PORTLAND, Maine — Thanks to a tourist-driven building boom in recent years, this city now boasts more than 6,000 hotel rooms. Most are modern, cookie-cutter affairs housed in concrete-and-glass cubes stacked along the waterfront.
But the oldest and funkiest 39 guest rooms in town are inside the Inn at St. John, on the other side of the hill, well away from the Old Port, tucked under the shadow of Maine Medical Center. They’re also among the city’s lowest priced.
Staying at the 127-year-old hotel on Congress Street is like stepping back in time. There’s no elevator, no two rooms are alike and you may have to share a bathroom, in the hallway, with a few other guests.
But don’t worry: the Inn at St. John provides bathrobes in each room, for keeping everyone’s modesty intact while dashing to the toilet in the middle of the night.
The throwback bathroom quirk is probably what the hotel is best known for, admits Inn at St. John manager Patricia Sullivan. But most guests find it a fun part of staying in the historic establishment.
“All the other hotels I’ve worked at, the rooms are just identical boxes,” Sullivan said.
The Inn first opened as the Hotel Victoria in 1897, one of several lodging establishments clustered around the Union Station train depot, then at the nearby corner of St. John and Congress Streets. The station was torn down in August 1961. The other hotels have all vanished as well.
But the Inn at St. John remains, across the street from Pizza Villa and the former Greyhound Bus station. It is, by far, the oldest continually operating hotel in Portland. It’s also one of the only non-chain hotels around.
For the record, of the 39 rooms, nine share hallway bathrooms with each other, while 10 more have their own private bathrooms that are also in the corridor. The rest of the rooms have regular, en suite toilets and showers.
Every room sports its own singular array of eclectic furniture and knick knacks. Members of the housekeeping staff are allowed a hand in decorating the rooms they’re in charge of cleaning and add their own personal touches.
“Most rooms aren’t even shaped the same,” Sullivan said.
Rooms on the front of the antique building are quite large, with bay windows looking onto Congress Street and tubs with jacuzzi-like water jets. Other rooms, at the back of the building, are just big enough for two very familiar people to get a night of rest. All rooms have real keys, instead of key cards, and staff keep them in old fashioned pigeon holes behind the front desk.
The Inn’s lobby is an elegant affair with imitation Tiffany lamps and gilt-edged picture frames. Steep stairs — with an odd pair of flying, Y-shaped branches — lead to three guest floors above.
There’s no bell boy to carry bags, but Sullivan said her staff is always willing to help guests get their luggage where it needs to go. Staff will even hang onto suitcases for the day while guests enjoy a post-checkout ramble around the city.
Portland landlord Bill Simpson bought the Inn two years ago from a friend who’d operated it for 27 years. Simpson runs several rooming houses in town, accounting for hundreds of rentable rooms, but this is his first foray into the hotel business. He said he’s grateful for what the former owner did to keep the Inn running and in good shape.
“I love old stuff,” Simpson said. “All I have to do is not screw it up.”
Room rates fluctuate, as do all Portland hotel prices, based on the season and availability. At the Inn, prices also depend on whether guests require a private bathroom or not.
“There’s an art to it,” Simpson said, regarding pricing.
Quotes generally come in somewhere between $150 to $350. While not dirt cheap, the rates are a far cry from the $500 to $1,000 per summer night charged at some of the swankier chain hotels on the waterfront.
Judging by the online reviews, most guests at the Inn relish its oddness and reasonable rates. On Google, it averages 4.4 stars out of five, with 808 reviews, as of Wednesday.
“We have stayed several times over the years,” one reviewer wrote six months ago. “Much nicer and cozier than staying at a chain hotel. Nice old building with plenty of character.”
A three-star review on Yelp described the Inn as having a “Gilmore-Girls-esque” feel and “gothic grandma” vibe. The reviewer was surprised by the shared bathroom but admitted, “shame on me for not reading the description better.”
“We try to make that as clear as possible in confirmation emails and on the website,” Sullivan said with a shrug. “But, unfortunately, not everyone reads their email.”
