All amenities were more than well covered by Spruce Cottage: clean throughout, comfortable king bed, well equipped kitchen, washer & dryer, nice bathroom & towels, porch with table and chairs overlooking a pretty pond, Webber grill, private driveway, lovely landscaping. We loved that there were plenty of windows...and each had a forest, pond, or garden view. The cottage has a true 'cottage' feel because of the warm wood walls, ceilings and floors.
Even though the owner's home is close by, he gives you plenty of privacy and 'space', yet he is available for any questions or suggestions. Andy truly wants each guest to have a great experience. This cottage and other buildings are very special to him and you can sense his joy and pride in sharing it.
It's the location that really spoke to us!! With two dogs, we needed a place that we could walk them. Spruce Cottage is perfect for that! Numerous active, uncrowded, working docks are an easy quiet stroll away. In the other direction is a mile of rural forested road with very little traffic. It's just a 5-minute drive to Seawall picnic area...dogs allowed...and we spent time there every day just relaxing by the ocean watching boats.
Andy kindly provides notebooks and numerous maps and brochures about the area. The house is well stocked with numerous games and books.
The village of Southwest Harbor is everything that Bar Harbor USED to be 40 years ago. ie: SW Harbor is still charming and authentic, far less crowed, and still feels like a working harbor and a community. The shops are wonderful to browse thru, and the bakery is TOO good. Plenty of restaurants to choose from.
If you want to party hardy and be entertained by others and be 'in town' often, this is probably not your kind of place unless you plan to travel to Bar Harbor for that stuff, which is only a 25 min drive away. If you are looking for peace, kindness, relaxation, hiking, walking, beach-going, reading, lobster eating, down-time with your dogs...THIS is the place. It exceeded all expectations for us.