Courtesy / Legacy Properties/Sotheby’s International Realty
The Claremont’s main building was one of the first large hotels to be built on Mount Desert Island.
September 23, 2020
Historic hotel in Southwest Harbor sold to Kennebunkport hotelier
Courtesy / The Claremont
The Claremont, a hotel in Southwest Harbor dating back to 1884, sold to a Kennebunkport-based hotel company led by southern Maine hotelier Tim Harrington.
By Staff
A hotel in Southwest Harbor dating to 1884 and well-known to local residents has sold to a Kennebunkport-based company.
Claremont Hospitality LLC, led by Kennebunkport hotelier Tim Harrington, bought the Claremont Hotel, at 22 Claremont Road, from The Claremont Inc. for an unspecified price.
The transaction was brokered by Daigle Commercial Group and Legacy Properties/Sotheby’s International Realty.
Harrington is a partner and creative director of the Kennebunkport Resort Collection boutique luxury hotel group, recently acquired by New York investment firm EOS Investors LLC.
His Kennebunkport hotel rehabilitation projects include the Tides Beach Club, Cape Arundel Inn & Resort, and Hidden Pond Resort. In February, he and partners bought Ocean Woods Resort in Kennebunkport.
Harrington’s other Kennebunkport-based businesses include Batson River Brewing and Distilling, which will be adding new tasting rooms in Portland this fall and in Biddeford next year and Sandy Pines Campground, a glamping resort.
The Claremont's history
The Claremont Hotel was built by Jesse Pease, a retired sea captain, who ran it with his wife Grace Clark Pease until his death in 1901. Grace Pease continued to operate it afterward until selling it in 1908 to Joseph Phillips, a prominent local doctor and legislator, who retained Pease as manager for many years.
The Phillips family operated the hotel until 1968, when it was purchased from Phillips’ son Lawrence and his daughter Elsie Marshall by Gertrude and Allen McCue of Yarmouth.
“Tim Harrington and his team are a very good fit to continue the Claremont traditions and improve operations,” Bill McCue, president of the Claremont Inc., said in a news release. “Our family has loved and maintained this beautiful property for 52 years, and we are pleased to have such experienced and enthusiastic new owners.”
The property went on the market in September 2019, after it became apparent that the next generation of the McCue family would not be taking over, Bill McCue told Mainebiz.
McCue is the son of Gertrude and Allen McCue. McCue said his parents bought the Claremont because family on his mother’s side summered on Mount Desert Island since the 1880s and the family was familiar with the area.
“Many distinguished people stayed at the Claremont the years,” he said. “But one of the things about the Claremont, and this reflected my parents’ values and my values, is that we never tried to take advantage of our guests. We would never publicize who was staying there.”
One notable visit, however, was made by President Barack Obama and his family when they toured Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island in 2010.
“That was s great day—also kind of a surprise,” said McCue. “It was sprung on us the night before.”
Over the years, distinguished guests have included writers, professors and ambassadors.
“One thing I’m especially proud of is that John Updike was a long-time guest of the Claremont,” he said, citing a poem written by Updike about the hotel. “Naturally, we had the poem framed and it’s in the Claremont. I think he really loved the place and you can tell that from the poem.”
McCue is a lawyer with a solo practice in Portland and depended on John W. (Jay) Madeira Jr., the hotel’s general manager since 1978 to oversee operations.
“We were incredibly fortunate to have Jay Madeira,” he said.
The decision to sell the seasonal property was extremely difficult, he said.
The property was originally listed at $6.95 million and received some queries, he said. “Then the pandemic happened,” he said. “That lent so much uncertainty to the future of Maine and the economy. So we significantly reduced the price in June” to $5.975 million “and then considerably more interest developed.”
The transaction closed Sept. 11. The final purchase price was not disclosed.
McCue was 18 when his parents bought the hotel. At the time, it consisted of a main building, dock, two log-cabin style cottages and a tennis court, he explained.
Over the years, the McCues acquired adjacent parcels of property and rebuilt some of the cottages that were there.
Harrington said he plans to “reinvigorate” the property, which overlooks the entrance to Somes Sound.
“I’m confident neighbors and long-time guests will appreciate our respect for the Claremont’s history and charm while we draw in new visitors with our upgraded amenities and experiences,” Harrington said in the release.
The hotel is on 7.26 acres. Pease built the main building, which was one of the first large hotels to be built on Mount Desert Island, according to the Southwest Harbor Public Library.
The Claremont is a 3 1/2-story wood-frame structure, finished in clapboards and with a port-cochere at the entrance, a wrap-around porch, and a broad lawn extending down to the waterfront, where there is a boathouse. The interior has been modernized, but with attention to maintaining original Victorian features. The hotel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The main building has 24 rooms. There are six rooms in a next-door second building called Phillips House, and 13 cottages. On-site facilities include a restaurant and bar, a dock, moorings, a boat house restaurant, row boats, bicycles, a clay tennis court and two tournament-class croquet courts.
The main hotel building is one of the only 19th-century hotels to survive on Mount Desert Island.
Courtesy / Legacy Properties/Sotheby’s International Realty
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Claremont was built by a retired sea captain.
PHOTO / JIM NEUGER
Tim Harrington
McCue said the sale of the family property brings sadness as well as optimism for the hotel’s future.
“We have been incredibly fortunate to be the stewards of the Claremont and are very sad to give up our deep connection to it,” he said in the release. “But we believe this is the right step for the hotel and our family, and recognize that change is inevitable.”
McCue expressed gratitude to the hotel’s staff, especially John W. (Jay) Madeira Jr., who has been the general manager of the hotel since 1978.
“Jay, along with several family members, and many, many key employees have done a truly remarkable job in maintaining and successfully operating the hotel,” he said.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Anonymous
November 28, 2020
I hope they don’t change too much. That is what made the hotel so special
1 Comments