NORTHEAST HARBOR — Exuding the confidence of someone who has done this before, the Asticou Hotel’s owner Tim Harrington said that the inn will be open, with guests in their rooms, by mid-July.
“What should be a two- to three-year project our (team) got done in under a year,” Harrington said. The original plan was to hit the end of June, he said, adding, “but happily I’ll take mid-July!”
Harrington’s team appears to be on track to make that opening goal. According to Harrington, the kitchen was fired up on July 2, the pool is filled, the water and electric were turned on the last week of June, all of the pertinent inspections will happen during the course of the next week, and the landscaping and outdoor accoutrements are being completed currently.
The biggest benefactor of the Asticou Hotel is the Village of Northeast Harbor, according to Harrington, and that is why he is happy with the mid-July opening. The people of the village and the surrounding communities benefit from the guests of the hotel who are here spending their “hard earned” vacation money and he did not want the hotel to be closed for another summer.
Harrington currently owns three hotels on MDI and one of his goals in renovating older hotels such as the Asticou, the Claremont in Southwest Harbor, and even the Salt Cottages (formerly the Colony Cottages) in Bar Harbor is preservation.
Though there are short-term inconveniences experienced by area residents, the tradeoff is the survival of landmark buildings and properties that are rehabilitated, updated, and preserved for generations to come, Harrington feels.
“It’s really incredible that the Asticou lives again and will long after we’re all gone,” Harrington said.
He would rather purchase and save these older properties himself than see them purchased, torn down and turned into a private residence or large chain hotel.
And with the Asticou’s newly redone looks come fresh indoor and outdoor spaces.
This story was originally published by The Bar Harbor Story. To receive regular coverage from the Bar Harbor Story, sign up for a free subscription here.