ELLSWORTH, Maine — Witham Family Hotels has begun construction on its new Home2 Suites by Hilton in Ellsworth.
On Tuesday morning, Ellsworth officials and representatives from Witham Family Hotels and the construction firm Wright-Ryan all gathered with the media on a somewhat muddy site, smiling despite the drizzle and occasionally heavier rain.
“The project is more than just a new hotel. It’s a reflection of Ellsworth’s continued growth. It’s welcoming spirit and our shared vision for a thriving yet balanced local community,” said Eric Marichal, Witham Family Hotel’s director of business development.
Marichal has been on the Ellsworth comprehensive planning committee, recreation committee, and is the treasurer for the Heart of Ellsworth and spoke to the project’s synchronicities with the city’s goals.
“It will contribute to the revitalization of the High Street corridor,” Marichal said.
That corridor is part of the main thoroughfare through Hancock County and to Mount Desert Island.
“The construction crews are still working, so it certainly hasn’t dampened our spirits,” Wright-Ryan President Alan Sparn said of the weather.
Sparn said they hope to have a July 2026 opening.
In March 2024, Wright-Ryan Construction finished Witham Hotel’s Kebo Street employee housing project — which offers shared accommodations — six to eight weeks early. That project on the corner of Kebo Street and Mount Desert Street can house 84 seasonal workers.
The firm is also building the new Conners Emerson School in Bar Harbor.
Marichal said the new Ellsworth suites will provide much-needed longer-stay accommodations on what had previously been a vacant lot off High Street.
“We love being part of the Ellsworth story,” said David Witham, CEO of Witham Family Hotels, in a press release. “This new Home2 Suites not only gives visitors a new way to experience Downeast Maine — it also represents continued growth and opportunity for our incredible local team.”
The business also recently purchased Bar Harbor’s Bayview Hotel in an unlisted private sale from Kim Swan’s Kennebec Cottage Associates, according to the Mount Desert Islander.
Witham told the Mount Desert Islander, “Witham Family Hotels is excited to confirm the addition of the Bayview Hotel to our portfolio. The Bayview’s location, scale, and position in the lodging market made it a complimentary fit for us. For the foreseeable future, the Bayview will operate as guests have come to know over the years with an infusion of Witham Family Hotel’s brand of hospitality added in.”
The Ellsworth hotel is located next to another Witham property, the Hampton Inn on High Street. The extended-stay property will host 83 suites. It expects to open in 2026.
David J. Witham founded the business in the 1970s with a hotel in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire: the Marguerite Motel. The motel and cabins had been his father’s and were named for David J. Witham’s mother, Margaret.
The business grew with the addition of three more hotels. He eventually bought out his sister, sold those New Hampshire properties and relocated to Bar Harbor after making a successful offer on the Bar Harbor Inn. Since then, the business expanded and employs more than 400 people.
The Witham Family Hotels owns Acadia Inn, Atlantic Oceanside Hotel and Event Center, the Bar Harbor Grand Hotel, Bar Harbor Inn, Bar Harbor Motel, Bar Harbor Villager Motel, along with the Bayview Hotel and Hampton Inn.
“This new hotel reflects our continued commitment to meeting the needs of modern travelers while deepening our roots here in Ellsworth. We’re especially proud that the project will create approximately 30 full-time, year-round jobs at a company that’s been honored as one of the Best Places to Work in Maine. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and we’re looking forward to welcoming even more team members to the Witham Family Hotels community,” the press release by the Maine-based hospitality company said.
According to that same release, the hotel is being designed for people who stay longer and offers in-room kitchenettes, a guest laundry, fitness center and complimentary breakfast.
The goal, the release says, is “whether someone is here for work, exploring Acadia National Park, or simply enjoying all that the Ellsworth area has to offer, we’re proud to provide a space that feels like home.”
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
