While visiting Portland for a foodie trip, my friends and I were hosted at the beautiful Portland Harbor Hotel. The hotel has all the upscale amenities of a high-end hotel but with an intimate, boutique feel. The design is particularly unique, the hotel operators worked with local designers, and international vendors, to create products that aren’t used anywhere else. Much of the art on the property is by Maine based artists as well to really root the experience in Portland. It’s special touches like that that can’t be obtained at a large chain hotel.
One of our favorite spots at the hotel was the outdoor fire pit. We spent a wonderful evening catch up over drinks by the warm fire in the hotel’s serene courtyard. The hotel manager said the fire pit is used by guests year round as a gathering point.
If you’d rather spend your time in your room, you’ll still have plenty of space. The rooms were quite large and appointed with sitting areas and in many cases soaking tubs in the bathrooms. I spent one evening in taking a luxurious bath and reading, something I’m never able to do at home. I purchased the natural bath salts (pictured above) from local, female-owned shop Suger.
Suger is one of several local shops that are part of Portland Harbor Hotel’s new shopping package. When you book with this offer you get 30% off your room and 10% off at local boutiques. The hotel is within easy walking distance from these shops and it’s a great time to be supporting independent businesses.
After a day of shopping and boating, you can experience dinner at the on-site restaurant BlueFin North Atlantic Seafood. This is not your average hotel restaurant. Executive Chef Gil Plaster utilizes locally sourced ingredients and seafood fresh off the Maine shore to create a seasonal menu that’s accessible and delicious.
I had a salmon pasta special with in-house made bucatini and lobster-scargot, a play on escargot with the classic Maine shellfish. Both were delicious. We also splurged on the homemade donuts and a blueberry ice cream made in house that was to die for. Typically while traveling I think of eating at the hotel restaurant as settling with so much great food out and about. But at BlueFin you can have a genuinely nice meal in the safe and sanitized space of the hotel.
We had a wonderful experience at the Portland Harbor Hotel! It’s perfectly located for easy access to shops and restaurants and provides plenty of on-site hideaways for a socially distanced stay.
Please Note: I was provided with a complimentary stay by Portland Harbor Hotel, however, all opinions expressed are my own.