Tugboat Inn
80 Commercial St, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538-1770
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Dining (17)
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4.0
#6 of 11 hotels in Boothbay HarborLocation
4.9
Cleanliness
4.3
Service
4.3
Value
4.0
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Downtown waterfront location directly on the harbor. Modern comfortable guestrooms with balconies, air conditioning, cable tv with free movie channel, telephone with voice mail, hair dryer, Keurig coffee maker, refrigerator and personal amenities. Rates include free parking and free local phone calls. Complimentary computer with DSL in hotel lobby. Complimentary wi-fi in most locations. Full service restaurant, seasonal cocktail lounge with patio deck, and marina with slip and mooring rentals all on site. Waterfront hot tub available for guests. Music at the piano bar in season. Special vacation packages available. Open mid April to late October.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Bar / lounge
Fishing
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Rooftop terrace
Gift shop
Laundry service
Parking
Wifi
Restaurant
Outdoor dining area
Special diet menus
Vending machine
Non-smoking hotel
Self-serve laundry
Room features
Air conditioning
Housekeeping
Private balcony
Safe
Coffee / tea maker
Cable / satellite TV
Sofa bed
Walk-in shower
Sofa
Telephone
Wardrobe / closet
Iron
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Refrigerator
Stovetop
Flatscreen TV
Radio
Bath / shower
Complimentary toiletries
Hair dryer
Room types
Ocean view
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Centrally Located
Mid-range
Languages Spoken
English
Location
80 Commercial St, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538-1770
Getting there
Good for walkers
Grade: 90 out of 100
90
Portland Intl Jetport
36.8 mi•
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Knox County Regional Airport
30.2 mi•
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Rental Cars
23 Restaurants
within 0.3 miles
644Reviews5Q+A100Room tips
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Detailed Reviews
My wife an I stayed here for two nights in early September 2021 and were a little disappointed during our stay. First, this is an older hotel, which it in itself is not a bad thing, but if the love and care is not present within the hotel, can lead to a very negative experience. Right after check in, we began finding issues with our room. Both the fixtures and the ceiling fans were coated in dust. Next, our bath room floor had several hairs scattered among the floor tiles. Lastly the carpet looked like it had not seen a vacuum in several guest visits. On the positive side, the towels and bedding were very clean and nice. The location is ideal for walking around town or catching one of the charted boat trips. Parking can be limited, but this is to be expected in such a small area. The balcony we had overlooking the harbor was also very nice. Overall, this experience could have been better if the rooms were just cleaned a little better. I also fully understand that during these COVID days, housekeeping is not happening in a lot of hotels. This was not our problem, our problem was the room was simply not properly cleaned and prepared prior to a new guest arriving.
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Date of stay: September 2021
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The first thing to know is you do not check in at the Tugboat Inn which is most odd. There is an office with staff, however, you have to leave the Tugboat and walk a ways up a steep incline to check in at another hotel. Check in staff not at all welcoming. Our room was in the Pier section. Nice view but room not terrific. There are two chairs outside the room but anyone can sit in them. We had people from other rooms sitting in ours the whole time we were there. Plus to get to the rooms in the Pier section you have to park where you can find it and haul your luggage up a staircase. There is no elevator and definitely no bellman. Check out time is 10:00 AM. Very early. They have no breakfast. They recommended two places nearby. One was closed the other was order at a window and sit down. They had one cook and there were 7 other parties in front of us. We ate one meal in the restaurant. Tables are very very close to each other. Hostess not friendly. Onion rings delicious, salad with teeny teeny fried shrimp not good. Restaurant is closed on Wednesday.
I cannot recommend this hotel.
I cannot recommend this hotel.
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Date of stay: June 2021
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Alan Baldwin, Marketing at Tugboat Inn
Responded Jul 2, 2021
Thank you for taking the time to review your recent stay with us. I am sorry to hear that your stay did not meet your expectations. I am glad that you were able to enjoy the great view, it is quite remarkable. We wish you safe travels in the future.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This review is for the Inn.
