An inn on the harbor · Castine, Maine
Nine rooms on Castine harbor.
A sea captain’s house from 1819, an inn since 1946, and a lawn that runs down to the water.
The house
A sea captain’s house, kept the way we found it.
Captain Elias Larkin built the house in 1819, close enough to the harbor to watch his ships come in. It has been an inn since 1946, and we have kept it the way we found it: wide pine floors, nine fireplaces, and nobody in a hurry.
There are nine rooms across the main house, the old carriage house and a boathouse at the water’s edge. Breakfast is cooked to order every morning, the porch fills up around five, and the town, the lighthouse and the woods are all a short walk away.
Rooms & availability
Choose your nights, then your room.
Each night on the calendar shows the lowest rate in the house. Pick a check-in and a check-out and the nine rooms below show what’s free and what your stay costs. Breakfast is always included.
- $225 Lowest rate that night
- 14 Full
Nine rooms in three houses.Choose dates above to see what’s free and the price of your stay.
The Main House
Five rooms in the 1819 captain’s house, most with a fireplace and a view of the harbor.
The best view in the house, a wood fire and a clawfoot tub.
King · Sleeps 2 · Harbor · 380 sq ft
from$395a night
A bedroom and a book-lined sitting room with its own fireplace.
King · Sleeps 2 · Harbor glimpse and garden · 520 sq ft
from$445a night
A window seat over the harbor and old charts of the bay on the walls.
Queen · Sleeps 2 · Harbor · 260 sq ft
from$285a night
Its own door onto the garden, and dogs are welcome.
Queen · Sleeps 2 · Garden · 240 sq ft
from$245a night
A cozy room under the roof, with skylights and a sliver of harbor.
Queen · Sleeps 2 · Harbor glimpse · 220 sq ft
from$225a night
The Carriage House
Three quieter rooms in the old carriage house across the garden, two of them dog-friendly.
Vaulted beams, a soaking tub and a daybed for a third guest.
King + daybed · Sleeps 3 · Garden and treetops · 460 sq ft
from$345a night
Step-free, with a roll-in shower and a patio. Dogs welcome.
Queen · Sleeps 2 · Garden · 300 sq ft
from$255a night
Two bedrooms and a kitchenette for four, looking over the apple trees.
King + two twins · Sleeps 4 · Orchard and garden · 680 sq ft
from$495a night
The Boathouse
A private cottage at the water’s edge, with a screened porch over the harbor.
A cottage of your own at the water’s edge, with a screened porch.
King · Sleeps 2 · On the water · 560 sq ft
from$595a night
In every room
- Breakfast for two, cooked to order
- Frette linens and down duvets
- Robes and Maine-made bath things
- A kettle, a pour-over set and local coffee
- Fast Wi-Fi, and no televisions
- Air conditioning and heated bathroom floors
Breakfast
Breakfast is the reason some people come back.
Served 8 – 10 every morning in the sunroom or on the porch, cooked to order and included with every stay.
The day at the inn
- 8 – 10Breakfast
Cooked to order in the sunroom.
- All dayThe pantry
Coffee, tea, fruit and Maren’s molasses cookies.
- 5 – 6Harbor hour
A glass of wine and Maine cheese on the porch, on the house.
- EveningDinner in town
We keep a short list of tables and will book for you.
Offers
Stay midweek, go sailing, or sleep in.
Three ways to stay, each with breakfast every morning. Choose one and its price carries straight into your booking.
November through June
Stay three nights between Sunday and Thursday and the third night is on us.
Third night free
June through September
Two nights, and a half-day sail on Penobscot Bay aboard a classic wooden schooner, with a picnic from our kitchen.
$240 for two
December through March
A fire laid in your room, chowder supper the night you arrive, and nobody waking you up.
15% off
Give someone a weekend by the water
Gift cards for any amount or for a stay, sent by email or by post in a letterpress card.
Castine
Castine is small, old and right on the water.
A village of white clapboard houses and elm-lined streets at the end of a peninsula in Penobscot Bay. Most of it is a walk from the front door.
