Small Guest House in Portland, ME
Three rooms in a clapboard house on the hill, with breakfast cooked to order and the harbour ten minutes down the road.
A small house, run by the two of us
Cobblewick is a clapboard house on Munjoy Hill with three guest rooms upstairs and a red screen door that sticks in August. We took it on in 2009, spent a winter on the floors, and have been putting people up ever since.
There is no front desk and no key card. We answer the door, we cook the breakfast, and if you want to know where to eat we will tell you where we ate last week.
- ✓Three rooms, never more than six guests
- ✓Breakfast cooked to order, 7:30 to 9:30
- ✓Off-street parking for every room
- ✓Ten minutes on foot down to the Old Port
The Three Rooms
All three are upstairs, all three have their own bathroom, and every rate below includes breakfast.
Rates are per night for two people and include breakfast. We do not take a card to hold a room — send us your dates and we will write back the same day.
Breakfast, parking, and the rest of it
Everything below comes with the room. There is no resort fee, because we are not a resort.
Breakfast, cooked to order
Eggs how you want them, bacon from a butcher four streets away, bread from the bakery at the bottom of the hill. 7:30 to 9:30, at one long table.
A parking space each
Off-street, behind the house, one per room. In this part of Portland that is the thing guests thank us for most.
Wi-fi that works upstairs
We put a second access point on the landing after enough people told us the first one did not reach the front rooms.
Your own bathroom
All three rooms have one. One is down a step, which we will mention when you book if stairs are a problem.
The kettle is always on
Tea, coffee and a tin of something on the landing, all day. You do not have to ask us for it.
A route down the hill
We will draw you one. The walk to the Old Port is ten minutes down and fifteen back up, and the view on the way is the reason people pick this hill.
A look around
What the two days look like
Nothing complicated, but people like knowing before they arrive.
You arrive after three
Earlier is usually fine if the room is turned around — message us in the morning and we will tell you. Park behind the house and come to the front door.
We show you the room and the kettle
It takes about four minutes. We will ask what time you want breakfast and whether there is anything you do not eat.
Breakfast is at one table
Between 7:30 and 9:30, cooked when you come down. Some mornings everyone eats together and some mornings nobody speaks. Both are allowed.
You leave by eleven
We will hold your bags if your flight or your ferry is later, and there is no charge for that.
One table, 7:30 to 9:30
Breakfast is the part of this we take most seriously. It is cooked to order rather than laid out under a lamp, and it is served at the one long table in the front room with the mismatched chairs we have been slowly collecting since 2011.
Tell us the night before if you are leaving early and we will have something ready in a bag.
- ✓Eggs cooked how you ask for them
- ✓Bread and pastry from the bakery down the hill
- ✓Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free done properly, not as an afterthought
- ✓An early bag if you are catching the first boat
What people say after they leave
Three rooms means you are not queueing for anything. Breakfast was cooked to order both mornings and they drew us a walking route down the hill on the back of an envelope.
We had the small room at the back and it was the quietest night's sleep we have had in a year. Parking outside, which in Portland is not nothing.
They remembered that I do not eat eggs after I mentioned it once at check-in. That is the whole difference between a guest house and a hotel.
The things worth asking before you book
There is no lift
All three rooms are up one flight. Tell us if that is a problem and we will be straight with you about whether this is the right house.
No dogs, sorry
One of us is allergic. There is a kennel five minutes away that guests have used and liked.
Children are welcome
The Long Room takes a cot. We do not have high chairs, so bring one if you need it.
No smoking anywhere inside
The porch is yours if you do, and there is an ashtray by the red door.
Tell us when you are coming
Three rooms go quickly in September and October. Send your dates and we will write back the same day with what is free.
How a booking actually works
No card, no deposit, no confirmation email from a system that is not us.
Send us your dates
Use the form or ring the house. Tell us which room you like and how many of you there are.
We write back the same day
With what is free, what it comes to, and anything you should know about that particular room.
You say yes
That is the booking. We take payment when you arrive, by card or otherwise.
Change of plan is fine
Let us know more than three days out and there is nothing to pay. Life happens and we would rather you told us.
Asked most often
Is breakfast really included?
Yes, in every rate on this page, and it is cooked rather than laid out. Served 7:30 to 9:30 at the long table. If you are leaving before that, say so the night before and we will put something in a bag for you.
Do you have parking?
One off-street space per room, behind the house. You do not need to reserve it and there is no charge. On Munjoy Hill this is the thing most guests say they were most relieved about.
How far is it to the Old Port?
About ten minutes on foot going down and nearer fifteen coming back up, because it is a hill. The ferry terminal is roughly the same. We will draw you a route when you arrive.
Can you take a group or a whole-house booking?
Yes — three rooms is six people, and a few families take the lot each summer. Ring the house rather than using the form and we will work out the rate with you.
What if I need to cancel?
Tell us more than three days before you arrive and there is nothing to pay, because we have not charged you anything. Inside three days we ask for one night if we cannot fill the room.
Are the rooms accessible?
Honestly, not very. All three are up one flight of stairs and one of the bathrooms is down a step. We would rather tell you now than have you find out on arrival.
Ask about dates
Tell us when you would like to come and which room appeals. One of us writes back the same day — and nothing is charged until you confirm.