10th Anniversary and What's to Come

A few short weeks ago we celebrated Deb and Tom's 10th year of owning the Inn with a party of long time friends and guests that have made the last 10 years a joy to be in the business. Now with 10 years under the belt whats next? Well aside from the annual seasonal renovations and little projects that keep us here at the Inn oh so busy in the off season, We've decided to take our part in helping shape Kennebunkport into one of the premier vacation destinations on the map.

With some familiar and all new "Sister" properties under renovation and construction, this coming May will open new accomodation and dining options for the Kennebunkport area. Two new acquisitions in Old Fort Inn and Tides Beach Club, one offering a "vintage" Kennebunkport summer and the other a fresh cool exhilarating beach front ambiance.

Hidden Pond is now in Phase 2 development, creating more and different accommodation and dining dynamics to the property.

A few new restaurants are on the way including On Twelve, located in the heart of Kennebunkport, will add a bit more excitement and late night options to an already well established "foody metropolis" that is Kennebunkport. A new restaurant that we are really jazzed about is Earth, but we'll share more on that later ;)

All new and existing projects can be found on Facebook, and keep an eye on the blog for updates about this exciting time in Kennebunkport.

The Kennebunkport Inn Hosts The Fine Living Festival

In the last five years the Fine Living Festival has blossomed into one of the premiere events of the summer season in Kennebunkport. What was originally known as Arts in the Inns, collaboration between local artists and the historical Inns and homes of Kennebunkport and provided a self guided walking tour showcasing them. Now five years later the evolution of a celebration of arts in Kennebunkport has taken on a new life and the marriage between brush and palette has a whole new meaning.

The Fine Living Festival is a perfect example of what happens when you mix residents, local businesses, a little bit of charity and a front runner sponsor like Maine Magazine, your final creation is a week full of stunning artwork, gorgeous historical inns and scrumptiously creative tastes that heighten all your five senses.

This year the Kennebunkport Inn and One Dock hosted an exclusive ticket only dinner at one of Kennebunkport’s historic private homes. Executive Chef John Shaw paired his creative and delicious creations with ones of artistic luminary William B. Hoyt in a multi. course menu that teased the eye and the palette.

Members of the Inn’s staff along with ones of the Cottages of Cabot Cove had a first hand and front row seat to some of the festival’s most talked and highly anticipated events, the Taittinger Festival Preview and the always popular Twilight Soiree. The Taittinger Festival Preview kicks off the Festival as a sort of meet and greet of the guests, winemakers chefs, and of course the artists. Plenty of mingling and wine was to be had and it was. The Twilight Soiree is hosted at St. Ann’s in Kennebunkport, an absolute breathtaking location. Some claim it’s one of the best if not the best event of the week. The Soiree offers displays of art, Champagne, Wine, an Oyster bar and passed hor d'oeuvres. All food is done by the White Barn Inn in extreme style and creativity.

With this years Fine Living Festival winding down to a close, we definitely noticed a huge response as far as attendees from previous years and it looks that the Fine Living Festival has the room and potential to keep growing.

Kennebunkport Inn and One Dock Raise Money for Non-Profit Organizations!

Recently the Kennebunkport Inn and One Dock wrapped up "Worthy Wednesday" for the season and in its first year, It had an impressive turn out. We hosted around a dozen non-profit organizations and with a little marketing and word of mouth, we helped raise just a little over the $3,000 mark!

We will continue "Worthy Wednesday" next winter beginning in January and ending in March, and we encourage everyone and anyone who knows of a non-profit organization that would love to get involved in this opportunity to give us a ring at 1(800) 248.2621.

Worthy Wednesdays at One Dock

One Dock at the Kennebunkport Inn is pleased to announce “Worthy Wednesdays,” an opportunity for diners to enjoy dinner at One Dock while helping benefit non profit organizations in York County. Each Wednesday beginning January 20th, One Dock has partnered with a local non profit group and donate 15% of the evening’s revenues to that group.It’s a great opportunity for people to support local non profits and enjoy a delicious dinner at One Dock.

We were so pleased by the response of the area’s non profits when we reached out to partner with them. We felt it was a great opportunity to help a lot of worthy organizations, and a way for us to give back throughout the first quarter of 2010. We hope that this becomes an annual program for us. The response has been terrific so far and our partners are very excited. It’s a great roster of organizations we’ve been pleased to support throughout the years, and it’s an easy way for people to show their support because essentially they’ll just be paying for their meals.”

Partners for Worthy Wednesdays:
January 20 Graves Library-Kennebunkport
January 27 Kennebunkport Historical Society
February 3 Kennebunk Land Trust
February 10 Caring Unlimited
February 17 Habitat for Humanity
March 3 Animal Welfare Society
March 10 Senior Center of Lower Village
March 17 Brick Store Museum
March 24 Community Harvest
March 31 Arbitrage Fund for Breast Cancer
April 7 Child Abuse Prevention Council
April 14 Goodall Hospital
Reservations are strongly recommended for Worthy Wednesdays. One Dock will be open from 6-9 pm. One Dock at the Kennebunkport Inn is open Wednesday through Sunday during off season and features live music in the Bar at One Dock on Fridays and Saturdays.

Kennebunkport Inn's Meet the Chef Series

Each Saturday during the winter months we host our" Meet the Chef Series" an opportunity to invite all of guests to meet Executive Chef John Shaw of One Dock fame in the Bar at One Dock. John will offer small bites of a few of his signature favorites while guests sip complimentary wines. It's a great opportunity to meet John and find out why Chef Gordon Ramsey named One Dock his favorite restaurant during a recent visit to Maine.

Kennebunkport Inn Guest Room Renovations

It's been a busy few weeks here at the inn...We typically use the winter months for renovations and this year is no exception! The majority of our time is being spent in renovations to the Federal rooms...We are renovating each room with new wallpaper, mattresses, designer bedding, flat screen tv's, Keurig coffemakers and refreshment centers....All rooms will be ready to welcome guest just in time for Valentines Day! We just installed a new property management system which is terrific...allows more flexibility and processes to make the reservation process quicker and easier....And lastly the Riverhouse wing has a fresh new wall color and brand new artwork.

Happy New Year!

We are excited to ring in the New Year with friends and guests this weekend! Promises to be an exciting but cold holiday weekend....Both the inn and One Dock are happily filled and looking forward to visiting with lots of familiar faces. However once the New Year Celebration is over we are starting an aggressive round of renovations and installing a new property management system....during January and February so it should be a busy and productive time for all!!

Happy New Year to All! Best Wishes for a Terrific 2010