Chebeague Island Inn

This rambling buttercup-yellow 1920s inn was loved back to life in 2002 by Martha Dumont, who recognized that the hotel’s great bones and picturesque island location—a 15-minute ferry ride across Casco Bay from Yarmouth—were a winning combination. The result is a tasteful, pared-down vision of grand seaside living—massive fieldstone fireplace, board games, and overstuffed chairs in the great room lobby and a wide porch made for watching boats and sipping stiff cocktails at sunset. The restaurant leans heavily on fresh local ingredients (try one of its five signature seafood chowders), and a “flambé ice cream parlor” adds a dose of culinary theater. All 21 rooms are crisply tailored in ginghams and plaids and feature works by Maine artists; some have shared baths. In keeping with the remote island flavor, there’s not a phone or television in sight. Stays here are about quiet seaside relaxation, unless you’re up for a round at the inn’s nine-hole golf course, a game of croquet, or a buzz around the island on one of the inn’s L. L. Bean touring bikes. Note: The hotel opens for the summer season in June and shutters in mid-October.

Room to Book: Book any of the corner accommodations with private bath and a Casco Bay ocean view.