This was our second stay at the Tugboat Inn. We discovered it last year after a last minute visit to the botanical garden and it was one of the only small rooms available. At first glance we didn't like the room, but the views sold us. So much so we returned this year and asked for the same room!
Again, the room is very very small, but clean and the bed very comfortable. The location is fantastic, park once and walk everywhere and the views from the room windows and decks can't be beat. We were waving to people in the boats passing by from our room!
Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to try the restaurant. As others have pointed out, they are not including a "free" breakfast at this time. Pack something to eat or visit any of the nearby venues, but we've noticed breakfast lines out the door at most places.
This was our second stay at the Tugboat Inn. We discovered it last year after a last minute visit to the botanical garden and it was one of the only small rooms available. At first glance we didn't like the room, but the views sold us. So much so we returned this year and asked for the same room!
Again, the room is very very small, but clean and the bed very comfortable. The location is fantastic, park once and walk everywhere and the views from the room windows and decks can't be beat. We were waving to people in the boats passing by from our room!
Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to try the restaurant. As others have pointed out, they are not including a "free" breakfast at this time. Pack something to eat or visit any of the nearby venues, but we've noticed breakfast lines out the door at most places.
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Date of stay: September 2021
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip: Choose a room at the end of the dock for spectacular views
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
+1
We stayed in an end/corner room, which usually means that the room is a little bigger. Not here. They crammed a King bed into a room that should never have had anything above a full size bed. The bed frame/headboard is far smaller than the mattress - dead giveaway that they had no business shoving that huge mattress in the room. The table and two chairs are jammed into the corner, barely usable. There's not even enough room for a nightstand on each side of the King bed. Luggage rack? Sure, but where do you put it and still have space or not kick in it night trying to get to bathroom, which is about the size of an airplane bathroom.
We had no wifi. Their service simply doesn't extend to all points of the hotel and calling the front desk doesn't help. A verbal shrug of "sorry can't help you, it works here in the office!" is all you'll get.
Room seemed clean enough, but was not worth the price of staying there. If you do stay there, you'd better be willing to eat dinner within walking distance. Trying to reclaim a parking spot is impossible unless you don't come back until their restaurant closes. They don't care to make sure that every hotel guest has a parking spot. I needed the handicap spot. There's only one, and it gets blocked by a restaurant employee who parks behind the spot. We only got out of the spot after 9 little reverse-turn-forward attempts and even then only because our car has great backup cameras.
I would not recommend this place unless you are okay with a teeny room, and don't plan to leave the immediate area by car.
We had no wifi. Their service simply doesn't extend to all points of the hotel and calling the front desk doesn't help. A verbal shrug of "sorry can't help you, it works here in the office!" is all you'll get.
Room seemed clean enough, but was not worth the price of staying there. If you do stay there, you'd better be willing to eat dinner within walking distance. Trying to reclaim a parking spot is impossible unless you don't come back until their restaurant closes. They don't care to make sure that every hotel guest has a parking spot. I needed the handicap spot. There's only one, and it gets blocked by a restaurant employee who parks behind the spot. We only got out of the spot after 9 little reverse-turn-forward attempts and even then only because our car has great backup cameras.
I would not recommend this place unless you are okay with a teeny room, and don't plan to leave the immediate area by car.
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Bonnie Stover, General Manager at Tugboat Inn
Responded May 28, 2022
Hi folks, Thank you for your review. We are sorry that you were disappointed with the size of the room. We usually bill those as "small room, big view", as they are some of the smallest rooms that we have on the property. We have a wide variety of guestrooms, and most are larger than the end units. Great location but we know that floor space is limited. We need to be sure we are advising that fact to our guests. We apologize if the wi-fi was not adequate and that no one could help you. We should be able to resolve those types of issues and I'm sorry that we were not able to do that for you. We realize that wi-fi is important to our guests and we need to make sure that it is working properly. We also know that parking can be a challenge. We have one space per room plus some extra for the restaurant, but we know it can be tight during the dinner hour. We do actually have 5 handicapped parking spaces but they are spread around the property. We are very sorry that you had trouble getting the spot that you needed. Thank you again for your comments and the opportunity to respond. We hope that you enjoyed your stay in general, and your visit to Boothbay Harbor. Bonnie Stover General Manager
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We turned a visit to the Botanical Gardens Lights Aglow (amazing) into an overnight excursion, with a stay at Tugboat. It's a great location in town, on the water, easy walking to shops and restaurants, with a good on-site restaurant with a lot of fresh seafood options and outside bar/deck. Our room (201) had 2 queen beds, large for a room in town, and equipped with coffeemaker, small frig, microwave, big TV, and safe. Table to eat breakfast by window and porch with chairs overlooking harbor. Very clean, comfortable beds.
