for lobster!!!

leaving tomorrow am, any last minute advice..food (LOBSTER)/pubs/bars/activities/etc..bring it on
thanks

I envy you - You'll have a fantastic time!

We bought our fresh lobster at CH Rich, 49 Shore Rd
Bass Harbor, ME 04653
(207) 244-3485

well we're back. a bit of a let down for me, but the wife like it. the BnB's we stayed at were nice but not my cup of tea (staying in somebody elses house for 300+ per night is a no-go in my book). the lobster was not cheap by any stretch. bar harbour is very much a tourist town. i actually like portland better than bar harbor. the Residence Inn Waterfront in portland was the best room we had (king bed, kitchenette, living room, newly updated). i had lobster every day and was disappointed, too expensive, small/medium soft shell, etc. the best of the lot for the whole lobster was at thurstons the best lobster roll bang for the buck was at red's. all in all it was just ok, next year we're north or south carolina beach bound..the maine box has been checked

"...staying in somebody elses house for 300+ per night is a no-go in my book..."

Sorry to hear that. I have to wonder where on earth you stayed!? We love B&B's and have stayed in MANY of them, all over the U.S., including many in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, and we have NEVER paid anywhere near $300/night at any of them!

Even the Albemarle, in Asheville, NC, a top notch place, was far less than that (under $200), even in season there!

You must have hit the "tourist trap" places, which is unfortunate. Did you try any of the towns between Bar Harbor and Portland?

I'm also sorry to hear about the lobster prices, since actual prices lobster men can get are very LOW this year due to an overabundance of them vs what they can get for them. Trouble is, as I posted after our trip, in August, the restaurants are generally paying maybe $2.50 or so a pound and then often charging tourists $19.95 (in many cases) for a 1-1/4 lb lobster dinner!

I don't know what to tell you, but we're sorry you were unhappy.

cindyj:

"I have to chuckle reading back at these posts and the one about the GPS. I recently purchases and iPhone with gps capability. It is great, but here in Maine there are quite a few black holes for connectivity. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but if your driving around Maine the best tool is the DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer."

I chuckle, too, at the GPS "magic" up here! We don't even own one and wouldn't want one, for that matter, since they CAN mislead you! (A relative once chose to ignore my careful, step-by-step directions to visit us, heeded his GPS instead, and wound up taking a road near here that is NOT even a ROAD in the middle! It LOOKS like a road, and his GPS foolishly somehow told him to take it, instead of following our straightforward directions, but it literally ENDED and became a TRAIL in the middle, as we could have told him, so he had to back up over a mile to get out of there!)

We've never used anything but official highway maps to get around up here. Within a city, I suppose a GPS might help. I can't comment, since we usually abhor cities and try to avoid them, anyway, except to take interstates through them!

Sorry u were disappointed in your trip, but glad your wife enjoyed herself. I guess I am puzzled why u specifically asked for "the "romantic" hotel/B&B for the wife..." since it sounds like B&B's may not be 4 u.
Not sure how u ended up paying so much at B&B's. U must have had the more expensive rooms at the Berry Manor Inn since I know they have rates way lower than $300 for some of their rooms. The Marriott Residence Inn in Portland is nice, but a chain hotel and totally different than a B&B.

Portland is a great city and very different than Bar Harbor which I agree can be clogged with tourists, but Acadia Park is wonderful I think.

Love Thurston's and Reds, but u apparently missed lots of the other really good lobster pounds which is too bad.

Hope your trip in the South works out better 4 u.