These properties in Greater Portland Maine offer budget lodging with a bit of, uhm character. (Updated March 7, 2024)
Black Elephant Hostel, Portland, Maine
This family-owned and operated hostel is situated in a great walk-to-everything location. It has coed and single-sex dorm-style rooms with bunk beds. Linens, a duvet, and a pillow are provided, as are keyed lockers. The decor is wildly colorful, from the outdoor building murals to the indoor ceilings. Communal space includes a comfy lobby lounge and a shared kitchen. Rates: from $57 shared room; from $145 private room.
Eighth Maine Oceanfront Lodge & Museum, Peaks Island, Portland
The ultra-informal and uniquely historic Eighth Maine Oceanfront Lodge & Museum is in a class of its own and definitely not for everyone. Guests rusticate in much the same manner as the Civil War veterans who built the shorefront lodge in 1891, using a gift from a veteran who had won the Louisiana Lottery. They are immersed in a late-19th-century environment, a real hit with Civil War buffs.
Accommodations are more hostel than inn, with shared baths and kitchen space, and evening activities, including games and sing-a-longs. The pluses include extensive Civil War books, artifacts, and memorabilia, and Wifi. There are no housekeeping services; guests must strip linens and clean their room and their respective kitchen area before departing. No need for a car, as long as you pack in a backpack or use the island taxi. You can take the bus from Portland’s airport or bus/train terminals to the Casco Bay Lines dock, then catch the ferry to the island. Rates from $159.
Maine Idyll Motor Court, Freeport
Charming, retro, rustic, simple: That sums up this tidy cottage colony established in the 1930s by the Marsteller family and still operated by them. Rates will leave you with enough in your wallet for a Freeport outlet binge. Frills include fireplaces and/or kitchenettes in some of the pine-paneled units, older children’s playsets, walking trails, and a light continental breakfast, but overall, this is a back-to-basics kind of place. Only drawback might be traffic noise; it’s located between Routes 1 and I-295. Pets are welcome for $8 per night. You’ll need a car to get around. Still, when seeking budget lodging in Greater Portland, Maine, it’s a steal. Peak season rates from $108.
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