Tugboat doesn't serve breakfast to guests, but there is a breakfast diner and Red Cup coffee shop a block or two away. Pastries at Red Cup were top notch homemade, with highest marks for the blueberry muffin.
For light sleepers, there are charter fishing boats and lobster boats docked out front, which get going very early with engines putt-putting for a while starting around 5:30. You can look at it as part of the ambience, or opt for the side of the main building facing away from town, probably your best bet for early morning quiet.
As a general comment for December visitors to Boothbay, like most vacation destinations in Maine, only a few restaurants are open each night. Tugboat serves dinner Thursday - Sunday (you might want to check), and this is common for many restaurants here. Most stores look like they're staying open through Christmas, including our favorite clothing store Logans.
Tugboat doesn't serve breakfast to guests, but there is a breakfast diner and Red Cup coffee shop a block or two away. Pastries at Red Cup were top notch homemade, with highest marks for the blueberry muffin.
For light sleepers, there are charter fishing boats and lobster boats docked out front, which get going very early with engines putt-putting for a while starting around 5:30. You can look at it as part of the ambience, or opt for the side of the main building facing away from town, probably your best bet for early morning quiet.
As a general comment for December visitors to Boothbay, like most vacation destinations in Maine, only a few restaurants are open each night. Tugboat serves dinner Thursday - Sunday (you might want to check), and this is common for many restaurants here. Most stores look like they're staying open through Christmas, including our favorite clothing store Logans.
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Date of stay: December 2021
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at the Tugboat Inn for three nights in June. We absolutely loved the location! The room was pretty basic but it was clean and the housekeeping staff was very accommodating with any extras we needed. The restaurant was great and although they do not serve breakfast, the Blue Moon Café is just a few steps away and it was wonderful. We are seniors and we were able to walk to all the shops and restaurants and loved just sitting outside our room, watching all the boating activity. We took a boat trip, which was right next-door, so we never had to move our car once we arrived.
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Alan Baldwin, Marketing at Tugboat Inn
Responded Jun 22, 2022
Thank you for taking the time to review your recent experience at the Tugboat Inn. We are very happy to read that you had such a great time, and were able to enjoy all the harbor's many activities. Your kind words are truly appreciated and we look forward to your next visit.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We have stayed here many times. Although the rooms need updating I was extremely happy at the cleanliness of our room. It was immaculate! (332). We had a balcony overlooking the harbor. It was lovely. The bad part, it was just weird. We had to check in at the Fisherman’s Wharf because the Tugboat had no front desk staff. It was strange also we had no daily cleaning service but we received a large bag of clean whit towels. Plenty of room for a few nights. We will go back.
