Where We Stayed In Bar Harbor, Maine

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Finding a place to stay in Bar Harbor during Labor Day Weekend that didn’t break the bank and with a 3 day notice was out of this world hard. Eddie & I were originally going to go to Glacier National Park for his time off; yet with the wildfires out there, not being able to buy our tickets/book our rooms/etc until last minute approval from his job it was outrageously expensive. Instead we decided to drive the 6 1/2 hours to Acadia and spend our time hiking in the northeast and soaking in that New England charm.

I probably spent 10 hours trying to find a place for us to stay for our 4 night vacation. We really didn’t have many requirements – simply be close to the park, be within our budget ($200 a night max!, was clean, and if it had breakfast included that would be a HUGE plus (saving some $$). Y’all most of these places for the weekend were AVERAGE $275-350 a night, I was kind of having a small panic attack ha! I can’t remember exactly how I found Highbrook Motel but I think it was through one of the many google rabbit holes I fell down. I will be 100% honest in saying that Motels get a bad rap and most of us have negative connotations associated with them (dirty, run down, not the safest place) from movies, newspapers, tv shows, and what not. So my initial reaction was simply “I’m not sure” …super shallow of me I know. I dug into the reviews and everyone harped on how great this place was, how it was located right outside of downtown Bar Harbor, the staff was super friendly, they served breakfast, and the place was amazingly clean. I didn’t have many other options so I booked it!

Our experience:

It was amazing.
The staff really was super friendly and helpful, the place was immaculate, and the breakfast was on point! When we checked in they had tons of resources available with restaurant guides/reviews/maps for Bar Harbor, hiking trail maps, shuttle information, and so much more. If I hadn’t done any research on what all we wanted to do while in town I would have been set from everything they had in the office. The room was really REALLY clean, had wifi, a mounted flatscreen tv, a heater in the bathroom and in the main room, and the most plush and comfy bed ever (AND ALL THE PILLOWS!). I really liked the quaint retro look, sure it’s “dated” but It feels intentionally done that way and I loved it. The blue colored porch ceiling made my heart so happy (it’s something that is all over Charleston, SC with Gullah history tied into it), and I loved that we were able to sit outside and enjoy the cool mornings and evenings. We also really loved the breakfast! They had bacon/egg/cheese english muffins, bagels, scones, fruit, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, etc EVERY morning and we took advantage of it so we didn’t have to spend money on a meal. They also had coffee/tea AND cookies in the office until 10pm every single night (yes, we indulged in the cookies a few times!).

I will fully admit that I am, and have always been, the type of person who is just go-go-go on vacation. It’s very hard for me to find the time to slowly move into a day and to enjoy the chill-ness of everything. I feel like I should fill all of the time to make the best out of it and to make sure that the person I’m vacationing with never feels bored or disappointed in my planning. One of my biggest struggles is to simply be present in every moment without thinking ahead to what we will be / should be / won’t be doing next – and trust me it’s frustrating as all get out. I can be 100% honest in saying that I wasn’t the best with simply ENJOYING the downtime on this trip, and that makes me sad. Eddie doesn’t get much time off to relax and unwind and I kind of poo-pooed all over it by feeling like we should be rushing to get everything done. I did find moments to calm the heck down and just enjoy the quiet and calmness; but I just wanted to be transparent in saying it was really really hard for me to let go and just be. Does anyone else struggle with that?