A bird’s eye view of how they all fit together

There are so many places to stay on Mount Desert Island. Some of them share parking lots. Others are at three levels up a hill, one on top of the other. To a new arrival, it can be confusing to try to figure out how all these hotel choices fit together.

However, for the insider, a hotel map of Bar Harbor looks like a big game of Monopoly! Around this table, there are three major players: the Walsh family, families like the Costons, and the Witham family.

Each one brings a unique set of strengths to their guests. By knowing what each one has to offer, you will be able to:

1. choose the best option to meet your needs for your stay on the Island, and
2. take full advantage of the option you choose, by knowing how they work and what they offer.

The Dark Blues: Oceanfront Properties by Tom Walsh

By far, the most impressive player is the Walsh Family founder of Oceanfront Properties.

Tom Walsh’s story is amazing. According to his obituary, he graduated from Bangor High School in Maine. He worked with his father, an Irish immigrant, as a traveling salesman.

Then in the early 1960s, he and his Dad opened the Bangor/Brewer Bedding Company on Wilson Street. And in 1969, he bought the Plaza Hotel in Brewer. That purchase obviously fit him well… for at this time, his family run business now owns over a hundred active hotels scattered throughout North America.

In Bar Harbor, his family owns three active hotels: The Holiday Inn Bar Harbor Regency, The Harborside Hotel and Marina, and West Street Hotel. They also own the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company and (according to the locals) many other properties scattered around town.

Oceanfront Properties is based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Delray Beach, Florida.

The Light Blues and the Purples: The Single-Family Hotels

The second biggest player are the “underdogs”: These families own a single hotel, inn and motel. There are many dozens of such places to stay throughout Bar Harbor.

When a hotel is owned by a family, it gives them the freedom to quickly make great decisions about how to run their business. At the same time, it takes a lot of fiscal discipline and concern for their customers for these hotels to succeed year after year.

They often run on a limited staff and budget, usually family members. At times when the budget is tight, it can be difficult for the hotel to address a problem when one arises.

The Inn on Mount Desert is a shining example of the potential hidden within these hotels. Their property is fresh and recently renovated. When you check in, you will probably be welcomed by a member of Paul Coston’s family.

This family is amazingly creative in what they can offer their guests. Along with the expected fitness center, large screen TV and on-site parking close to downtown, they also offer lemonade, billiards, croquet, s’mores around a campfire, and lots of green space around the hotel to spread out and have fun.

The Oranges: Witham Family Hotels

As the Oranges on a Monopoly Board are the most popular with guests, so the Witham Family Hotels provide an experience that keeps visitors coming back, again and again.

Their model is a combination of the two models listed above. David C. Witham and his two sisters are very practical. They bring a family feel to a strong portfolio of neighboring hotels. As a result, each Witham sister property is stronger by the contribution each one provides.

Their head office is in Ellsworth, Maine.

Founded by David J. Witham in 1987, the family now owns a dozen hotels in Bar Harbor (8), Ellsworth (3) and Saco (1), Maine.

The Witham Hotels are not so numerous that guests get treated like another number. The family is able to pay attention to concerns when a problem arises at one of their properties. They can also turn something great into something excellent, and constantly improve on the details of what each property has to offer.

Hotel Teamwork

At the same time, the Witham Hotels are not so few that they are in trouble when something seriously goes wrong. One of them can make up the difference when another is down for repairs or emergency renovations. For example, the restaurant or outdoor pool may be closed at one of the hotels as it prepares to close at the end of the season. With permission, a guest may be able to enjoy these benefits at a “sister” hotel which is still open.

Each hotel helps the other out to benefit the overall guest experience, throughout the family of Witham Hotel properties.

The Witham family’s attention to detail, attentiveness to their customers’ concerns and commitment to quality bring hundreds of the same guests back year after year, many of them for over two decades.

Do you have a favorite place to stay in Bar Harbor or on Mount Desert Island? If so, please tell us about it in the comments, below.