The miracle of the Asticou makeover, if it pulls it off ...

NORTHEAST HARBOR, April 19, 2025 - In 2021 I was proven wrong when I doubted that the historic Claremont Hotel in Southwest Harbor would re-open in time after the new owner embarked on an extensive 9-month remodeling at the dawn of the pandemic.

I will be equally amazed if the new Asticou Hotel opens on its promised date of June 1, judging from what I saw this wet Saturday morning at the construction site, where a phalanx of workers pounded away at every aspect of the project.

The main house at the new Asticou Hotel with plenty work to do inside and out.

I counted at least five persons working on the swimming pool, which was first proposed as an indoor pool but appears to have changed on the hotel’s own website. Either way, it has a long way to go before any public use. Harrington disposed of those round, yurt-like cottages which clashed with the sensibility of a New England inn. They are being replaced by small cottages (visible in the background) which will have 18 new rooms.

Asticou Hotel’s home page envisioning the end product.

But if anyone can make this minor miracle happen, it would be the hotelier/magician Tim Harrington.

This project is three times as ambitious as the renovated Claremont.

On June 7, 2023 I reported that Harrington was negotiating to buy the Asticou to complete the takeover of the island’s two historic inns. That deal was closed on July 12, 2023, according to the Hancock County Registry of Deeds. The price was $7.75 million, according to Mainebiz.

Harrington’s remaking of the historic Claremont Hotel in Southwest Harbor in 2021 won him fans and detractors. I swung both ways on this question.

The remodeling of the Claremont in the winter of 2021 was a truly herculean effort, in that it took him less than a year at the height of the pandemic. The end product was spectacular. I chatted with him on opening night and marveled at how he was able to remove the stanchions in the middle of the dining room to create one of the most spectacular spaces in Maine, if not the world - a panorama of Somes Sound from every table.

(Harrington acquired numerous year-round properties in Southwest Harbor to house his seasonal staff, and I wonder how he is going to manage housing needs for more than 200 Asticou employees. Harrington also owns the Salt Cottages in Hull’s Cove, formerly the Colony Cottages.)

The great lawn from the main house down to the water is being displaced by cottages, a pool and poolside rooms.

The hotel is booking rooms on its website starting June 1 with no caveats about the possibility of a delayed opening. A two-night stay in a queen room with a view of the parking lot will set you back $1,100. A king room with a terrace and view of the harbor is going for $1,670 for two nights.

Harrington is creating cottages ringing the edges of the property with a small New England village effect.

In 1984, my wife and I took a vacation and stayed at the Asticou on the recommendation of a colleague at the Boston Globe. We paid $35 a night for five nights. I walked down to the village and got a haircut for $5.

I don’t remember anything about the food, except that the dining room was staffed by college kids who were learning an important skill on how to deal with a variety of customers whom they had to please.

Harrington’s kitchen at the Asticou will deliver memorable meals, and I look forward to engaging with his staff, especially if they are anything like the crew at the Claremont - the South African visa holders who are dealing with a variety of customers whom they need to please - but without a safety net.