It's a Boutique Hotel! It's an Art Gallery! It's 250 Main Hotel in Rockland, Maine!

I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend at the 250 Main Art Gallery ... er ... the 250 Main Hotel in Rockland, Maine and I have to say that it was a true pleasure! A boutique-style hotel featuring 26 uniquely designed rooms boasting sleek furnishings along with state-of-the-art technology and amenities that today's travelers have come to expect, the hotel is the proud recipient of Yankee Magazine’s 2017 designation as "Best Boutique Hotel in Maine." With water views from nearly every room, a spectacular roof deck offering sweeping views of Rockland Harbor and works of art created by contemporary Maine artists on display throughout the property, it's easy to see why!

Designed by architect Scott Tease of Scattergood Design of Portland and built by Cabot Lyman of Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding in nearby Thomaston where many of the interior finishes of the hotel were produced and whose workers were employed to construct the 5-story hotel, 250 Main - which opened in June of 2016 - does a great job of  anchoring Rockland's Main Street. Within easy walking distance of shops, museums, art galleries, restaurants and more, the hotel is in an ideal location for visitors to the Arts Capital of Maine.

As there's no parking at the hotel itself, guests park in the municipal lot across the street near the Rockland Fishermen's Memorial but not to worry, you don't have to cart your baggage up the slight incline if you aren't so inclined! Pull up next to the hotel on it's Pleasant Street side and load or unload your belongings curbside before moving your car to the lot. The awesome staff is more than happy to offer assistance with your luggage should you require it and the walk back to the hotel from the parking lot is an easy one.

As soon as you enter the lobby at 240 Main, you know you're staying someplace special. The natural light-filled room boasts modern, Italian-made furniture accompanied by wood tables made from reclaimed wood sourced from salvaged boats while overhead, distressed wood boards pay homage to different eras of boat-building. The walls are decorated with museum-quality artwork giving the feeling that one has stepped into a very comfortable art gallery complete with fireplace and books! Below I've included a few of my favorite pieces.

The painting over the fireplace, View from Horsehead Island, is an oil on canvas done by Bayard Hollins in 2015. If you really like it and want to hang it over your own fireplace, it can be yours for $12,000.

On the very cool side table is a bronze sculpture by Gordon Bok titled English Trawler, $2,200.

The Space of Vigor by Lisa Kellner, is made of silk, thread, and synthetic polymer on wood, $2,500. 

Blanket Me in Your Swathe, by Lisa Kellner, $3,250.

Even the coat hooks outside of the restrooms have an artistic look to them though I'm pretty sure they aren't for sale! 

A pet-friendly hotel, it's easy to find a treat for your four-footed friend in the lobby. If you like the treat bag, you can probably find a similar one just down the street at Sea Bags where they transform recycled sails into totes and other accessories. 

The coffee bar in the lobby has everything you need to make a cup of coffee, tea or even hot cocoa in one of the hotel's colorful coffee mugs or a to-go cup if you're heading out the door. You'll also find a kettle and mugs in your room to brew a cup of tea but if you want coffee instead, you have the option of getting a French press to use or the staff will bring you up a tray of coffee with all the fixin's anytime you'd like. Just ask! 

250 Main serves Rock City Coffee who have been doing business in Rockland for 25 years and recently began offering Harney & Sons Fine Teas which are some of my favorite teas. 

Some of the colorful coffee mugs that you can enjoy your hot beverage from.

During our stay, my distracted sidekick and I were in Room 202 which is considered to be the "family friendly" room as it has two beds rather than one king. It's also "friends traveling together friendly" and is quite roomy!

As the beds are very, very, very comfortable, lounging on one is a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee!

For those who aren't familiar with the area, the 250 Main Hotel logo (which you can see here on the robes you'll find in your room) features a side view of Rockland Breakwater Light which you can see from your room windows or the rooftop provided there's no fog! Should the weather be nice during your stay, you might want to make the walk across the breakwater to visit the lighthouse. The breakwater, which took 18 years to build and was completed in 1900, extends eight-tenths of a mile from Jameson Point into Rockland Harbor using nearly 700,000 tons of Maine granite. It's quite impressive!

All rooms come equipped with an iPad (don't take it from the room) and a journal in which you can doodle, jot down notes, etc (feel free to take it from the room!)

A close-up view of the wallpaper which I quite liked.

Our room was on the corner which gave me a view of the hotel sign from two different windows so I just had to take a photo from both angles and then put them both together! 

Returning from a night of wandering, the beds looked quite inviting and ready for a good night's sleep - which we both got!

Not huge but certainly more than big enough, the bathroom had all of the amenities one could want with the added bonus of heated floors and a heated towel rack which - if you've never experienced them - are the Cadillac of bathroom amenities! Speaking of amenities, the (Malin + Goetz) peppermint shampoo was fabulous as was the rum body wash and having a dark make-up cloth is always an excellent idea! 

I really liked the hanger for letting housekeeping know that you were out and about and they could come in to clean or "please tidy up" as it says in parentheses! 

Regardless of what floor your room is on, you definitely owe it to yourself to visit the other floors to take a peek at the artwork that you can find there. The seating areas on the floors are all unique - there's definitely nothing 'cookie cutter' about the 250 Main! It should be noted that artwork and furniture is changed out fairly regularly so what I'm posting here, may not be what the floors currently look like.  

