EAST SULLIVAN – Owning and operating an inn or bed-and-breakfast is a dream for many people considering a career change – a life re-design, as it were. An inn on the coast of Maine? Perfect.

This property, the Island View Inn, was designed by a Boston architect as a family “cottage” in 1889 – the “gilded age,” when the towns of Sullivan, neighboring Hancock and Sorrento, and, of course, Bar Harbor were annual destinations for well-to-do vacationers from Boston, Philadelphia and New York, traveling by train and by steam ferry.

Here at the shingled, four-season home formerly called Sea Lights is one of the finest views – out through the Mount Desert Narrows between Hancock Point and Sorrento, and over Frenchman Bay to Bar Harbor and Cadillac Mountain – that the Maine coast has to offer.

It is a magnificent view, to be enjoyed from the property’s 180 feet of water frontage, from the sloping lawn and gardens of the 1.1-acre grounds, and from the porches and windows of the 14-room, 5,200-square-foot inn.

The Island View was established three decades ago, by a family that has been a devoted steward. Much of the original furniture is still here, not only in the dining room and cathedral-ceiling common room with its stunning stone fireplace and nook, but also in the seven guest rooms. All have a private bath, two have fireplaces, and each has a name and an identity with decor to suit: Ships, Hunt, Lighthouse, Bird, Busy Bee, Jenny Lind, and Empire.

All these rooms open out to porches/balconies; those of the first four rooms named face the water.

Advertisement

For the prospective buyer, the Island View has much to recommend it beyond wonderful period charm and character.

The mid-1990s expansion greatly enlarged the kitchen, so that there are now two ranges, on opposite sides of the kitchen, making cooking multiple dishes for multiple people that much easier. The addition – essentially the innkeeper’s quarters – also includes bedroom and bath, plus a good-sized office and an even larger den/library suitable for “overflow” sleeping.

The turnkey property has been scrupulously maintained, and having been open to guests only 10 weeks each year, its parquet-floored rooms are very “low-mileage.” Year-round operation; increased dining options (formerly, only breakfast was offered); and exploring the potential for functions, are among the business opportunities.

In the absence of train and steamship service, the inn is convenient by car, just 20 minutes from Ellsworth and tucked in off U.S. Route 1 by a long lawn.

The Island View Inn, at 12 Miramar Avenue, Sullivan, is listed for sale at $925,000 by Tacy Ridlon of Better Homes and Gardens The Masiello Group in Ellsworth, and is being shown by appointment.

For more information or to arrange a private viewing, please contact Tacy at 812-7908 ext. 377908; 266-7551; or at tacyridlon@masiello.com.

 

Produced by the Marketing Department of the Portland Press Herald, the Design feature is provided at no cost.

Send Design feature suggestions to jrolfe@pressherald.com.

Comments are no longer available on this story