We had a group of seven riders to go ride the Carriage Roads at Acadia National Park. Two of us…read morehad our own gravel bikes and the five others needed to rent gravel bikes. Because I was the organizer of the ride, I insisted (pestered) them to reserve their bikes online, which they did. We arrived the morning of the ride and there were several staff members outside ready to help renters. They were friendly and quickly set up my buddies on their bikes. I should mention that they rent Cervelo Asperos (my bike too) and Trek Checkpoints - both really good gravel bikes and perfect for the Carriage Roads (frankly, a bit better than needed on those tame roads). With everyone set up, we started off. This is where the shop shined. For whatever reason, my derailleurs were not working, and I had just charged them up a couple of days ago. Even though I was riding my own bike, I went back to the shop and asked if they could give me a quick charge-up. One of the mechanics (Shawn) instead, put the bike on the stand and started fiddling around with it. Meanwhile, the shop owner took me around the shop and showed me his collection of Cervelo bikes (awesome! He also does Ironman Triathalons). Meanwhile, Shawn figured out that a wire had worked loose while I was bringing my bike up to Acadia. He saved the day (I do NOT want to ride the Carriage Roads on one gear). No charge, and we were on our way. Generally great folks at the bike shop, and they rent real gravel bikes that you can ride with verve. I can't recommend this shop enough.

Chaotic from start to finish…read more The rental process alone should have been our warning sign. Their online cutoff is 2pm the day before, which means you have to call-fine, except the woman who answered never called us back. We had to chase her down twice just to confirm a reservation. We arrived at 12:50 for a 1pm pickup and stood there watching the one staff member slowly process an entire family who was renting bikes for the next day on our time. The guy who eventually got us our bikes moved like he was underwater. Directions? He handed us a map that would challenge a cartographer and told us to "turn at the thing that blinks." That was the landmark. The blinking thing. We missed a turn. My husband's bike was mechanically broken. He came back with mud splattered across his backpack, shorts, and hair. And the e-bikes if you've rented an e-bike anywhere else in your life, do not expect that here. These things have less power than a child's ride-on toy. I'm not exaggerating. There is no assist. There is no joy. Unprofessional, disorganized, and a complete waste of a half day in a place where you have limited time and actually want to have fun. Skip it.

This only gets one star because I have to rate it something. This place is not as advertised. Owner…read morehas allowed property to fall into disrepair. The lawn needed cut. The shrubs, trees, and weeds have taken over the outside. The porch steps are pulling away from the porch and are slanted. A fishing rod was leaned in a corner on the back porch, the vines wrapped around the rod and lifted it off the ground. There is an old shed in backyard, falling in on itself. Some of the windows had cracks in them covered by duct tape. Tears in the furniture inside were covered by duct tape. One couch had a tear in the arm with stuffing coming out. The house was rented to us without a working furnace. Owner did supply space heaters. But once we discovered that none of the smoke detectors had batteries and did not work, and that there were flammable materials stored in the closets on both levels, and no egress from the second floor other than the stairwell, and no fire extinguishers to be found, we didn't use them. The house smelled like mold and wet dog despite the windows being open. The smell permeated the bedding and furniture. A hole in one bedroom wall was repaired with duct tape, painted over to match the wall color. When confronted with the safety issues the owner expressed distress. He did agree to refund 1 night of our 2 night reservation. That was on June 25th, I write this on July 10th and I still haven't received the refund. And, when you read the bad reviews on HomeAway (where pictures can't be uploaded) others have mentioned the smell and non-working detectors. Owner always refuted them, but at some point, not every unrelated reviewer can be opined as wrong. We stayed there the evening of June 24, 2018. I will upload my photos of the HomeAway advertisement with photos and my photos. You can see the difference for yourself. It's a shame, really, this house has potential. UPDATE: Owner refused to honor his agreement to refund a portion of the stay. Said he would send me the money only if I removed my unfavorable review. I have refused to do that. And, interestingly, if I had asked to have the review removed from HomeAway, I wouldn't have had the ability to rewrite or repost a review. I wonder how many others he has done this to, I cannot believe I was the first one. UPDATE 2: Owner responsed to my review on HomeAway discounting my review and then attributed statements to us that we never made. It's annoying because it shows me the shyster that he really is - thankfully USAA is a great bank and they went to bat for us - entire stay refunded!

Beautiful location; perfect accommodations with indoor wood burning stove and outdoor gas grill…read more Ambience. Amenities. The rental agency is incredibly communicative.

Unprofessional and rude. Verbally reserved a property for me "until the next morning" and ". I went…read moreto sign the agreement and pay at 10am and they had already canceled it. Then at 10.19am they emailed saying they rented it out to someone else. They don't care about following through on commitments, I'm sure I'm not the first person they've done this too. Called directly when I saw their email and they were rude and defensive saying there was no sense of urgency on my part. There was nothing they could do to rectify going against their word. Try another rental agency :)

We have stayed at AVC, what a truly magnificent time we had with family and friends. The house is…read morecozy, clean and updated, nestled in a quiet quarry neighborhood. Great having a fire in the yard with deer strolling past and smelling that fresh Maine air. Truly magical. We will be back!!

We had a family get together at Acadia View Cottage. The Cottage was well appointed with a central…read morelocation for a home base to enjoy all the sights of the island. Deer in the yard and Somes Sound across the street was an added bonus.

We were only in town for one night and had a great stay here. Close to town but just far enough to…read morebe a quiet peaceful place to stay even at the height of summer. The best part is the beach where we enjoyed our morning coffee. Great, friendly people who run the place too! We hope to be back for a longer stay next time.

