08/15/2014
Portland Magazine - Featured Story - check it out at Portlandmagazine.com
Ivy Manor, 1930
The handsome mansion cloaked in ivy at 194 Main Street was built in the 1930s by a family physician who maintained his office in what is now the lobby area. He lived in the rest of the house with his own family. Business must have been good. Six of the eight guest rooms have fireplaces. The guest rooms now have fanciful names like Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge; the private baths are finished with English tiles.
“The ivy’s been here since the Thirties, and it changes with the seasons like the trees,” says Christine Poole, co-proprietor with husband John Poole. “In the fall, the leaves turn incredible shades of orange. It’s a sight.” The Pooles are in their second season at Ivy Manor.
The manor became an inn in 1996. There is a restaurant that’s open to the public, Michelle’s, on the premises, with an ambitious new head chef. “Last summer, Glenn Close and her husband had dinner with us, which was fun. They were with a group from Jackson Lab.
Christine says she was told by a repeat visitor to the inn that years ago, Prince William and Kate Middleton slipped in for dinner at Michelle’s one night while quietly vacationing here during their courtship. “Our guest says she caught sight of Kate on her way to the ladies room.”
Michelle’s started serving lunch this summer. “When weather permits, we put people out in the front garden for lunch–everyone wants to people-watch in Bar Harbor.”
