Pentagoet Inn Bed and Breakfast

Awarded "Most Romantic Hideaway" for The Discerning Traveler

The Pentagöet Inn Bed and Breakfast is a charming Queen Anne Victorian, nestled on a seaside bluff, graced with majestic elms. It overlooks the village and harbor of Castine, Maine. Built in 1894 the inn is Castine's oldest, original "summer hotel" still welcoming guests of Penobscot Bay. This whimsical bed and breakfast has a prominent three story turret, gables and a delightful wraparound porch lined with lush window boxes and wicker rockers. The porch is a favorite of photographers and artists and a great spot to read the morning paper or to join us for an intimate dinner.

Come stay at the Pentagöet and experience the timeless charmof Castine and see why it was selected as one of the most beautiful villages in New England.

The peaceful pastimes of an old fashioned New England summer await you here. Breathe the clear, salt air, smell the scent of the pine, the aroma of rugosa rose. Stroll through our beautiful gardens to discover native perennials that flourish in the unique climate of coastal Maine. Unwind to the gentle pace of days gone by, dine by candlelight and be lulled to sleep by bell buoys chiming softly in the distance.

You're welcome to borrow the Inn's bikes and tuck a picnic into the basket on the handlebars for a short pedal to the lighthouse. Explore the country roads and seaside coves of this unspoiled peninsula. They will lead you to unhurried villages, hidden harbors lined with lobster boats and sailing schooners, fields of wildflowers and blueberry barrens. Along the way discover antique shops, art galleries, country fairs and flea markets. Venture farther afield to Camden, Stonington, Acadia and Bar Harbor. It's all just an hour away with dozens of villages in between, each with its own character.

"Exceptional cuisine...utterly fascinating Passports Pub..." Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, August 2004

Passports Pub

A cozy, old-world hideaway with a small oak bar, the pub is an eclectic, ceiling-to-floor mix of vintage photos, paintings and memorabilia from travels abroad. Furnished with antiques, Malaysian rattan, empire sofas and slowly turning ceiling fans, it's a room that celebrates storytelling and adventure.

We invite you to dinner...

It's casual by candlelight with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in the background. Our dining room is intimate, graced with floral paintings, mismatched antique china and garden flowers on every table. On warm evenings there is a table for you on the porch, under the stars.

It's exceptional home-cooking that honors the classics in its soulful simplicity and bow to the seasons. Our chef , Gina Melita, uses ingredients that are local, fresh from the farms and waters that surround us. The menu features lobster and local shellfish, native fish and game, New England specialties and fine desserts. There is a well-stocked wine cellar as well as a full bar. Reservations are suggested.

Breakfast at the Pentagoet

In the morning you'll wake to the smell of fresh-brewed coffee set outside your door. A full country breakfast will follow: Maine blueberries picked at a local farm, homemade granola, featherbed eggs, baked apple French toast, muffins and scones warm from the oven. Enjoy your breakfast on the deck or sit at a table for two in the dining room. You’ll be well fortified for the day’s explorations! The baking is done daily by the chef/owner who for twenty years owned the Pink Rose Pastry Shop, a nationally acclaimed business in Philadelphia.

Begun in 2001, the woodland garden at the Pentagöet Inn features native shrubs and shade perennials with a long season of interest, something fragrant and blooming from February through November. From the garden’s inception we have been committed to organic gardening practices, using compost rather than chemicals. Some of the herbs and edible flowers that we grow are used for the restaurant. The garden is full of pollinators, birds, butterflies, even a few resident toads in our village setting.

Every June the Pentagöet holds a benefit for Castine’s venerable elm trees, The Elm Tree Benefit Dinner where all of the proceeds are donated to the Castine Garden Club to help fund the protection of our surviving trees and to plant the next generation.

Native witch hazels bracket the garden's activity. A collection of fritillarias extends the Spring bulb season into early summer, while an emphasis on foliage represented by traditional woodlanders, balances the high summer color of annuals in window boxes and container plantings.

Native Cimicifuga (Actaea) racemosa buds in late summer, then flowers well into autumn with American delphiniums, perennial prairie petunias, and self-seeding gauras. Autumn crocuses and colchicums sparkle beneath the colorful foliage of native aronias and shadbush.

