- Reasons
to Write
- Reasons
to Write
Contact: Glenn M. Faria
Michael Patrick Tourism Communications, Ltd.
396 Main Street, Ste. 3, Hyannis, Cape Cod
Massachusetts 02601
508-790-0566/Fax 508-790-0565
e-mail: info@mpdcltd.com
(Bar Harbor, ME Summer 2000) The Ledgelawn Inn, the "grande dame" of Bar Harbor's Historic Corridor, is one of the town's last remaining mansions. Apart from its idyllic location in the chic town of Bar Harbor, the Inn sits just a short walk from tony downtown and Acadia National Park. The Inn's handsome main building and its sister property, the Carriage House, feature comfortably decorated rooms and suites. Each of the Inn's accommodations is quite different - in size, decor and view. But guests will find that the same hospitality which has made the Inn a Bar Harbor favorite for more than 20 years. So, whether it's for a feature story on one of America's finest country inns, one which defines the very essence of comfort and family style lodging or a travel roundup on a great place to take in the splendors of Acadia - and let's not forget Maine's legendary seafood - you'll find a story at The Ledgelawn Inn to make your editor envious of your visit.
Is There A Spouse in the House? At The Ledgelawn Inn, in fact, there are two. Spouses, that is. Nancy Cloud and Michael Miles, married since 1976, are business and life partners. Nancy, a psychiatric social worker and Michael, an advertising executive with decidedly thespian leanings, loved the good things in life. Having cut their innkeeping teeth on a nine-room Massachusetts Victorian B&B (which they first opened to college students in the 1970s), the couple moved to Bar Harbor, where they felt business prospects were excellent, in 1979. They were. Wanting to share their love of "the good life" with guests, they first purchased The Ledgelawn Inn. As innkeepers and owners of the Inn, the pair has fully indulged guests in all of their aesthetic and hedonistic fantasies. And, notwithstanding years of hitting thumbs with hammers, wallpapering, moving furniture and early morning duty in the breakfast room, they have never lost their good natures nor abiding love and respect for each other. Today, they maintain separate functions at the two properties, usually seeing each other at day's end. Michael oversees the aesthetics, marketing and PR while Nancy supervises the guest service and operations. The duo is a dynamic, fun-loving - but astute - couple which loves to take off in their Porsche Carrera convertible during down time then run off to Paris and Florida winters. Now that's what we call "the good life."
Bar Harbor Vacations - Not For Couch Potatoes: It's time to head to Acadia - and couch potatoes will get tired just considering all of the active options available. Guests of The Ledgelawn Inn can dawdle over breakfast al fresco or enjoy a leisurely morning repast indoors. But then, there's simply too much to see and do to laze around by the pool all day. So many guests start their days by taking in a round of golf at Kebo Valley, about one mile from the Inn. Water enthusiasts can sea kayak, take a windjammer cruise, an exhilarating day trip aboard The Cat to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia or a day canoeing Long Pond. There's the mail boat trip to Cranberry Isle or numerous nature cruises, whale, seal and puffin watches, mountain biking, antiquing and shopping the trendy and unique shops along Bar Harbor's Main Street. And then, there is Acadia National Park. This Park offers visitors an insuperable experience with gargantuan primeval forests, rocky coastline, unusual geological formations and interesting flora and fauna. And then, there's the unforgettable afternoon tea at Jordan Pond House - replete with its legendary popovers and requisite homemade strawberry jam - and inspiring views of azure Jordan Pond, which supplies island residents with their water, and the "Bubbles," twin geological formations which preside over the Pond. Bar Harbor is the ideal choice for active holidays, where healthful activities and recreation, shopping, fine dining and incomparable natural beauty coalesce, making Acadian holidays exceptional.
The Ghost With The Most - The "Spirit
of Ledgelawn:" Some say peoples' spirits can imbue places with
their very life energies, thus leaving behind traces of events
and even feelings for years - even forever. A certain room at
The Ledgelawn Inn is always "occupied" by some
accounts. Self-moving mirrors, ghostly tactile sensations, auditory
emanations and spectral lights might frighten some, but the savvy
"ghost hunter" know that only the living can hurt us.
What it was that left the Inn's hallways and rooms with
their unearthly visitors, no one really knows. But when one awakens
from a deep sleep and senses a presence - albeit a benevolent
one - it still sends a shiver down the spine. To be sure, no
one has actually ever seen anything, but, there have been so
many reports of unexplained occurrences that it has to be more
than imagination. Come see for yourself. Room XXX is waiting!
Now I Lay Me Down to - Door? At The Ledgelawn Inn, the innkeepers epitomize the true Yankee spirit. Nothing goes to waste. And when Michael Miles was advised by town officials that the magnificent raised paneled doors were to be replaced with fire doors, Miles saw red. So, he improvised. Saw, yardstick and boundless imagination were unwitting helpers and voila! The "door bed" was invented. And many have been the compliments - and offers to purchase - these unique and architecturally significant beds. Now, there is only one place in the world where guests sleep in beds nee doors? Or have a toilet in an erstwhile elevator? Nearly all of the Inn's furnishings were first brought here by original owner, John Brigham, a wealthy shoe manufacturer. Mayhaps it's Brigham's discontented spirit wandering the Inn's rooms and hallways, mourning the loss of his beloved paneled doors, not knowing of their new incarnation as headstones - I mean headboards.
Family Fun - and Fido, Too! The American family has changed. No longer eight
children big, families have become smaller and will often include
a canine or feline component. But where oh where can little Fido
find a welcome instead of a "mini-sentence" at a kennel?
Enter The Ledgelawn Inn. Innkeepers and owners Nancy Cloud
and Michael Miles both have a heart - and a pooch of their own,
Clipper. Haunted by the sad countenance and mournful "arfs"
of their own little Clipper when they had to travel, the innkeepers
couldn't make guests leave home without their faithful canines
or felines. So, pooches and felines are indeed welcome, but hopefully
they can read - or have literate owners who'll read them the
Ledgelawn's canine/feline rules of order." So, true, The
Ledgelawn Inn is going to the dogs - and the innkeepers couldn't
be happier about it! That means a new "leash" on life
for these beloved "extended" family members.
