We recently stayed two nights at the Kimball Terrace Inn while in Northeast Harbor for a wedding. I have to say, this is not what I would qualify as an Inn (no breakfast, no cozy rooms, marginal hospitality, etc...) and is more like a motel with room access outdoors. We stayed here as it was the recommended property for the wedding and was significantly less expensive than others in the area. You do, however, get what you pay for.
It appears they made an attempt to update the rooms, while still maintaining a 1980s / 1990s decor scheme. The rug was clean, but teal, and the bathroom was the most "updated" of the room (except the drain in the shower doesn't drain unless you lift it). The room had a musty smell to it when we walked in, so I opened the large sliding glass door to air it out. While unpacking, my husband went to put his clothes in a drawer and found a pile of dirty men's underwear! I immediately called the front desk and they send their (very pregnant) employee to come and retrieve them. We weren't offered any sort of apology or compensation for this disgusting discovery - just a "wow, that's gross" remark. The sheets were clean, but the beds were hard as a rock. I also think all of the rooms are appointed with two double beds, which makes for sleeping as a couple darn near impossible (and brings back thoughts of college). We ended up sleeping in our own beds each night.
I suggest bringing your own bath towels as the ones they provide don't fit around an average sized woman or man - they're very thin and not very absorbant, too.
The view of the harbor is very pretty and it's about 20 minutes or so from downtown Bar Harbor. You can walk to downtown Northeast Harbor from the motel - but there isn't a whole lot going on there.
We only ate at the Main Sail Restaurant once and that was where the wedding reception was held. Walking into the restaurant you were immediately hit with a sewer-esque bad smell, which didn't lend well to hungry guests. The server we had for our table was wonderful - the food was decent.
They say there is free WiFi but we couldn't ever get a signal in the room. Maybe it's only for rooms closer to the lobby - but this was an issue when we wanted to look things up on our iPhones or iPads and had to rely on spotty 3G service.
Overall, you absolutely get what you pay for. I would never willingly stay at this motel again, though. It's worth it to pay a little extra for better accommodations and hospitality.
- Kimball Terrace Hotel
