A handful of storied inns are for sale right now around Maine.
None are on the market for a lack of customers. Maine’s lodging revenue from overnight visitors totaled more than $2 billion in 2023, a 2 percent increase over the previous year, according to the state’s tourism office.
Rather, these inns have all been listed because the owners are going through life changes such as retirement.
If you want to get your foot in the door of Maine’s robust tourism industry, here are five ready-made businesses you could take over, in a variety of places and price points.
This expansive coastal inn
$6 million, Brooksville
This 21-bed, 12-bath inn has been in the same family since its establishment before the Revolutionary War. The land for the property was acquired through a grant from Great Britain’s King George III, according to listing agent Laura Farr. The property was settled in 1767.
It began as a homestead but was transformed into an inn known as The Oakland House in 1889, when it became a retreat for wealthy “rusticators” traveling to Maine via steamship, according to its online listing. The inn today includes a colony of seaside cottages, access to two beaches along Eggemoggin Reach and a full restaurant kitchen. It’s less than an hour from Acadia National Park, meaning opportunities for paddling, hiking and sailing are close at hand.
“It’s just a very unique property like no other in the state of Maine,” said Farr of Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty.
This lakeside pub and lodge
$550,000, Monson
The Lakeshore House has operated as a beloved local pub and lodge for nearly two decades, according to listing agent Jim Quimby of RE/MAX Infinity. It has often been a destination for outdoor adventurers, including hikers wearied by the Appalachian Trail.
The inn, situated on the shores of Lake Hebron, offers four guest rooms and a private owner’s quarters upstairs, according to its online listing. The business is being offered turn-key and boasts outdoor dining, docking and direct access to ATV and snowmobile trails.
This former inn and schoolhouse
$720,000, Manchester
This 10-bedroom, six-bathroom home has been a private residence in recent years, but has a history of being a former inn and a schoolhouse, according to listing agent John Blouin.
Built in 1834, the expansive property offers plenty of historic charm and nearly 6,000 square feet of living space on a private lot in Manchester Village, a central Maine town near the Belgrade Lakes region. It boasts a 22-foot long dining room, a cook’s kitchen with updated appliances and a grand staircase.
The property is zoned such that it could become a bed-and-breakfast once again, Blouin of LAER Realty Partners said, making it perfect for either an aspiring innkeeper or someone keen on starting up a short-term rental business.
This haven for outdoor enthusiasts
$695,000, Caratunk
Less than a mile from a put-in for the Appalachian Trail, and nearby white water rafting opportunities, is this inn for sale in Somerset County. The Sterling Inn is more than 200 years old but was remodeled in the 1990s so includes modern upgrades, according to its online listing.
“It’s in what we call ‘the snow belt’,” said listing agent Mark Leathers, an associate broker with Realty of Maine. “It’s a lifestyle to own a place like that. Typically you live there.”
The profitable inn on 7 acres has 15 bedrooms and seven bathrooms, and is less than a mile from a public boat launch on Wyman Lake. It offers ample opportunities for fishing, hunting, rafting, birding, snowmobiling and hiking, Leathers said.
This historic lakeside inn
$839,000, Rome
The Wings Hill Inn is a turn-key business for sale in the heart of the Belgrade Lakes Region. Built in 1790 — well before Maine became a state in 1820 — the 10-bedroom, nine-bathroom property has been lodging guests looking to explore all that central Maine has to offer for centuries, according to its online listing.
The property abuts private conservation land and features water views, lush gardens and proximity to hiking trails, golfing, snowmobiling and boating, according to listing agent Jennifer Cammack of EXP Realty.
Though it could continue to be operated as an inn, the historic property would also make an ideal family compound, a seasonal vacation home or a short-term rental business, Cammack suggested.
