Even for those of us from New England, traveling to Maine’s Mount Desert Island isn’t the easiest of journeys: the closest major airport, Bangor, is around a two-hour drive away, whereas the smaller airport of Bar Harbor is essentially only accessible by puddle jumpers from Logan Airport. Of course, you can drive: five hours from Boston, eight hours from New York City, five-and-a-half hours from Providence (without traffic).
Yet its isolation is a blessing: while other East Coast summer destinations like Nantucket and the Hamptons can fall victim to seasonal overcrowding, Mount Desert Island remains an idyllic and unbothered getaway even in August, with only the main hub of Bar Harbor—known as the gateway to Acadia National Park—receiving notable foot traffic. (In fact, even writing about Mount Desert Island in this publication will surely lead to some irate comments from its committed visitors and residents, who’d very much prefer it stays under-the-radar.)
I arrived on Mount Desert Island, however, through very little independent research of my own: a dear friend was getting married, and through his fiancé, who had been coming here for decades, this coastal corner of the country had become a special place for both of them. A wedding website gave us fair warning: bring a coat (or faux fur), hiking boots, and don’t expect Ubers.
That’s not to say I felt like I was discovering some up-and-coming place. In fact, Mount Desert Island is one of the most established American holiday destinations there is. Gilded Age names like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt all had homes here, and Martha Stewart famously has a compound in the hamlet of Seal Harbor. Yet while some summer wealthy playgrounds shout their wealth, here, it whispers.
Around midday I checked into the Asticou Inn. It’s a hotel both rich in design and history: in the 1870s, a local family named the Savages began offering lodging to travelers on their Maine Compound when the nearby Bar Harbor became too full. A century and a half later, it’s now one of the most pre-eminent hotels on the island. “We always say it’s rusticator meets aristocrat,” Krista Stokes, who, along with Mark Cotto, is the interior designer for Atlantic Hospitality, the management group behind the Asticou. (“Rusticator,” for the uninitiated, is a New England term that describes vacationers from cities like New York or Boston who decamp to remote locales for the summer.) “We knew that it needed to be grand, but then also relaxed, because it was in the middle of this national park,” she adds.
What does Stokes mean by that? The lobby is more like a living room that embraces a moody palette with navy floral wallpaper and rich velvet upholstery. Dark wood cabinetry filled with weathered books are scattered throughout, which Stokes and Cotto sourced from local antique shops as well as the famed centers in the Hudson Valley. Mirrors have a patina, coffee tables are leathered and trunk-like. “It has that summer rusticator feel of what people’s houses might have looked like when they were up here,” adds Cotto.
Their onsite restaurant and bar, Dahlia’s, takes on a more feminine air with its blush pink palette—although in the summer months, you can take your lunch on the deck overlooking the harbor. I ordered the stone fruit Caprese salad with an Arnold Palmer—and advise you to do the same. As for breakfast? Anything with blueberries... don’t forget, the sweet summer berry is what the region is known for.
At night, as the temperature cools, Dahlia’s warms up into a joyous watering hole for locals and visitors alike, with the quieter overflow lounging in the secondary Moss Bar next door, which takes on a more masculine energy with its green walls and taxidermy decor. (My date got a spicy pear margarita, but given Maine’s chilly nights, I opted for a warming glass of red wine instead.)
Time for bed means a return to my well-appointed guest room with Le Labo products and Cuddledown linens. It’s painted in calming shades of cream, yet a canopied headboard and a roaring fireplace lend it that classic coastal New England character. (I stayed in the main house, but for more privacy and space, there’s a winding group of cottages perfect for families or couples wanting a more reclusive experience.) The following morning, after an iced coffee on the deck, I cross the rolling green lawn to the pool, where I lay under a pink umbrella on a yellow striped chaise lounge overlooking the deep blue, sailboat-dotted waters of Maine.
Atlantic Hospitality also has a sister property, The Claremont, in Southwest Harbor across the bay. And for those venturing to Mount Desert Island for the main purpose of Acadia National Park, Under Canvas offers a glamping retreat where you can stare up at the Ursa Major from your private tent on an-100 acre campground.
As idyllic as the Asticou was, I knew I needed to venture out for an important cause: a lobster roll. I found the shellfish classic of my dreams at Abel’s Lobster, which you can order a roll Maine (chilled, with mayo) or Connecticut (warm with butter) style along with blueberry cardamom margaritas and chowder fries. The Docksider Restaurant in Northeast Harbor is a no-frills, authentic choice, as is the Nor’Easter Pound and Market. For your morning coffee, there’s also the quaint Salt Market and Milk Honey. For a special occasion dinner, book a water taxi to Islesford Dock, a fishing dock turned fine dining restaurant which sources most of its ingredients not just from the state of Maine, but their very county. (Seafood, of course, is caught right outside—so make sure to order the lobster or the fish of the day.) Elsewhere, Little Fern at the Claremont serves classic New England fare like halibut and Berkshire pork chops, offering an elevated choice for the evening.
Of course, the main draw of Main is the great outdoors itself. And how great they are: Mount Desert Island is home to Acadia National Park, the only national park in New England. For hikers, tie your laces and try the trails of Parkman Mountain or the advanced Door Mountain or Beehive trails. (The latter has steep rungs to climb at the end.) You can also rent e-bikes from Island Bike Rental to explore the park. Otherwise, make the trip to Seal Harbor for the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, a botanical wonderland built in the 1920s by Abby Rockefeller, her husband, John D. Rockefeller Jr., and their renowned Beatrix Farrand.
As the leaves fall and temperatures drop, a summer vacation once again feels like a faraway dream. But when it is time to make it a reality, I know just the place to go.
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