Hanscom’s Motel

Deceptively nice place. The outside leaves much to be desired, but once you get inside one of the small cabins, you’ll find a clean, well cared for room. The bed was comfortable and the room was warm (we pulled in and it was 40 degrees out). The gal working the front desk was nice and friendly. Certainly worth checking out. Oh… and they accept pets.

Have stayed here multiple times while visiting Acadia National Park. Great, clean cottages minutes away from Bar Harbor. In addition to being able to cook inside the cottage, there is also outdoor grills/​seating. You are also within walking distance from a beach area called, ‘The ovens,’ which is a great place for collecting sea glass. Will stay here again!

I’ve gone back and forth as to whether to allocate 2 or 3 stars. I’ve thought hard about the descriptor for two stars: «meh, I’ve experienced better» versus the descriptor for 3 stars: «A-​OK». There are some aspects of both those experiences so read this as 2.5 stars.
As nice as the people working here seemed to be, we were disappointed in several key aspects of our stay.
Despite the essentially really excellent reviews on both Unilocal and TripAdvisor extolling the cottages on this property, we were underwhelmed. Perhaps it was just our cottage that had these issues.
When I booked the cottage months ago now, there was only one left. I took that as a good sign. And so we signed on for our recent stay in Bar Harbor.
Although we found cottage #10 to be in very good visual shape with what looked like a fairly recent paint job and newer amenities, we immediately upon entering noted that it smelled like someone’s damp, mildewy basement. Despite how pristinely clean everything was, which we appreciated, the dampness prevailed and was unsettling.
It had rained heavily the day we arrived but one rain storm alone would not create this problem.
We opened the windows to air it out but disappointingly a window on one side of the cottage did not have a screen and hence we could not just leave all the windows open as we would have liked.
When we inquired about getting the missing screen we were told «that one window has never had a screen». Hmm. well, why not just get a screen and install it?
Despite not wanting to flood the place with mosquitos and other flying bugs we did leave the unscreened window open for awhile hoping to create a drying cross-​breeze with the open front two windows. While that helped somewhat it did not remove the dampness you felt and did not take away the mildew smell.
Though the bathroom was in pristine and very clean condition the cottage owners’ choice of installing a virtually rimless sink meant that there was absolutely no place whatsoever to put toiletries.
There was a small space next to the sink where a small table would fit. It would have been nice to have something like that at least on which to put a few items and I urge the owners to fit something in that space to ameliorate this issue.
The bathroom door would not fully open without hitting the side of the toilet bowl and meant that the space felt cramped and awkward.
The towel rack was hung behind the toilet bowl which for me is always a dubious location. If not careful, towels can fall into or onto the toilet or around it, and no matter how clean a cottage or hotel room might be, this is something I would abhor happening when not in my own home.
In fact my husband did knock down his towel on the second morning we were there. It fell against the base of the toilet bowl. Uh, no thanks. As there were no extras he used a beach towel we had with us.
The first day we arrived we could not seem to get the a.c. unit to work.
It wasn’t that we needed air conditioning because it was pleasantly cool out but the unit had a setting called «cool-​dry» which we thought might be useful as a way to dry out the cottage.
The owner could not figure out how to get it to work either and apologized to us but then that was the end of it. Was there no one who knew how to work the unit available anywhere?
The lamp on one of the bedside tables did not work after the first few minutes of our arrival. The next morning, I left a note in the room about it. When we returned that night the lamp was fixed but you could not shut it off without unplugging the lamp. I say, perhaps time for a new lamp.
Although we did not use them, there is a gas grill and patio table and chairs for outside barbecuing and dining.
Our cottage was one of the smaller ones having no kitchenette which was fine with us. We were happy with the fridge and Keurig coffee maker. Both looked new.
There is also a nice flat-​screen TV hanging on the wall but we did not use it.
There is free Wi-​Fi which we did take advantage of and appreciated.
The cottages are located in a pretty setting a short walk from a beautiful rocky beach.
The area is also wonderfully quiet save for the lovely sound of birds especially in the morning.
This is a pet-​friendly place. And although we no longer have a dog, I am always grateful for places that allow people to bring their animals.
We had wanted a cute Maine cottage experience but the absolute dankness and mildew-​y odor of the cottage, despite how bright and clean it looked, marred the experience.
We were not looking for fancy, just a simple rustic but pleasant cabin. This might have been it save for the a kind of laxness around the things I’ve mentioned.
A dehumidifier would help in the short run.
The owners have done a good job of keeping things clean and updated but with other things not right, it doesn’t add up for us at any price.

Solid bet, especially for couples or small families visiting Acadia NP.
Pro: clean, modern cottages. You immediately see that all 12 cottages have been renovated and are presented well. Studio or kitchenette rooms. Flat-​screen TV, Keurig coffee maker, fantastic shower (super valuable after a long hike). I suspect the owner is a craftsman given the condition. Also, they completely manage the property (maintain, housekeeping, reservations) as their house is on the property too. Location is outside of the busier Bar Harbor, but is an easy 7min drive in. Pet friendly.
Con: Wi-​Fi and heating didn’t work. They have 2 networks setup, but my laptop, iPhone or iPad wasn’t able to detect any for 3 days. Front desk said they’d been having the same problem, but weren’t exactly gung-​ho in addressing a fix. The heating-​cooling is provided by a single inverter unit which kept giving me a fault code when I switched between the two modes. Not a big deal, but in the morning it’s a bit chilly. Welcome to Maine.

My cottage was clean, quiet, and it was obvious that everything had been recently remodeled. Flat screen, free WiFi and they accept pets. What more could you want? Its also just a short walk to Frenchmen’s Bay with access to a private beach and great views.