The Higgins Beach Inn, Scarborough

Our family booked a muli-night stay in early June at the Higgins Beach Inn. Our two connecting rooms, with a bathroom, were a welcome sight upon our arrival. Simple, tasteful decor, sinks in the rooms, and comfortable beds - and exceptionally clean. A thoughtful touch was the filmed glass on the full size window in the bathroom, allowing both privacy and natural light. The inn is two blocks from one of the best beaches in Maine - free parking is included in your stay - and the walk there is through two blocks of a classic Maine beach town, full of flowers and smiling, friendly people - it's magic. The owners, Bob and Diane, were full of information and nearly as friendly as Cash, their golden retriever, who greeted us like old friends each time we returned to the inn. I'm already looking forward to returning next year; I'm smiling now just thinking about it. P.S. - My husband told me I just had to mention the flawless wireless internet connection; he was very impressed.

We wanted to spend time at Higgins Beach, which has a restrictive parking policy so we opted to stay at the inn for convenience and access to the beach. This turned out to be a very expensive parking spot. The person at the desk seemed distracted and inattentive, as were all of the staff we encountered. We asked if there was ice on our floor and she acted as if it was the first time this question was posed. She replied that there wasn’t, but she could get us some if we “really wanted it”– an odd response to someone asking for ice. We went to our room and found only one queen size bed. We brought this to their attention and were directed to another room with two twin beds (for a couple) and a very uncomfortable, old roll-away bed that barely fit in our tiny room. In the room, I found that the toilet seat was broken and required considerable skill and steady hands to grip both the seat and the bowl (yuck) in order to stay on it. Next, I went to plug in my laptop to recharge it. I found only one two-prong outlet in the room, which would not hold a plug. The clock radio was blinking 12:00 and the lamp plug had fallen out. I was able to manage buy propping the adapter up with the Gideon’s Bible (praise the Lord) and the box of facial tissues on top of it. The other member of our party had a three-prong adapter, which they had to snake into the grounded plug in the bathroom. I understand that this is a quaint, old inn but in this day of rechargeable devices, it is reasonable to expect outlets in working order be provided to guests. The inn does provide wifi. I went to switch on the overhead light, but before I did I noticed that it was one of those cool old fixtures with a flower pattern and two exposed light bulbs. I thought to myself, “I bet one of the bulbs is burned out.” Yep. That summed up the problem at the inn – a lackadaisical attitude and lack of attention to hospitality. This was further born out when I went outdoors to sit in the shade on one of the picnic tables, where I found a burned down cigar laying on the bench and thought it odd. Later, I sat with my wife on one side of the porch, while the owner and two other men were smoking cigars and discussing business on the other side. Now, I smoke a good cigar occasionally, but I think it’s fairly common practice to be considerate of non-smokers, especially if you’re an innkeeper. But, it wasn’t the smoke that I found incredibly thoughtless as much as the language. “[--]” this and “[--]” that was flying about the porch with no regard to the families entering and exiting the inn. This is a quaint, no-frills inn, complete with small rooms, with run-down or broken fixtures and a nice dog. Don’t expect much and you won’t be disappointed.