🔒Century-old Ogunquit hotel was once connected to Hollywood’s ‘golden age’

The seller of the Marginal Way House Hotel in Ogunquit recalls discovering watercolors of Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Mickey Rooney and Orson Welles in the attic when he and wife brought the property in 2014.

“One of the chief executives of MGM owned it during the golden age of Hollywood,” said Robert Duffy, who recently sold the property, at 22 Wharf Lane, for the list price of $9.995 million.

Roger Daigle of Daigle Commercial Group represented Duffy in the sale.

The property was on the market for a few months and received multiple offers, said Daigle.

Solid deal with upside

Sitting along Marginal Way, a coastal footpath that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022, the hotel has an established reputation, ocean views and walkable access to downtown shops, dining and cultural attractions.

With 28 rooms and suites across four buildings — the carriage house, wharf house, dockside deckhouse and main house — the property was marketed as being well-maintained and fully operational, providing an immediate revenue stream to the buyer. Upside opportunities include rebuilding the cottage house, expanding the property’s presence with online travel agencies, increasing marketing efforts and capitalizing on Ogunquit’s appeal as a resort destination.

The main house was built in 1886, dockside deckhouse in 1972, carriage house in 2015 and wharf house in 2018.

Overall, the complex is in excellent condition, said Daigle, who had worked with Duffy on previous transactions.

Cottage move

Before the sale, Duffy committed to relocating the dockside deckhouse building approximately 30 feet landward to get it out of the flood zone. The cottage was damaged in January 2024 by storms and record high tides.

Jerry DeHart of Coastal General Construction Inc. in Ogunquit oversaw the relocation, bringing in Wolfe House Movers of Burnville, Pa., for the move, which started with digging underneath the building, which had sunk into the ground quite a bit. That was followed by creating a ramp of hard-packed gravel, installing steel beams under the structure, then using a hydraulic wheel system to lift and drive the building up the hill. DeHart and his team set a flow-through foundation at an elevated site and tied down the structure.

Next-door neighbor

The buyer, Maria Grasso, owns Terrace by the Sea, a hotel at 23 Wharf Lane, also on the water and next to the Marginal Way House Hotel.

“I reached out to her and she responded immediately,” said Daigle. “It would give them a larger footprint on the water’s edge in Ogunquit and also give them an additional 28 keys.”

Grasso has  been in the hotel business for 25 years. She noted that Marginal Way House Hotel has long-time guests and she’d like to keep the feel of it being like a second home for them.

“We might combine both,” she said of the neighboring properties.

Actor crash pad

The seller, Robert Duffy, was once an English teacher who got into the hotel business because he had summers off. Over the years, he’s owned 14 hotels in Maine and New Hampshire. He retains an Ogunquit hotel called Auberge on the Cove, overlooking Perkins Cove.

When he bought the Marginal Way House Hotel in 2014, “It was deteriorating into the ground,” he said.

He tore down two buildings to the foundation and built the wharf house and the carriage house, investing about $2.5 million.

“It’s like an oasis,” he said. “It’s on Marginal Way, a perfect location, near the beach and a beautiful walk along the rocks. You can walk to all the restaurants and the shops and the bars.”

Before it was a hotel, the house was once owned by a Hollywood executive and hosted many stars, he said. From the attic, Duffy rescued watercolors of Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Mickey Rooney, Orson Welles and other stars.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said of the discovery. The sale of the property to Grasso didn’t include the artwork.

The house was a popular place to stay for actors who did summer stock at the nearly century-old Ogunquit Playhouse, he said.

Duffy said he was ready to sell.

“I’m 200 years old,” he joked. “I’ve had enough.”

The listing received three offers immediately, he said. One was for more than the list price. But he accepted Grasso’s offer because she was next door.

“They’re very nice people, so I sold it to them because it felt that was a perfect move for them,” he said.

At the time of the sale, the hotel was at least 75% booked for the coming summer.

“Per unit, this is the strongest property I’ve ever owned,” Duffy said. “People love it. They keep coming back.”