Royalsborough Inn

My wife and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to stay in Maine. Beautiful rooms in a lovely old house. Also, the breakfasts every morning were absolutely delicious. Convenient driving distance to many local attractions. We’re definitely going back the next time we’re in Maine.

We have been staying at the Royalsborough for a few years as our son goes to college at Bates College. I like something off the beaten path and a little different from the corporate blandness of a chain. The price is fair and we feel that the drive to a from Lewiston is worth the extra time. It is a beautiful drive, we are close to Freeport and restaurants and just generally like the rural Maine experience. Jim and his wife have been good to us over the years, and we already have our rooms booked for graduation next May.
They have been helpful with finding restaurants, as Lewiston really doesn’t have any thing. We have found the rooms to be comfortable and cozy. The food is hearty and good. I would recommend a visit to Royalborough Inn!

I arrived a bit earlier than my scheduled 7:30pm check in time on a Saturday. Marianne and Jim were right there in the yard with some other guests checking out the chickens and rabbits when I arrived. Jim took my inside to get me checked in and show me to my room. I had booked the Freeport room that was cute and cozy with its four-​poster bed and electric log stove (not needed as it was quite warm when I arrived, but cooled down just fine in the evening). The private bathroom around the corner was very large. Jim introduced me to the alpacas and goats which was wonderful. Some of the other guests were sitting outside having a drink so I joined them with my growler of Bottle Rocket IPA from Portsmouth Brewery (I had just made my way up from New Hampshire). It turned out that they were also there for the Moxie soda festival and had connections to the company and we had a lovely chat. Later in the evening, I went to the Jameson Tavern at Jim’s suggestion and had a delicious bowl of lobster stew and an Old Rasputin. I strolled around Freeport for a bit and headed back to the inn for the evening. I chose the 7am breakfast time as I needed to get on my way to the Moxie Festival. We had a beautiful fresh fruit dish accompanied by a cinnamon roll (apparently Marianne is quite a baker) followed by an egg soufflé and breakfast potatoes. Coffee, tea, and juice were also provided. I made a last visit around the grounds to see all of the animals and was on my way. This is a lovely inn and Jim and Marianne are gracious hosts. I would love to return some day.

I stayed at the Royalsborough Inn in November 2011. I’ve stayed at close to 20 B&B’s in Maine, Mass, New Hampshire and Vermont and this was by far the worst experience I have ever had. The location was decent, though it’s a little tedious getting in and out of Freeport when there are many choices closer. Like many B&B’s there’s a main building, and then an additional guest house not connected to the original building. At Royalsborough, the external guest house contains 3 guest rooms and a shared living space. The walls are paper thin. Our neighbors were very loud, but in their defense, even when they spoke at normal levels we could clearly hear every word they said. (After our first night, I sent a gentle email to our inn keeper asking if he could speak to our neighbors about keeping their voices down. I never got a response.) The room had issues. The towel warmer was broken, the TV /​VCR combo has a 13 inch screen and is 5 feet from the bed (making it essentially useless), the vents in the bathroom were rusty, soap, towels and other items were not replenished, the comforter was frayed and unclean, and the shared area was cluttered, dusty and unpleasant. Despite the poor accommodations, unfriendly service and bland cooking, we actually had a great time, and kept a positive attitude. However, I didn’t want other uniformed travelers to stumble into this poorly-​run establishment. At the end of our stay the other couple we traveled with paid for their room – we were under the assumption that our Living Social voucher covered everything. Not correct. My wife discovered on the ride home that she had left her kindle in the room. Jim (an Alpaca-​expert forced into Inn Keeping to support his true passion) was rude to my wife on the phone. Several follow up calls and emails were not returned. Jim was upset that we had not paid the taxes and was holding our Kindle hostage! My wife eventually left a message offering to pay the $ 35 taxes immediately so that Jim would ship the Kindle, and it was promptly shipped. Not a model in customer service, that’s for sure!