Just being here at the Pentagöet Inn in this lovely seaside village creates a perfect Maine Coast vacation. Enjoying Castine's shops, restaurants, and views from the bluff overlooking the village and Penobscot Bay is often all the "activity" our guests desire.

Antiques - We have a list of our favorites starting with Leila Day's Antiques here in Castine on Main Street.

Biking - We have single-speed cruisers for guests to use, and mountain bikes can be rented from Dennett's Wharf. Bikes are a great way to explore the historic markers around town or take a picnic lunch to the lighthouse.

Beaches - Backshore Beach is our local favorite with a tidal swimming hole and pebble beach for the hardy. Power Boat Tours -Belfast Bay tours has a daily boat tour of Castine. The Old Quarry in Stonington or the Isle Au Haut ferry service can take you to Isle Au Haut. Old Quarry also offers a lighthouse trip, a puffin search, and an island archipelago tour. There is also the sightseeing boat "Miss Lissie" out of Stonington.

Sailboat Tours - There is sailing with the "Perlandra" in Brooksville, and the Pinky schooner "Summertime" in Oakland. There are more sailing options in Bar Harbor on the schooner Mary Todd, and in Camden there are more schooners with more scheduled sailings. In Belfast there is the Friendship sloop Almadea. There are also sailboat rentals available for qualified sailors in Buck's Harbor at Buck's Harbor Marine. Books - Our guests' favorite is the Compass Rose Bookstore on Main Street, and for antique books, we enjoy the Dolphin Bookstore, both in Castine. Further afield there is the Blue Hill Bookstore, and for antiques, the "Big Chicken Barn" in Ellsworth.

Festivals - Our favorite is the Fourth of July in Castine when the whole town comes alive in an outdoor festival of activities. There is music on the waterfront, a costume parade, and traditional games on the common, such as: potato sack races, a town tug of war, and fireworks over the harbor after sunset.

• In Deer Isle the hills come alive with the blossoming of lupines, and the town celebrates its Lupine Festival on June 15, 16 & 17.
• In Brooklin the Annual Folk Music & Arts Festival at Flye Point is on June 23. It's an all-day, very casual affair with national and local artists.
• On the Blue Hill Fairgrounds there is the Perkinstock Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival, on August 17, 18, 19
• In Blue Hill over Labor Day weekend, there is the Blue Hill Fair, an old Maine county fair with traditional farm games, oxen and horse pulls, 4-H ribbon-award ceremonies, pig races, barrel relays on horse, and sheep dog trials.

Gardens - June is when the gardens come to life. Please start with ours. In 2000 this was an empty lot without grass; it's been a labor of love. I would also stroll up the street to the gardens at Leila Day Antiques.

Golf - Castine has a nine-hole golf course open to the public, the oldest in the free world.

Hiking - The Blue Hill Peninsula is filled with wonderful places to hike and explore. Our guests like the Witherlee Woods and the Rene Henderson Nature Preserve, both in Castine.

Kayaking - Our guests love Karen at Castine Kayak Adventures. Karen is a knowledgeable guide who knows the area like no other! Castine was the birthplace of the LL Bean sponsored International Sea Kayak Symposium.

Lighthouses - Maine is famous for its lighthouses. Visit our Dyce Head Lighthouse; it's a beautiful waterfront stroll from the inn. . Local Food Producers - The Blue Hill Peninsula is blessed with an abundance of local farms, wine makers, cheese producers, seafood smoke houses, jam makers, and farmers' markets. Let us know; we can help you plan a tour.

Movie Theatres - There is the Historic Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, home of the "Silent Movie Film Festival," The art deco Grand in Ellsworth, and the Colonial in Belfast.

Museums - Castine is blessed with two fine museums, the Wilson Museum and the Castine Historical Society. The Wilson Museum has a plethora of worldly, anthropological curiosities. Our guests enjoy the Castine Historical Society and their permanent installation of the Penobscot Exhibition.

Tennis -The Castine Golf Club, just two blocks up the hill, is open to the public and has three tennis courts.

Shopping - Start your shopping with us at Bird Song! Then just a block from us is the Four Flags for the best selection of Maine gifts. Just outside the village is "The Duck Stops Here."

Please visit our website for more activities.