I stayed at Emery's Cottages with my boyfriend while visiting Acadia National Park. Emery's is…read morelocated about 5 minutes from the park and 10 minutes from bar harbor. The location was perfect allowing us to see so much without driving far. The view from our cottage was beautiful. The sunrises and sunsets were spectacular each day. We stayed in a cottage without a kitchenette but used a kitchen on the property that was open to guests. We also used grills on the property a few nights. The room itself is incredibly clean and comfortable. It offers everything you'll need for the perfect getaway. The owners are extremely kind and will give great advice on local restaurants and sites to visit.

Such a great deal for a beautiful kayak/canoe ride in Acadia. They're also very dog-friendly so it…read moremade for the perfect kayak trip. The views are great and the water is very calm. If you want to switch up your hiking excursions, this is a great spot to go to do so.

****Please read until the end. *** Called ahead to reserve…read morea canoe, immediate pick up and worker was helpful. Check in was easy, plenty of parking. Porta potties conveniently on the way to the lake. They have push trailers to get the boats down. The lake was beyond gorgeous. The price was set right $38 for 3 hours. This is the perfect activity to experience Maine. So where this company really shined was the staff going over and beyond for our family today. I had the tragic luck of dropping the rental car keys into the lake a mile out from the launch site. I could not see the keys in the dark water. I luckily had my phone on me and the attendant was quick to help. He said they have a rescue boat and they could come and help. The owner of the company and his employee Andy came in a motor boat to save the day. Andy offered to jump into the cold water and try to find my keys. It was too dark for him to see very far in front of him with the googles but I was beyond appreciative for his efforts. My panic set in as I was now stranded in the middle of nowhere with two kids and no idea what to do. They patiently waited for me to contact the rental company to figure out next steps. They offered to pull the canoe back to the front so we could figure out our rental situation. When we got back Andy pulled our canoe in, which usually you have to bring in your own boat. Again, over and beyond. Later, the tow company let us into our vehicle to get our personal items but I still had no way back. I downloaded Uber but I could not find a ride. I asked the tow driver if he could drive us and he said he wasn't going that way. The owner of National Park Canoe offered to drive us himself about 20 mins back to our motel and saved our day again. I could not appreciate these Angels more. Not only are you receiving a great experience at National Park Canoe; you are supporting a small business that has warm, kind, generous souls that deserve your business. I cannot thank these men enough for helping in any manner they could think of. Thank you thank you. If we ever come back to Maine we will certainly be back and I recommend this company whole heartedly.

We were so pleased with our stay at Seaside Cottages. It was such a quaint and private place. We…read morewere there last Fall (in October), the most beautiful time to visit Bar Harbor. Our cottage was just lovely and very comfortable. The owners were very kind and personable. We were so glad to find this place. It added so much to our wonderful trip to Bar Harbor. We'll definitely be back!

Knew we wanted to vacation on Mount Desert Island but weren't sure how or where. Sleeping in a tent…read moreon the ground was ok maybe 30 years ago but I enjoy being comfortable, indoor plumbing and heat when it's cold! Came upon the site for Seaside Cottages by the Shore and it sounded too good to be true. A secluded cove with the water a few steps from the cottage; kayaks and canoes for the kids to use, all the conveniences of home and just a beautiful and restful setting. Well, it's true! Gail & Carroll were so gracious and welcoming. The perfect location on the quiet side of the island and food joints fairly close by. Only got to see one sunset and it was spectacular. We were busy everyday hiking, whale watching, etc. but our cottage was the perfect place to return to everyday. My college age sons enjoyed getting up early and kayaking for a couple ours in the cove They enjoyed seeing seals everyday. Picked fresh mussels when the tide went out. You can't get any fresher than that. We'll be back

NEW OWNERS AS OF MARCH 2025…read more If you're looking for a quiet place to rest before catching the sunrise, I highly recommend Eden Valley in Bar Harbor. They offer both motel-style rooms and cottages--though I can only speak to the motel room, as I didn't stay in a cottage. I met the two new owners, sisters from New York, who were actively making upgrades and working on the landscaping. They were incredibly kind and accommodating, even placing me in a room away from other guests so I could enjoy a peaceful night's sleep. The room was clean and comfortable, with great amenities. The bed was cozy, the air conditioning worked perfectly, and the rate was very reasonable--about $100 with tax. The only downside was the water pressure in the shower and a slight delay before the hot water kicked in. Other than that, no complaints. Check-in was super convenient. Instead of keys or cards, they use a keypad system with a code programmed specifically for each guest--reset after every stay. Great for travelers who are in and out. There's no on-site restaurant, but the motel is only five minutes from town. The property features a scenic view of a field and trees, plus a pond and small play structure. If you're planning to spend most of your time exploring the area and just need a quiet, comfortable place to sleep, this is a fantastic choice. Good parking, great people, and a relaxing environment. Would 100% stay again.

I stayed here for 3 nights and honestly, the first night already ruined it for me. Around midnight,…read moreafter a long, tiring day of hiking, we were told we had to switch rooms because they had placed us in the wrong one. We had to pack up everything and move from Room 6 to Room 27 in the middle of the night. And to make things worse, they gave us the wrong key code to the new room, so we were stuck outside for a while. What really made the experience worse was the lack of professionalism from John, the person in charge. He wasn't helpful, never apologized, and didn't seem to care at all about the inconvenience. Not even a "sorry" after making us do all that at midnight. It was a very frustrating and disappointing start to our trip. I would not recommend staying here, especially if you're expecting basic hospitality and accountability.