Day trips
- Blue HillPotters, galleries and a farmers’ market35 min drive
- Stonington & Deer IsleA working lobster harbor and island walks1 hr drive
- Acadia National ParkCadillac Mountain, the carriage roads and Jordan Pond1 hr 30 min drive
Walk
Dyce Head Light
The lighthouse at the mouth of the harbor, with a path down to the rocks below. Go at sunset.
12 min walk
Walk
Witherle Woods
Quiet trails through spruce and moss to the shore. The loop takes about an hour.
15 min walk
Town
Main Street & the town dock
A bookshop, a general store, a few good dinners and the boats coming in.
4 min walk
On the water
Sailing on the bay
Half-day sails on a classic wooden schooner leave from the town dock, June to September.
From the town dock
On the water
Sea kayaking
Guided paddles around the harbor and out to the islands, for beginners too.
From the town dock
History
Fort George
The grassy earthworks of a 1779 fort on the hill above town. Good for a picnic and the view.
8 min walk
Gatherings
Take the whole house
Small weddings on the lawn, family reunions and quiet retreats. Book all nine rooms and the house is yours: up to 22 overnight guests and 60 on the lawn.
- 9
- rooms, 22 overnight guests
- 60
- guests for dinner on the lawn
- May – Oct
- lawn season
Reviews
4.9
“We have stayed in a lot of inns. This is the one we tell people about. The Boathouse at night with the woodstove going is about as good as it gets.”
Hannah R.Brookline, MassachusettsThe Boathouse · October 2025 “Theo’s popovers are worth the drive by themselves. Maren booked us a table in town and a sail the next morning, and both were perfect.”
David & AnjaliMontclair, New JerseyThe Captain’s Room · August 2025 “Our dog was treated better than we were, and we were treated very well. The Garden Room was spotless and the bed was dreamy.”
Owen & KatePortland, MaineThe Garden Room · May 2025
In the press
Coastwise
“The most charming nine rooms on the Maine coast.”
The Weekend Edit
“Come for the harbor, stay for the popovers.”
Northbound Journal
“An inn that feels like a friend’s summer house.”
Harbor & Field
“Quietly one of the best small inns in New England.”
Before you come
Plan your stay
The small print, written plainly. If something here doesn’t suit, ask us before you book.
- Check-in
- 3 – 7 pmArriving later? Tell us and we will leave a key.
- Check-out
- 11 amLate check-out until 1 pm when the room allows, $50.
- Minimum stay
- 2 nights on weekendsJune through October. Three nights on holiday weekends.
- Children
- Ages 10 and upAny age in the Orchard Suite.
- Dogs
- Welcome in two roomsThe Garden Room and the Stable Room, $40 per stay.
- Cancellation
- 14 daysFull refund up to 14 days before arrival; 30 days in July, August and October.
- Deposit
- First nightCharged at booking; the balance at check-out.
- Open
- All yearQuiet-season rates from November to April.
Getting here
- BostonBy car4 hr 30 min
- PortlandBy car2 hr 30 min
- Bangor International (BGR)By car1 hr
- By boatGuest mooringBy arrangement
Contact
(207) 555-0148stay@larkinhouse.com21 Perkins Street, Castine, Maine 04421The front desk is staffed 8 am – 8 pm. After that, there is a bell, and Theo answers it.
Questions
Yes, for everyone staying in the room, every morning. It is cooked to order between 8 and 10, and we can bring it down to the Boathouse.
Yes. There is free parking for one car per room behind the carriage house, with a step-free path to the Stable Room.
Dogs are welcome in the Garden Room and the Stable Room, which both open straight onto the garden. There is a $40 cleaning fee per stay, and we leave a bed, bowls and a treat.
The Stable Room is fully accessible, with a step-free path from parking, a roll-in shower and grab bars. The sunroom and parlor are on the ground floor and reachable without steps.
We serve breakfast and a harbor hour on the porch. For dinner, there are a few good restaurants in town, a short walk away, and we are happy to book for you.
Yes. All nine rooms sleep up to 22 guests, and the lawn holds 60 for dinner. Send us your dates and we will put a plan together.