Courtesy / Kimberly Swan
Kimberly Swan purchased the Bayview Hotel in Bar Harbor and is undertaking a redesign.
April 8, 2019
With new owner, Waterfront Bar Harbor hotel undergoes a makeover
Courtesy / Swan Hospitality Group
Bayview Hotel, on the Bar Harbor waterfront, was purchased in an off-market transaction for $5.4 million.
Courtesy / Swan Hospitality Group
The interior redesign of the Bayview is in a “modern rusticator” style.
The oceanside Bayview Hotel in Bar Harbor has a new owner and is undergoing an extensive interior design update.
Kimberly Swan purchased the hotel, at 111 Eden St., from the Cough family for $5.4 million.
The Cough family has deep roots in Bar Harbor and has been hoteliers since the 1950s. According to the Southwest Harbor Public Library archives, Bernard “Sonny” Cough, who died in 2007, owned at least 10 hospitality properties, including the Bayview, over the course of his life. Most were in Bar Harbor, with the others being in Ellsworth, Bucksport, Bangor, Boothbay Harbor and North Conway, N.H. Toward the end of his life, he sold off his interest in the properties outside of Bar Harbor.
He was also one of the founders in 1969 of College of the Atlantic and of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
The Coughs will continue to own and operate the nearby Atlantic Eyrie Lodge in Bar Harbor, according to a news release.
Phase 1 of the redesign
Swan, of Bar Harbor, is owner of the Swan Agency Sotheby's International Realty.
The Bayview is an oceanfront property comprised of a 26-room hotel with a 50-seat restaurant space, as well as six townhouses with ocean views. Swan plans to be open from May through October and anticipates dividing the property to focus on the hotel and restaurant as well as a future event space. The townhouses will likely be sold, according to the release.
The Bayview is a seasonal hotel located on the site of “Bournemouth,” one of the original Bar Harbor “cottages,” which were actually large estates, constructed by wealthy summer visitors in the 19th century. Bournemouth was torn down in 1979.
The Bayview was built in 1985.
When the Cough family decided to sell the property, Swan jumped on the opportunity.
“For many years, I have been focusing on the brokerage side of the hospitality business in Bar Harbor, but have always thought that if the Bayview became available, I would want to pursue it,” Swan said in the release.
The off-market sale closed in early November. Swan said she announced it recently due to local interest.
“We have a lot of people who are asking about it,” she said.
Swan said she expects to invest about $250,000 in the first phase of the redesign, which will evoke a “modern rusticator” style.
“We’re celebrating the idea of Acadia and nature,” she said.
Features include portraits of the founders of Acadia National Park in the lobby and custom-designed carpets and runners. Swan said she commissioned Northeast Harbor pop-artist Aaron Mitchell to produce three paintings of deer. Walls will be painted a deep charcoal color to help highlight the works of art and other features like large sconces made from driftwood.
“It will be a whole woodsy, nature thing,” she said. “It’s fun and it’s poppy and modern rusticator, but still really comfortable. It has a real sense of place.”
Features in the guestrooms include new carpeting, beds, drapes and upholstered furniture.
Swan said she’s collaborating on the design with a friend, Betsy Stires of Frog Hill Designs in Alexandria, Va., and Bar Harbor. The focus for 2019 is to redesign the common spaces and the top-floor guest rooms.
The Bayview is scheduled to open May 10. A special reception to tour the newly redesigned space is planned for mid-June.
Swan owns other lodgings in Portland, Rockland and Boothbay.
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