We'd never heard of the Charles Inn, and came upon them while booking a long weekend on Expedia…read more It's in a GREAT location in historic downtown Bangor, within walking distance to plenty of shops, restaurants and cafes. There's an adjacent coffee shop so there was the bonus of being greeted with the coffee aroma when entering the lobby. The hotel and café staff were pleasant enough.
Bangor, Maine is the hometown of author Stephen King, and The Charles Inn has a Stephen King suite. I took two steps inside, saw the poster of Jack Nicholson in the "heeeeere's Johnny!" scene opposite the bed, and asked for a new room. Not my cup of tea, but apparently it's a very popular request to stay in this suite.
While it may sound strange, staying at the hotel reminded me very much of sleeping over at my grandmother's house, where she lived the 40 years I had her -- some quirky things, some good things, some not-so-good things -- antique furniture, gold-framed mirrors, huge windows that didn't block out much noise, curtains that didn't quite close all the way, a toilet than runs constantly unless you jiggle the handle just right, creaky floors, abysmal water pressure, and generally in need of a good cleaning. The fan in the bathroom didn't work, and there was practically no place to hang anything. There was a small rack near the door with three flimsy hangers. Being late fall in Maine, having a place to hang coats and hats is important. We ended up just tossing our things on the bed which was not ideal.
Another thing to note is that while "free parking" may be advertised, that translates to "street parking," and depending where you park, the time limit could be 90 minutes, 2 hours, or 4 hours. There is no hotel parking lot. There is a parking garage just down the block, but it's closed and locked on weekends -- so if you park there on a Friday afternoon/ evening, you're not getting out until Monday. The entire parking situation was very odd to me and is important to know for others traveling here.
For the proximity to things downtown, I'd recommend the Charles Inn. For me, I'm not sure I'd stay again for the lack of some conveniences. When I'm traveling I'm trying to avoid hassles and annoyances and I can't say that my stay was void of either.