Another vote for Chatham Bars Inn. Also the Wequasset Inn not too far from there should be a contender.
@Consolation you may be right - says this on their website:
After a recent four million dollar renovation
I have stayed at Wentworth By The Sea (Portsmouth NH) and will be staying there again in May. It is lovely.
So I’m curious… in more recent years when we travel, I prefer to stay in a place that has a kitchen; we can grocery shop and have stuff around for breakfast and lunch, then if we want, go out for dinner. (on our last vacation, we only ate dinner out 4/7 nights). I tend to sleep later than some members of my family, and if we have to go out for breakfast, then I’m starting my morning rushed. One thing that really stresses me about vacations is having to eat three meals a day out.
How do others handle eating three meals out a day when on vacation? I’d rather sit on a balcony or deck, in my sweats, reading a book, looking at the scenery and eating breakfast or lunch.
@teriwtt - I am like you. We often rent vacation homes for this reason.
I seldom eat three meals out. I have a light breakfast most days, and a slightly early dinner. That is plenty. Usually one day, we will have a full breakfast. That day, we would have a later dinner.
When I’m on vacation, I don’t want to cook, clean up the mess, or do laundry.
Even on my Jersey shore vacation last year…we found a great place that cooked the seafood for you…with your choice of side dishes. Perfect. And everyone could have whatever they wanted.
We did buy coffee, fruit and bread for breakfasts there…and sticky buns!
Me neither! Kind of defeats the purpose.
Well, paper plates and plastic utensils are good for that. We’re not talking about anything that would need to be cooked, really (I did NO cooking on our last vacation). We picked up assorted bagels and cream cheese and lox for breakfast, although H did do a big breakfast one morning because that’s sort of his signature thing, and he likes doing it. We had an assortment of fresh fruit, yogurt, deli meat, cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and bread for sandwiches, with some snack chips and dipping items. Also a fresh vegetable tray with dips such as hummus. We will also find a Costco to pick up a lot of this stuff (as well as a case of water), and after our most recent trip, we sent any leftovers home with D2 since she only lived a little over an hour away. Her S.O. cooked for us one night (his idea) because he is a sous chef. Our first couple of nights we ate off of a rotisserie chicken, some ribs and salad greens we picked up at Costco our first night in town. After a long day of travel, I had no desire to go out to a restaurant.
And for well over fifteen years, everyone in our family has been responsible for their own laundry, so I only did my own while we were there, which allowed me to pack less. We didn’t make any beds and it was fine by me.
I’ve pretty much made up my mind that, with a few exceptions, this is really the only way I want to travel from here on out, even if it’s just me and H.
How do others handle eating three meals out a day when on vacation? I’d rather sit on a balcony or deck, in my sweats, reading a book, looking at the scenery and eating breakfast or lunch.>>>>>
We have long been in the habit of a hardy breakfast, spending time on the beach with no lunch(snacks and water), and then a nice dinner.
My family can’t skip a meal. Yesterday D2 got up at 11, had a light breakfast by the pool. By 12:30 when D1 and I decided to have our lunch, D2 was ready for her lunch as well.
Teri - I also do like having a kitchen and be able to eat in every once in a while, especially breakfast.
We are at an all inclusive, so we could all eat at different time, not a lot of stress of having to go any where.
In Chatham-- CBI and Wequasset Inn are lovely resorts. Close friend’s family have been staying at Chatham Bars Inn for decades… she practically grew up there in the summer. Always reserved the same cottages. (only bump, which was smoothed, was when management changed a number of years ago) Have been to a wedding at Wequasset. Chatham, itself, is a lovely village, range of establishments for a small place.
You might look into Block Island or Martha’s Vineyard. When I’ve been there, always feel more removed from day-to-day life. My guess is Nantucket is similar… however, the storms this winter might have done a fair amount of damage.
I would do the [West Street Hotel in Bar Harbor](http://www.theweststreethotel.com/). It’s off-season in early June, until the Boston schools get out. [Bar Harbor](https://www.google.com/search?q=bar+harbor&safe=off&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=qWgZVfZRhqY2ga6A2Aw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1347&bih=676) and [Acadia National Park](https://www.google.com/search?q=acadia+national+park&safe=off&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dGgZVd6CIreBsQT6w4KIAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1347&bih=676) aren’t crowded. The hotel is brand new right on the water in downtown Bar Harbor. Awesome people watching from the balconies. And, Acadia National Park is a truly spectacular place with stuff to do for virtually any interest level. Walking along rocky seacoast. Hiking up rocky hills. Biking along carriage paths. Driving to the top of mountains.
