Courtesy / Rodriguez Family
Leila Uilani Rodriguez and her husband Anthony Rodriguez moved from Reno, Nev., to buy the Lakeview Inn in Naples.
January 17, 2021
Naples inn, originally a ‘boarding house for young ladies,’ eyed as year-round opportunity
The buyers of a Naples inn have taken it from being seasonal to year-round in order to attract customers interested in the area’s winter activities.
Leila Uilani Rodriguez and her husband Anthony Rodriguez bought the Lakeview Inn at 15 Lake House Road from Mike Rosenbauer and Patricia Douthett for an undisclosed price. The list price was $1.05 million. Rick Wolf from B&B Team brokered the transaction, which closed Nov. 25.
The inn, on just under one-half acre, is located near the shore of Long Lake in Naples and a few minutes drive from Sebago Lake State Park. Local activities include walking, boating, kayaking, skiing, swimming, fishing and seaplane and riverboat rides.
It has 16 guestrooms on the second, third and fourth floors, all with new furnishings, private baths, air conditioning, flat-screen TVs and wifi. The main floor includes dining and sitting areas, a large original stone fireplace and a large covered porch.
The structure was originally built in 1906 as a four-story boarding house for young ladies who worked at the lakefront resorts next door, according to the inn’s website.
Courtesy / B&B Team
The sellers of the Lakeview Inn performed extensive renovations during their tenure, including installing a new exterior and landscape work.
The building was converted to a bed-and-breakfast in the 1980s. It operated as a year-round lodging facility for almost 25 years, changing ownership/innkeepers several times before closing its doors in 2013.
Extensive renovations
Rosenbauer and Douthett bought the empty inn in the spring of 2014 and performed extensive renovations: frozen pipes were repaired, layers of wallpaper removed and everything received several coats of paint. The carpets were lifted and the original wood floors were sanded and polished.
New furniture, plush mattresses, linens, and window treatments were purchased for the guestrooms as well as dining and social areas. A convenience center with refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker and beverages was added on the third floor, available 24/7.
The renovation was completed in three months and the inn reopened in July 2014 as a seasonal venture.
Renovations continued when a new exterior was installed in the spring of 2015 and a new kitchen was finished for the 2016 season.
Rosenbauer and Douthett listed the inn when they decided it was time to retire, said Wolf.
The property was on the market for 14 months. The length of time was partly due to the extra time need during the pandemic to conduct appraisals, he explained.
During that time, though, it saw a lot of interest, he said.
Queries came from as far as Reno, Nev., which is where the buyers are from.
The Rodriguezes are alumni of the B&B Team’s “aspiring innkeepers” course — seminars and workshops held around the country for those who want to start a bed and breakfast or buy an inn.
“They came to one in Denver that we did and we started talking,” said Wolf.
Originally, the Rodriguezes were looking to buy an inn out west, he continued. When they began to look east, they identified the Lakeview from the B&B Team’s website, then visited it during the summer after quarantine and receiving negative tests due to the pandemic.
Perfect summer day
“It was a perfect summer Maine day,” he recalled. “We were walking along the lake and they went, ‘Oh, yeah.’ There was a lot of activity on the lake and it was perfect.”
“This was something we always wanted to do,” said Uilani Rodriguez.
Born on the East Coast, Uilani Rodriguez’s family moved to Hawaii when she was a young child.
Several years ago, she moved to Utah, where she met and married Rodriguez. She worked in tourism and education. Most of Anthony Rodriguez’s career has been in banking. Owning a bed-and-breakfast has long been something they wanted to pursue. About a year and a half ago, they started looking at inns on the West Coast, then began looking on the East Coast with Wolf’s help.
They noticed the Lakeview in November 2019 and originally planned to visit in March 2020. The pandemic forced them to put that off. They continued to investigate other inns. By the time they were able to visit in July, they had narrowed the search to several properties, including the Lakeview and inns in Bridgeton and the Berkshires in Massachusetts.
The couple had never been to Maine before. The Lakeview grabbed them.
“I loved the location and the events that are readily available to the guests,” said Uilani Rodriguez. “It looks out at the lake. It’s kind of out in the country but still close enough to civilization. Upon visiting the area and particularly this little town, it really feels like home.”
Antique doorknobs
Said Rodriguez, “I’ve always like old buildings. This has classic lines, but it doesn’t look dated. It has a history, and you can tell — the fireplace, the rooms and the layout. It has great bones and a lot more years to come. And it’s very comfortable.”
Courtesy / B&B Team
The original stone fireplace in the 1906 structure is a main attraction on the ground floor.
Little is needed in terms of renovations, since the sellers had performed an extensive overhaul during their ownership, said Rodriguez. The couple said they like the older features, such as antique doorknobs and chandeliers that lend themselves to the inn’s character.
But they plan to reconsider some of the décor.
“We’re looking to bring a more modern New England feel, without taking away from its character,” said Rodriguez. “We’re looking at changing some of the furnishings.”
The plan is to build the year-round clientele by capitalizing on the area’s winter activities, such as ice fishing and skiing on Shawnee Peak, about a 20-minute drive away.
“Even though it’s a sleepy town during the winter, we’ve been getting plenty of inquiries from people,” he said.
The couple used the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program to help finance the purchase. The program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing used to acquire fixed assets for expansion or modernization through a certified development company, which in this case was Kennebec Savings Bank.
The couple plan to continue to build out services and marketing, including offering the inn as a wedding and event venue; and including menu items such as hot soup and hot chocolate during the evening for wintertime visitors.
“We’ve reached out to a lot of the planners for annual events here that we’d love to be part of,” added Rodriguez.
Uilani Rodriguez, who plays and teaches ukulele, discovered the local library has a ukulele group.
They also plan to offer community gatherings. They putting a pool table in the inn’s living room and they have a karaoke machine, piano, guitar and ukulele so guests can play music.
“We want to make it a comfortable and pleasing atmosphere,” said Rodriguez. “Neither of us are fans of a sleepy inn. We want people to enjoy themselves and not be afraid to strike up a conversation and hear some music playing.”
Most Recent
Most Recent
Anonymous
January 19, 2021
Welcome to Naples. I hope your very successful in your adventure.
Anonymous
January 19, 2021
This is a wonderful story. I look forward to visiting the Inn.
4 Comments