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Date of stay: July 2020
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip: Stay in the main building.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very disappointed in this hotel. My sister is in a wheelchair and needs a handicapped room. The room that was given to us smelled like smoke. Let two messages no one called back. She doesn’t have much time, she is very sick. It was supposed to be a nice night to watch the boats and the fireworks. I ask three or four people before we even came if we could see the fireworks from the patio. Yes, yes and of course you have a patio. Got here the front desk staff at the wharf hotel was rude and didn’t even answer questions they were too busy flirting with the electrician. Then we went to tug boat and had lunch. Nowhere does it direct the handicapped entrance. We had to go down a hill and then push her right back up it… a sign would be nice. And the food. $28 for 6 fried clams and about nine shrimp and a ton of fish tasting double fried fries. Then the waitress that said she had been there for 8 years and clams are expensive right now…. Oh ok 6.99 a pound is not expensive. No wonder why people that come to Maine think it is expensive,. Paid ate and now waiting for fireworks……. Never saw one firework…. Thank you to the staff for making something that should have been a special and possible last outing with my sister. To a horrible time that we couldn’t wait to go home. Picture of a 28.00 plate and firework view on the website…
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Alan Baldwin, Marketing at Tugboat Inn
Responded Jul 4, 2022
Thank you for taking the time to review your recent experience. We are sorry to hear that you had such a negative experience, and encourage you to contact us directly to discuss it further. Unfortunately, the price of everything has increased, and the menu prices reflect that. We truly thank you for your understanding.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We decided to spend 2 nights in Boothbay on our drive from Pa to Bar Harbor, Maine. The Tugboat was recommended to us by a reservation specialist from Harbor Side Hotel and Spa in Bar Harbor (where we were headed). He (David) and his wife spend their wedding anniversaries here. It was perfect! We had already been to Kennebunkport and Camden previous years, so we decided on Boothbay. We loved it. The Tugboat was VERY reasonable and the room we had (3rd floor) was lovely. The view was awesome. We also enjoyed the restaurant onsite, including the outdoor bar overlooking the harbor. GREAT STAFF!
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Date of stay: June 2021
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Alan Baldwin, Marketing at Tugboat Inn
Responded Jul 2, 2021
Thank you for taking the time to review your recent stay with us. I am happy to see that you had such a positive experience with us. We appreciate the kind words and look forward to your future stays with us.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed here while visiting relatives in the area for Christmas. I think when you stay somewhere for five nights, they should at least come in to freshen up the room -- empty the trash, bring fresh towels, etc. But they did nothing the entire time we were there. We went to the office to get toilet paper, towels, and soap. The room itself was comfortable enough, although somewhat dated. The bed was comfortable, although we were told we'd have a king and we ended up with two queens. This made it difficult for the second person to read in bed or have a place to put glasses, etc. The bathtub did not drain!
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Date of stay: December 2022
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Good afternoon,
We have 3 pet friendly rooms, located in our Red Building. The rooms have balconies and great outer harbor views.
Sorry, we are so close to the water's edge that there is no room for a pool! We do have an outdoor waterfront hot tub however, located on the deck directly overlooking the inner harbor and our marina.
Please give us a call to go over room options, (800) 248-2628. Yes we can arrange champagne and/or other items to be delivered.
Please call us to go over the room options for the dates you would like to book. We may have several options for you. We look forward to hearing from you soon, (800) 248-2628.
We would love to have you come and stay with us! Please call our toll free line (800) 248-2628 to discuss all of the options we have. We have 64 rooms housed in 5 buildings. Two of our buildings go right out over the water. Even your car gets a view at the Tugboat Inn!
"The middle building, top floor has the best view. Bring your own Kleenex—the facial tissue is paper. "Read full review
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PRICE RANGE
$142 - $229 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
tugboat hotel boothbay harbor
LOCATION
United StatesMaineMid Coast MaineBoothbay Harbor
NUMBER OF ROOMS
64
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Tugboat Inn
Which popular attractions are close to Tugboat Inn?
Nearby attractions include Ed Brown's Wharfside Gallery (0.09 miles), Eventide Specialties (0.1 miles), and Abacus Gallery (0.2 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Tugboat Inn?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
Which room amenities are available at Tugboat Inn?
Top room amenities include air conditioning, a flat screen TV, and a refrigerator.
What food & drink options are available at Tugboat Inn?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant, a lounge, and an outdoor dining area during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Tugboat Inn?
Conveniently located restaurants include Downeast Ice Cream Factory, Red Cup Coffee House, and Blue Moon Café.
Is Tugboat Inn located near the city center?
Yes, it is 0.1 miles away from the center of Boothbay Harbor.
Are any cleaning services offered at Tugboat Inn?
Yes, laundry service and self serve laundry are offered to guests.
Are pets allowed at Tugboat Inn?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.
Are there any historical sites close to Tugboat Inn?
Many travelers enjoy visiting The Wilson Memorial Chapel (2.7 miles).
Does Tugboat Inn have any great views?
Yes, guests often enjoy the harbor view available here.