Inn of the Month: Maine's Yachtsman Lodge

It's the nicest motel you'll ever stay in. Well, not a motel exactly, but the Yachtsman Lodge in Kennebunkport does look like one, with its neatly delineated parking spaces in front of the units. The minute you get out of your car, though, the differences are apparent. Mission-style verdigris lanterns hang in front of each of the 30 rooms. Just out your window is a view of the lodge's marina, where bright sailboats are tied up. And, if you've booked ahead, there's a superb dinner at the nearby White Barn Inn, also owned by the Yachtsman proprietors. The rooms are what you'd hope for in a friend's guest bedroom—high sloped ceilings, goose-down duvets covered in Egyptian cotton, and Bose speakers (even in the bathroom). If you're really lucky, it will rain at night; the patter of drops on the roof should lull you into deep summer-vacation slumber.

Yachtsman Lodge & Marina, Ocean Ave., Kennebunkport, Maine; 207/967-2511; rooms from $235, including breakfast, afternoon tea, and use of the lodge's bicycles and canoes.