Bed & Breakfasts Elegance of many of Bar Harbor’s Inns highlighted in annual event

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BAR HARBOR – The sun is glittering on the harbor, the warm air smells of growing things, and dozens of innkeepers are out shaking rugs, painting trim and polishing away the winter’s dust.

In fact, most of the 30-member Bar Harbor Bed and Breakfast Association are spring cleaning for the summer season, which kicks off with their fifth annual Tea and Tour May 12 and 19.

Two successive Saturdays are needed to accommodate the 16 inns that volunteered to open their doors for the first spring tour, Pamela Parker said, taking a break from stenciling a spray of roses in one of the Victorian guest rooms at her Primrose Inn.

In past years, the association has scheduled the tour for late fall, when the inns are decorated for the holidays. However, a spring tour gave more innkeepers the opportunity to participate, Parker said.

The inns featured on the tour range from a circa 1864 Victorian home to a former church, built in the Georgian style. Most of the 19th century mansions were originally built as summer cottages for the fabulously wealthy, but have been refurbished and decorated – often in period antiques – to serve the modern rusticator.

“The bed-and-breakfast environment is quite diverse – the properties all have the personalities of their innkeepers,” Parker said.

Innkeepers will serve as hosts for the self-guided tour, offering the rich history behind each home and serving “tea and treats,” Parker said.

The tour was arranged for walking, so most of each day’s featured inns are within a few blocks of each other. The $10 tickets include a map with detailed directions, so visitors may take the tour at their own pace, she said.

Proceeds from the tour will benefit two local charities: the Bar Harbor Food Pantry and Camp Beech Cliffs.

Parker expects to open Primrose to at least 50 visitors from throughout the region.

Local people will be invited in to explore the historic homes in their community; “A lot of local people pass by the inns every day, and wonder what they look like inside,” Parker said

Visitors considering a future as an innkeeper on the Maine coast will have the perfect opportunity to question innkeepers about the business; “You get to hear straight from them, what it’s all about,” she said.

And people from surrounding communities may explore their options for a weekend getaway; “If you’d like the opportunity to test-drive accommodations in Bar Harbor, this is it,” Parker said.

Advance tickets are available at the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, 93 Cottage St., (288-5103), or may be purchased the day of the tour at Primrose Inn, 73 Mount Desert St. (288-4103). Tour details are available on Parker’s Web site, www.primroseinn.com/bedandbreakfasttour.html

Noon-3 p.m. Saturday, May 12:

Anne’s White Columns Inn

Cleftstone Manor

Graycote Inn

Holland Inn

Inn at Bayledge

Mira Monte Inn & Suites

Holbrook House

Primrose Inn

Noon-3 p.m. Saturday, May 19:

Briarfield Bed & Breakfast

Canterbury Cottage

Hatfield Bed & Breakfast

Mill Brook House

Saltaire Inn on the Bay

Sunset on West Bed & Breakfast

Manor House

Ullikana in the Field