My wife and I were fortunate enough to
get a gift certificate from our two wonderful sons to the Gazebo Inn in
Ogunquit, Maine. Nothing could
prepare us for what lay in store.
We drove up from Connecticut in a horrendous rainstorm. I thought I saw
an ark plying the passing lane on the highway. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it was hours of relentless,
torrential rain. I was also
recovering from food poisoning and was in a pretty foul mood. We finally get to Ogunquit in the
middle of the afternoon, and according to our GPS, it was no more than a few
minutes drive to the inn.
Wrong! There is a peculiar
shaped intersection with no stop lights smack dab in the center of Ogunquit that turned a ten minute cruise
into forty-five minutes of rain soaked bumper to bumper torture.
Finally we see the Gazebo Inn in the distant mist. We park the car and haul our travel
weary selves into the inn. We are
greeted by Scott, the owner and operator of this gem of a bed and breakfast. Immediately his warm, enthusiastic, and
engaging manner makes us forget the hell we just went through. He begins to take us on a mini-tour of
the inn. To say that this place is
gorgeous is to do a dis-service to the word gorgeous. Stunning, amazing, dazzling, enchanting—take your pick. Scott’s obvious pride comes through as
he describes the renovations, use of recycled materials and workmanship
involved in the building. The exercise room with sauna, media room with an
extensive DVD collection, bar, laundry room, common room, kitchen, salt water
pool and spa, all add up to a perfect stay. The decorations, level of artistry
and attention to detail is incredible.
I mention to Scott that I used to build furniture and he launches into a
fascinating story of how the floors and bannisters were made. Wood geeks will be thrilled with
this. Others will simply stare in
awe.
One thing that strikes me as unusual is during the tour is
that Scott continually says that
if you want something, take it and settle up with him later. Want a nice bottle of wine from the
bar? Un-cork it and pay for it
when you see him. Like a hat from the gift shop? Put it on your head and settle up when you see him. Interested in the most comfortable robe
you have ever worn? Put it on and
settle up with him later. Amazing
in this day and age the level of trust he has in his guests.
Finally we go to our room. It was one of the smaller ones at the inn, but incredibly lovely. Handmade cherry bed frame, leather club
chairs, fridge, and even a Keurig coffee maker. A pocket door leads to the bathroom with a two person tiled
shower, rain shower faucet, pedestal sink, and on and on and on. I can only imagine what the larger
rooms and suites must look like.
I’m still tied in knots from the trip so I head off to the
sauna for a nice schvitz, as my wife makes dinner reservations. They have a book with menus of area
restaurants available to peruse.
Also, Scott has made some delightful dining deals with several of the
restaurants; we chose the seventy-nine dollar deal that includes two apps, two
entrees and a dessert. Immediately,
the night manager books us a reservation.
And, you guessed it, settle up tomorrow when you see Scott.
The meal was divine and we head back to the inn. The sheets on the bed are this amazing
microfiber material that feels like the most expensive, high thread count
cotton. I had one of the best
nights sleep in ages. Guess
what? The sheets are available for
purchase in the gift store. Guess
what again; we buy a few sets!
The bed part of the bed and breakfast was great, now for the
breakfast. Our sons kept on telling us about the blueberry juice and scones. What? Blueberry juice?
Oh yeah, delicious. The
scones? To die for. My diet goes out the window as I tuck
into sausages, cinnamon French toast, home fries and cranberry scones. The second day we had scrambled eggs,
hash loaded with chunks of corned beef, spinach with cheese and a red pepper
pesto sauce and blueberry scones.
The weather for the second day was warm and clear so we
decided to drive into town. Big
mistake! There is NO, let me
repeat, NO parking in Ogunquit. We
drive back to the inn and bump into Scott. We explain our dilemma and he tells us that he is driving
into town and would be glad to give us a ride. Nice! We kick
around town and take the trolley back to the inn. We settle in beside the spa. The gurgling waterfall is so soothing as we soak up the
sun. We chat, read, decide where
to go for dinner, and just relax.
I take another schvitz in the sauna and get ready for dinner. We go to a place for lobster, because
we are in Maine and, well, how do you go to Maine and NOT have lobster?
Morning comes and it is time to leave. NOOOOO!!! I’ve been to many hotels and motels and
they all have one thing in common, you can’t wait to get the hell out of there
and head home. Not the Gazebo
Inn. I begin to plot out how I can
actually move into it. It’s your
most comfortable shirt, your chilling sweats, and your favorite pair of shoes
all rolled up into one experience.
It is so welcoming, so comforting so absolutely awesome. Scott, Bruce and Peter have made
customer service an art form. I
cannot wait to go back.
