The buyers saw an opportunity to integrate their sauna and spa business with a hospitality offering. The Newcastle was on the market for only a couple of weeks before it went under contract.
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The buyers of a Newcastle inn see it as a natural complement for their wellness business in the same Lincoln County town.
Ashley Baldwin and Kyle Markmann bought the Newcastle Inn, at 60 River Road, from Oscar D. Meowch LLC.
Dana Moos of Portside Real Estate Group and Mandy Reynolds of Keller Williams brokered the transaction. The price was not disclosed. The purchase was financed through Bangor Savings Bank.
Baldwin and Markmann own Waterstruck Wellness, a Nordic spa and sauna two miles down the road at 600 River Road.
“Ashley and Kyle saw an opportunity to vertically integrate their sauna and spa business with a hospitality offering,” said Moos. “Many small inns in the midcoast close or significantly reduce operations during the winter months, which is prime time for Waterstruck. Ashley and Kyle saw this amazing opportunity to expand and grow, and seized it.”
Quick sale
Newcastle Inn, overlooking the Damariscotta River, includes a main house, carriage house and garage, totaling about 7,000 square feet on half an acre.
The main house, with seven guest rooms and a commercial kitchen, was built around 1860; the carriage house, with six rooms, dates back to the mid-1900s. The garage building, built in the 1980s, has one guest suite and an owners apartment.
Common areas include a living room, two dining rooms, a sitting room with fireplace, a wet bar and a deck. The one-bedroom owner’s apartment has an open-concept living room and small kitchen over a two-car garage. There are two electric vehicle charging stations and parking for 15 cars in addition to the garage.
The inn was on the market for only a couple of weeks before it went under contract after receiving two competing offers right away, said Moos. The structures are in very good condition, she added.
The sellers, Liz and Carolyn Cooke, bought the inn in 2021 and decided to sell it due to family matters, she said.
Natural tie-in
Baldwin and Markmann moved to Maine about seven years ago. Baldwin brought a background in digital software marketing and development and Markmann worked on the operations side for fitness companies and for larger gym chains.
When they moved to Maine, they knew they wanted to start a business that would mesh their métiers. As long-time enthusiasts of saunas and of hydrotherapy, they bought land in 2021 and built Waterstruck Wellness, opening in 2024.
The business is named for “waterstruck” brick, an over-kilned brick that originated on the shores of the Damariscotta River in the late 1800s.
When Newcastle Inn became available, it was a natural tie-in to the wellness business, they said. After a session at Waterstruck, clients sometimes asked if they could sleep in a yurt that was on the Waterstruck site. The couple started to think about how to create an overnight or weekend package. Construction of another facility at Waterstruck seemed like a lot.
The Newcastle Inn, just a couple minutes up the road, felt like an obvious solution.
Stewards
The couple immediately assumed a full book of reservations through the end of the year and credited the sellers for providing training on the inn’s operation.
The plan is to stay fully open through the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Regatta in October. The couple is considering the potential for offering package deals for Waterstruck and the inn for wintertime staycations.
“The inn has such beautiful bones,” said Baldwin. “For right now, we’re assessing the building and figuring out what it might need. It’s in really good shape.”
Possible modifications might include the décor and some rebranding. But the couple said they will tread lightly in honor of the property’s history and the attachment that locals and guests have.
“We think of ourselves as stewards,” she said.