The 2nd Floor Seating area includes artwork by Sam Cady who is nationally-known for his shaped canvasses that closely follow the shapes of actual objects. Cabin (of the Friendship Sloop Echo) is done in oil on one of those shaped canvasses, $16,000.

I didn't get the name on this piece of artwork but I really liked the lamp that was made from a piece of navigational equipment. My cousin the librarian would have loved all of the books that can be found throughout the hotel! 

3rd Floor Seating Area

4th Floor Seating Area

5th Floor Seating Area

Following are some of the pieces of art that I really liked during my visit to the other floors which is only a small sampling of the artwork on display. You can find a pamphlet in the lobby that lists all of the pieces of art along with their creators and price if you want to grab one and explore the floors like you would a gallery or museum! 

Wash on the 4th floor by Jeffery T. Fitzgerald, oil on canvas, $4,800, courtesy of Carver Hill Gallery.

Painters on the 2nd Floor is a photo by Peter Ralston. Available for $2,950; courtesy of Ralston Gallery

Shadowfield/Silver on the 5th Floor by Warren Seelig is made of stainless steel, silver-dipped painted wood balls and aluminum powder; $10,500.

Another view of Shadowfield/Silver looking up towards the roof.

And Your Tears Turned Into Stars, 5th floor, by Bayard Hollins, oil on canvas $7,500, courtesy of Calbeck Gallery.

In Better Hours on the 3rd Floor by Kay Sullivan; pastel on paper, $1,200, courtesy of Kelpie Gallery

The Mermaid by John Neville on the 3rd Floor is an impressive acrylic on panel; $14,500, courtesy of Harbor Square Gallery.

Looking up at The Mermaid. 

House on the 4th floor by Michael Reece; oil on canvas, $8,500.

Once you're done exploring all of the galleries ... floors! ... be sure to pop up to the rooftop where there's a lovely deck and seating area where the hotel's daily Wine Social is held in nice weather and the views are lovely even in inclement weather. 250 Main's rooftop deck is the only one in Rockland so don't miss it! 

A view of Rockland Breakwater Light in the distance from the roof . I should mention that a zoom lens was required for this shot. 

The rooftop in less-than-stellar weather which is pretty much the norm for Maine until about mid-July from what I've been told! To be honest, the weather we had near the end of April was quite similar to the weather I experienced the last time I was in Rockland in mid-June! 

The rooftop in better weather with Owls Head in the distance.

View from the roof with Rockland Breakwater Light in the distance and The Pearl restaurant which, unfortunately, is permanently closed as of this writing. 

View of downtown Rockland's Main Street from the roof. The Strand is a historic performing arts theatre which is just a short walk from 250 Main offering Live Music & Performance Events, Movies & HD Broadcasts. A rare example of Egyptian Revival architecture, it's the only one of three theaters built in Rockland in the 1920s to survive.

If by chance you took the elevator to visit all of the floors and the rooftop, be sure to take the stairwell back down so that you can read the words of wisdom there! 

There's no restaurant on site (which is okay as Rockland has a good number of delicious offerings very close by!) but 250 Main offers a very nice Continental-style Breakfast in the mornings and a delightful Wine Social from 4-6 pm. 

How did they know I just love deviled eggs? They're a great way to get some protein to start your day and go quite nicely with the delicious fruit and baked goods like this awesome donut! 

As I said to my distracted sidekick, it's like having breakfast in an art gallery! 

My friend really like the Overnight Oats which she had never had before while I went for the granola and yoghurt.

250 Main's Wine Social was a great way to just kick back and relax a bit either before, during (it's close so easy to get back to!), or after exploring Rockland. Sitting in the beautiful lobby with a beverage and delicious snacks while thumbing through a magazine or just enjoying the ambiance was a great way to spend a bit of time in the late afternoon and we really enjoyed it. 

Even though there were a lot of good choices of beer and wine, I'm not much of an alcohol drinker so when Orlando suggested Maine Root Ginger Brew as an option, I was all over it like a hobo on a ham sandwich! It was seriously good stuff, I'm going to have to figure out how I can get my hands on some back home in Connecticut! 

As it's no secret that the rain in Maine falls gently a good amount of the time, 250 Main Hotel offers not only a great Rainy Day Guide to Rockland but also courtesy umbrellas in case you didn't bring your own. It was kind of fun to see all of the bright yellow umbrellas when we were walking around the downtown area! 

 

With such a great place to call "home" during our weekend in Rockland, it really didn't bother us that the weather ran the gamut from just overcast to lots of rain to socked-in fog to occasional drizzle. One of the best perks of the hotel is that 250 Main was close enough to the downtown area that we could visit some of Rockland's great shops (and there are many!) then return to the hotel to drop off our purchases before heading out again to visit one of the many museums or have something great to eat at one of the nearby eateries. The location was close enough without being too close, which probably is even better when the town is chock-full of summer tourists as it gives you a bit of breathing space where you can still be close enough to everything without being smack in the middle of it.

A member of the Migis Hotel Group who specialize in hotels, inns, and resorts that are characterized by their independence and uniqueness in Maine, Massachusetts and South Carolina, the 250 Main Hotel is the ideal place to stay when you wander up to Rockland, Maine. Not only is it unique in its decor and very comfortable with terrific artwork decorating every floor, the fantastic staff is very attentive, helpful and go out of their way to make your stay a wonderful one.

Want to know more? 'Like' them on Facebook, follow them on Instagram and check out more of the beautiful rooms and book your own stay on their website: 250 Main Hotel