Maine hotel rated best in America

BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine — The fog moved out and in, alternately obscuring after which revealing a one-of-a-kind view of Boothbay Harbor. The Topside Inn dominates a hilltop above the village, with white Adirondack chairs lined up on the garden, ready to seize that view for the company.

The view, the ambiance, and the resort itself at the moment are more likely to entice much more company to the hilltop after the favored tourism web site Tripadvisor rated the Topside Inn because the “finest small resort within the U.S.”

“Now we have acquired awards earlier than, however being named primary small resort within the U.S. is fairly unbelievable,” Mark Osborne, who purchased the Inn in 2014 along with his associate Buzz Makarewicz, stated. 

The pair had no thought of the Tripadvisor score till an alert triggered their telephones one night this week.

“And we checked out our telephones and skim by way of the article and checked out one another in shock,” Makarewicz stated. “And we had been completely thrilled.”

“Not solely did we get primary within the U.S., we obtained quantity seven on the earth,” Osborne added. 

They stated the score got here as a shock, decided by Tripadvisor based mostly on all the information it collects from customers of the location, the individuals who have stayed on the inn.

The homeowners described the Topside Inn as “excessive finish” for Boothbay Harbor, with 22 rooms, most of which have ocean views. They are saying your complete facility has been upgraded and, in some instances, rebuilt since they purchased it.  

The primary home was constructed within the late 1800s, and there are two different buildings with visitor rooms constructed extra just lately.

Osborne stated their focus is on top quality, glorious service, and friendliness.

“We had company stroll up this morning and say coming right here is like coming dwelling. That basically means one thing,” Osborne stated. 

The resort serves solely breakfast — however an elaborate breakfast, the homeowners stated. And it is one they prepare dinner themselves, taking alternate days within the kitchen.

“It permits us to do the meals we love and in addition go see our company,” Makarewicz stated. 

“Buzz is known as a gifted prepare dinner,” Osborne stated, “And I all the time beloved to prepare dinner.”

The 2 got here to innkeeping from completely different roots. Osborne stated he summered in Boothbay Harbor as a toddler however was raised in Massachusetts, then labored within the company world. 

He left that and, in 2003, got here to Maine and purchased a longtime Boothbay Harbor eatery referred to as the Thistle Inn. He bought that a couple of years later, went to culinary faculty for some time, then managed one other native resort earlier than connecting with Makarewicz and shopping for the Topside.

Makarewicz stated he studied the hospitality trade at school but additionally labored within the company world till shifting to Boothbay Harbor and assembly Osborne.

Each praised their employees and stated the connection between those that work on the inn and people who keep there may be very important and is mirrored within the feedback they see.

“Once they say Mark and Buzz or Rebecca the final supervisor or Greg in our bar … after they point out us by title, I do know we’re doing our job,” Osborne stated.

As for the Tripadvisor score, they stated the inn was virtually at capability final summer time and count on it to be once more however hope the highest score for his or her resort will convey extra individuals to Boothbay Harbor to patronize different companies.

“This rating displays in town basically. Simply us right here in a vacuum wouldn’t create this expertise of us love a lot. [It is] the eating places, the botanical backyard, the land belief properties, and every thing else of us do on the town that makes this place so particular,” Osborne stated. 

And that prime of the hill view — and the breakfasts — don’t damage both.