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Story by Marian Betancourt
INN BY THE SEA We don’t often think of Maine when we imagine sandy beaches, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Crescent Beach, on Cape Elizabeth outside Portland, is a wide curving seaside where you can not only sift the sand between your toes you can enjoy pampered luxury at the Inn by the Sea. It’s all here, sublime scenery, elegant accommodation, delicious food, and congenial staff and guests. Any time of year, this is a place to kick back and relax in brisk, invigorating sea air. If the ocean is too chilly, take a dip in the heated pool set off in a garden area near an outdoor fireplace.
Your have several choices of accommodation in the Inn’s newly renovated 57 guest rooms and suites in the main building. A cluster of white frame luxury cottages just north of the main building are often occupied by multi-generation families who get together here same time every year for holiday or summer celebration. The garden suites on the first floor of the main building have their own separate entrance From May to October, take a morning tour with gardener Derrick Daly through the cultivated and wild gardens on and near the five acre property, as well as the Monarch butterfly way station he maintains. A wooden walkway meanders through a wild garden and sanctuary to the beach. In winter, when he works as a bellman, Daly creates and maintains the Inn’s seasonal decorations, including the magnificent Christmas Giving Tree that involves school children, guests, and staff helping local charities.
The good life at the Inn is further enhanced by a first rate spa where the sea waves massage, may leave you swooning with pleasure. There are treatment rooms for men, women, teens, and VIPs--very important pets--who can get a doggie massage. Not only are VIPs welcome, they get their own L.L. Bean dog blankets, and a gourmet pet menu that includes K-9 ice cream topped with crumbled dog bones. If you want to tear yourself away from this sublime spot, you are only seven miles from downtown Portland, where you can visit the Portland Museum of Art, and the galleries and boutiques in the Old Port section. Nor too far from the Inn is Portland Head, the oldest lighthouse in America. And did I mention fishing and kayaking? At the end of the day, relax by the fireplace in the lounge and enjoy some low key jazz and a generous pre-dinner martini (shaken not stirred). If you are lucky, you might meet Nigel, an adorable white bulldog (with polka dot ears) who comes for cocktails with his owner twice a week.
© February 2011 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved. |
One of my favorite spots is the cozy lounge just off the lobby, where with your morning coffee you can read the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or Portland and Boston papers. On a summer morning, take the paper outside and sit in a lounge chair, or take your breakfast on the deck outside the Sea Glass dining room and watch the small fishing and pleasure boats at sea. 
from the garden or from inside the Inn. In a two-story spa suite with living room, kitchenette and sleeping loft, floor to ceiling windows overlook the sea. If you want to wake up to the sunrise over the Atlantic, ask your housekeeper not to close the blinds at turndown service. Bathrooms in the spa suites are the size of most city apartments. There’s a walk in shower, Jacuzzi tub, double sink with wide counters. One welcome clue that you are in a green hotel, is the little printed wax paper envelope on the bathroom counter in which you can take home your used L’Occitane soap. The Inn by the Sea is recognized as one of the top green hotels in the world, by Tripadvisor.com and as one of the top 100 hotels in the United States and Canada by Travel and Leisure (among others). 
Executive Chef Mitchell Kaldrovich has his pick of local produce from nearby farms and fish right out of the sea via the famous Portland Seafood Market. The seafood and lobster paella is a signature dish in the Sea Glass restaurant. Pan seared jumbo scallops on a bed of pureed parsnips, with shaved fennel and beurre monte is a favorite appetizer. Chef Kaldrovich (possibly the best-looking chef you will ever meet), gives cooking demonstrations and special theme dinners throughout the year, such as the annual fall Pumpkin Dinner, or a Chocolate Lovers Menu in February. There is also a superb wine cellar here.