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Where you can find a late night bite to eat on Mount Desert Island

Breakfast ~ Lunch ~ Dinner ~ Open Late

You drove a long way to get to Bar Harbor, and have checked in to your room at your hotel at last. As a result, you and your traveling companions are very hungry… but it’s late at night.

Late night comfort food for the weary traveler

Ironically, some of the best food in Bar Harbor is served at the pubs and taverns in town. And although we are trying to remain a family-friendly guide for you during your stay, these places are important.

Of course, you may not be accustomed to going into a bar or tavern. Too often, however, I’ve seen guests arrive late and starving, with no idea of where to go to get something to eat. Thus, I feel it is my duty to recommend these places to your family in time of need.

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The best way to make your Mount Desert Island vacation hotel reservation

How to get the best value for your Mount Desert Island vacation hotel reservation

At last, you decided when to come to Mount Desert Island for your vacation! You thought through the most important hotel amenities to suit your needs, and have chosen the perfect hotel for your stay. And now, it’s time to place your reservation.

I have a three simple recommendations which will set your course directly toward a more restful and less stressful stay on Mount Desert Island.

#1 Call the local number when you place your reservation

Generally, there are three options for booking your reservation. You could:

  1. Reserve it online with a hotel booking website,
  2. Book your reservation via the hotel’s website, or
  3. Book your reservation over the phone

Here on the Island, setting up your reservation over the phone can be as basic as calling the owner’s home, or getting through to the front desk. In addition, some of the bigger hotels on the island have a reservations call center. Some may also have an agreement with a hotel reservation systems company to answer the phone when the local call center people go home.

Of these three choices, I recommend that customers check out what a hotel has to offer through the hotel’s website whenever possible… and book their reservation by calling the local number during business hours. Here in Bar Harbor, these phone numbers will have the area code (207). And the first three numbers of the phone number will usually begin with “288”, as in (207) 288-3351.

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Bar Harbor Monopoly: find the best hotel for your visit

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.

The Bar Harbor Inn, the hotel by the Bay (photo by David Faris)

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.

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