Robin Blair Riley
The Portland Head Lighthouse
Side Trip to Camden
In their search for a perfect location to open a country inn, Raymond Brunyanski and Oscar Verest, two handsome transplants from the Netherlands, considered a small town in Vermont (too expensive), Ogunquit, Maine (too wild!), then stumbled on Camden, a picturesque village 90 minutes north of Portland by car. They bought an old inn overlooking the harbor and Penobscot Bay and embarked on an epic makeover. Out went rocking chairs and plaid slipcovers, and in came eggplant-hued carpeting, Italian wallpaper, Asian art, hand-stitched linens (matching the wallpaper) and multi-nozzled European steam shower systems for the new Camden Harbour Inn (800-236-4266, www.camdenharbourinn.com).
Long a retreat for well-traveled Bostonians and New Yorkers, Camden remains loyal to an aesthetic that could be described as mid-century robber baron. Refined wood clapboard homes abound. Gin and tonics flow freely. Brunyanski and Verest had some nervous moments in spring 2007 around opening time, unsure about how the pink pants crowd would take to their exquisite but modern jewelbox. Instead of turning up their noses, Camden’s old guard began to visit the inn’s restaurant and recommend the rooms to out-of-town friends. In droves. “At first everyone thought the design would appeal only to a young clientele,” says Raymond. “But the opposite has turned out to be true. Young people want country inns to look like their grandmother’s living room, but older guests want something new.”
Two factors helped their cause. First, each of the 18 guest rooms is a model of smart layout and excellent craftsmanship. Second, the pair splurged on their restaurant Natalie’s and hired an amazingly versatile chef. Lawrence Klang does with equal aplomb the deeply nuanced (lobster with cannellini beans and squid ink) and the brilliantly simple (Boston bibb with Parmesan and hazelnuts). This marriage of distinctive food and design makes for an uncommon experience. Or, as they say in Maine: finestkind.
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