Lunch on the lawn at the [Jordan Pond House](https://www.google.com/search?q=jordan+pond+house&safe=off&es_sm=122&biw=1347&bih=676&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=E2cZVbO_FZOdyASB1YLoCA&sqi=2&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAw) with a stroll around Jordan Pond – a flat gravel walking path around a gorgeous lake surrounded by mountains.
The reason I would do Bar Harbor? It has everything you are looking for in a resort hotel/town. Plus Acadia National Park is a top of the bucket list destination. And early June is the perfect time.
You aren’t going to get lie in the sun on the beach and get sun tan weather anywhere in New England in June.It’s not like Cape Cod would be swimming weather and Bar Harbor wouldn’t.
Wentworth by the Sea is a super nice high end hotel on a bay near the ocean, but the overall ambience, location, sightseeing options in an around Portsmouth isn’t even in the same league as Bar Harbor. The little seaside park near Wentworth is a Yugo next to the Rolls Royce of east coast seaside parks – Acadia. I lived near Newburyport and Portsmouth for many years. It’s not even in the same universe as the Bar Harbor/Adadia combo.
It’s probably a five or six hour drive from Boston. The LLBEAN flagship store is at the halfway point in Freeport and a great place to stop and stretch. Also manageable crowds in early June.
If you like walking on the beach, I’d head toward Provincetown because you can walk for miles and it really feels like you’re someplace very different. Lots of restaurants. You don’t even need to drive; you can take the ferry from Boston.
BTW, it looks like the most expensive [Executive King corner rooms](West Street Hotel | Oceanfront Boutique Bar Harbor Hotel) at the West Street Hotel start at around $300 a night in early June, plus a 15% early booking discount. These have sliding glass doors and balconies facing the harbor in two directions. Sitting on those balconies drinking your morning coffee would definitely be the cat’s meow.
If you want to go to Mount Desert, and you want to stay in Bar Harbor, this place looks fabulous:
I love Acadia, but when we go there we camp. Speaking of the Jordan Pond House, you MUST go there in the afternoon and have tea and popovers on the lawn! 
Preferably after hiking to the top of one of the nearby mountains so you really deserve it. B-)
Apologies… didn’t read where you’d stayed before… Chatham caught my eye.
Agree, Bar Harbor is great.
I wonder if you can include Prout’s Neck in your trip. Portland Museum of Art has access to Winslow Homer’s studio.
I’ve been curious about the Crane Estate. Although I’ve never stayed here and it might be more isolated than you’d like, the house and property seem gorgeous. I have stayed at the Trustees’ other guest house, which I can recommend.
Yeah. I camped there the first week of June last year and will probably head back this year if we get a three day window of nice weather.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgyOjmwU-qg
I checked out the West Street Hotel when I had dinner on the deck over the harbor at the seafood restaurant across the street. Staying in downtown Bar Harbor would be terrific.
I have horrible memories of black flies and deer flies at the Maine beaches in June. I used to get eaten alive while others were ignored. I would second Provincetown for great walkable beaches–or anyplace with good access to the Cape Cod National Seashore, which is a fabulous long clean beach.
Blackfly conditions are a prominent feature of every hiking report in NH during May, but when I asked some Acadia veterans I was told they were’t a big issue. I found no problem with bugs at all camping and hiking the second weeks of June last year. I don’t think I even used bug spray, camping right next to the water – although I wear bug repellent clothing when I’m in the outdoors.
Here’s a sample of a scenic hike I took on my visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBZUuQze4ic
The great thing about Acadia is that there are walks/hikes/climbs along the shore and up these rock mountains next to the shore for every age and every level of fitness/endurance There are spectacular walks that could be done with a cane. Tons of short, medium, and long moderate walks. And some vertigo inducing climbs that you couldn’t pay me enough to do.
Crane Estate is close to a wonderful beach.
I would definitely consider Provincetown. Great beach walks, and you can look for seals.