Courtesy / The B&B Team
Captain Jefferds Inn, a Colonial style former ship captain’s home, sold in January to Lark Hotels.
February 17, 2020
Kennebunkport ‘Captains Collection’ features four historic inns
Courtesy / The B&B Team
The main building at the Maine Stay Inn dates back to 1860, when it was built as a sea captain’s home.
With two recent acquisitions within a block of each other, Lark Hotels now owns four historic inns that form what it’s calling the Kennebunkport Captain’s Collection.
A simultaneous closing was held Jan. 17 for the Captain Jefferds Inn and the Maine Stay Inn and Cottages, said Rick Wolf, partner and owner of the B&B Team in Kennebunk.
The B&B Team brokered the sales of the two properties to Lark Hotels, owned by Rob Blood, Wolf told Mainebiz.
The sellers of the Captain Jefferds Inn were Sarah and Erik Lindblom.
The sellers of the Maine Stay Inn were Judi and Walter Hauer.
The sales prices were undisclosed. However, the asking price for the Captain Jefferds was $4.5 million and for the Maine Stay $3.75 million.
With the addition of the Captain Fairfield Inn, already a Lark property, and the Captain Lord Mansion, the four inns now for the Kennebunkport Captain’s Collection, Wolf added.
The inns are all located within a block of each other. Together, they offer 64 guest rooms and daily breakfast, and are open year-round.
Long-time relationship
Wolf is the former owner of the Captain Fairfield Inn; he bought it in 1999 and sold it to Blood in 2004.
The owners of the Captain Jefferds Inn contacted Wolf about a year ago, asking him to list it for sale. Shortly after, the owners of the Maine Stay Inn also called about putting their property on the market.
“Since I knew Rob Blood personally and had kept up a dialogue, I contacted him and said, ‘Here’s an amazing opportunity and, by way, I understand the Captain Lord Mansion is for sale as well, through another agency,’” Wolf recounted. “I said, ‘Here’s a chance to have all these inns under the Lark flag.’”
Wolf recalled admiring the Captain Jefferds Inn during his time as an innkeeper.
“When we owned the Captain Fairfield Inn, I used to walk by the Captain Jefferds every day,” he said. “I always had inn envy. I’ve always thought the Captain Jefferds was one of the most elegant buildings.”
The Maine Stay, consisting of a main building surrounded by cottages, is ideal for families, he added.
Historic district
The inns are located in Kennebunkport’s residential historic district, he said.
Kennebunkport has been a tourist destination since the late 1800s, he said.
“Just like Maine, we get a cross-section of everybody from everywhere,” he said. “We get a lot of visitors from the UK and Canada. During the season, you’ll see someone from just about every state of the union.”
As a former innkeeper, he said, he found that, aside from Massachusetts, Texas was the No. 1 state where visitors came from, seeking respite from the summer heat.
“People come to Kennebunkport for all sorts of reason,” he said. “No. 1, it’s a name and a known destination.”
Courtesy / The B&B Team
Features at the Captain Jefferds Inn include a sunroom and outdoor patio.
In addition to the Bush family compound at Kennebunkport’s Walker’s Point, visitors enjoy the local beaches, restaurants, galleries, shops, golf and proximity to shopping destinations like Freeport and Kittery, he said.
The inns are located a few blocks from Dock Square, Kennebunkport’s village center.
Lark Hotels, founded in 2012 and based in Newburyport, Mass., has inns and restaurants in California, New England and New York.
In Maine, it owns the Whitehall in Camden and in Portland, the Blind Tiger and Danforth Inn, which it bought at auction in January 2019.
In addition to approaching Blood, Wolf marketed the Captain Jefferds and the Maine Stay on the B&B Team website.
“We marketed them in a very aggressive manner,” he said.
The listings attracted queries from former guests of the inns who hailed from places like Florida and New York.
“And there were other inquiries, too, because Kennebunkport is so desirable and these are two of the top inns in town,” he said.
Prices in the $3 million to $4 million range tend to narrow the buyer pool, he added.
Captain Jefferds
Captain Jefferds Inn is a Colonial style former ship captain’s home, with 16 guest rooms, dining room, sunroom and living room with a wood-burning fireplace, according to the listing.
The inn features high ceilings, a curved staircase and a second floor landing. Outside features include flowering gardens, a historically designed fence, rear patio, fountain and sunken garden. The building and property are well maintained.
Maine Stay
Maine Stay Inn has 17 guest rooms or suites. The main house was built in 1860 as a private home for Captain Melville Walker, a member of the founding family of Kennebunkport and namesake for Walker’s Point.
It was turned into a lodging property in 1946. The first cottage was added in 1954, with several updates being made to the property throughout the rest of the 20th century, according to its website.
Courtesy / The B&B Team
Upgrades since 2008 of the cottages at the Maine Stay include winterization such as new insulation and heat pumps.
The design of the main house is considered to be square block Italianate, contoured in a low-hip roof style with additions and renovations tastefully added over the years. In the early 1900s, Queen Anne revival architecture was introduced to the inn with the construction of suspended spiral partially flying staircase, starburst crystal glass windows, ornately carved mantels and moldings as well as additions of bay windows and the wrap-around porch.
Not uncommon to the home of a sea captain is the cupola, which provided distant views to the harbor and sea beyond. The cupola was later outfitted for making salt-water taffy and is now known as the “candy cupola.”
The Maine Stay was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The main building contains six of the guest quarters. Eleven cottages surround the property. Amenities include fireplaces, whirlpool tubs or jet showers, radiant heated bathroom floors in many rooms, and individual heating and cooling system in all rooms. Features include parlor with fireplace, dining room, newly renovated and expanded kitchen, full basement with office, laundry room and storage, wrap-around porch and cupola.
The sellers of the Maine Stay Inn, Judi and Walter Hauer, bought it in April 2008.
Renovations
At that time, some of the structures were in terrible shape, said Judi Hauer.
“We spent a lot of money on restoration,” she said. That included upgrading electrical and plumbing systems, and upgrading the house and cottages with new insulation and heat pumps.
The couple preserved architectural features like the suspended staircase, and polished the original ceiling light fixtures.
“They were solid brass and stamped Edison and Co.,” she said.
The couple, now in their 70s, sold the property in order to retire.
“It gets so you don’t want to work 70-plus hours a week,” she said.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments