Hospitality at the Top of Penobscot Bay Arrival: Three entrances/exits to the property—nice. Lots of parking, but only two identified handicap spots—there need to be more. They are clearly marked. Both are close to doors—good—but they are regular-size spots and need to be oversized spots.
There are plenty of luggage carts available, but there is only one elevator, and it’s small so only one luggage cart at a time is going to fit in there. There are ample stairwells.
Security: I noticed cameras outside, in the hallways, and in common areas—nice. Also, every exterior door we used was fully secured, available for entry with your valid keycard. Nice again.
Room: The room was easy to find but the electronic door was troublesome, not wanting to open. I had to go to the front desk, who reprogrammed the key, and it took multiple tries to get the door open. After day two it was finally discovered that the door batteries were out and we had to wait while the front office staff disassembled the door lock to put in new batteries so we could enter our room. My question: isn’t there a central schedule of when to change the batteries? If I were the maintenance chief here that is something I’d have in place.
Room temp control is an outside wall unit in the suite area. There is no air into the BR, but a tower fan is available to move the air from the suite into the BR. This setup worked pretty well for us; we put the fan up on the bureau to get a little better air circulation.
The bed had electrical outlets at the bedside stand on only one side; they need to be on each side. There also should be the same outlet setup on the small table between the two easy chairs in the suite area.
Bathroom: Small but workable. Nice grab rail for the tub/shower. Ample counterspace, which is crucial for couples/families. Had no problems with water or the operation of the faucets, toilet, or bath. Water pressure was sufficient, as was the hot water.
Suite/Living Room: this was good size, with two easy chairs but only one ottoman. There needs to be a second ottoman, which would not necessarily crowd the room. There were two chairs for the small table and the galley area was nice, with a mini-fridge, microwave, Keurig, and small sink. Everything worked just fine.
Balcony: the balcony opens to the large lawn, with Penobscot Bay right there. Nice view at all times, looking essentially directly south, beautiful. I caution that there is a small step-down from the room to the balcony, as someone caught off-guard by the drop could stumble forward and conceivably go right over the low railing. Watch yourself.
TVs: There were two, one in the BR and one in the suite area. Both are large flat-screens, appropriate size for the rooms. Both worked just fine, but for some inexplicable reason the channel setup was different between them. You can get used to the channel setup on one, but this does not translate at all to the other TV. Strange. The Guide button on the remote control does not bring up the channel guide; you have to surf to find it in the channels but once you do, the numbers displayed on the guide do not necessarily correspond to what they are on the TV so you have to remember the network and scroll through the channels to get to your destination. There were no PPV options.
Housekeeping: now this is interesting, a remnant of covid, apparently. You get a pamphlet that says that housekeeping will never come into your room during your stay. Okay, so that means the bed will not get made, the bathroom will not be tidied-up, no vacuuming, no room tidying, no daily cleaning, etc, which is, after all, one of the absolute core benefits of a hotel stay. And yet there is no reduction in price, which would seem a logical move. The solution is that you’re given a menu card for what you need, leave it on the door by 1000, and then your order appears at your door. We did the card twice during our six-night stay, and neither time was anything left for us. We had to go to the front desk to make the request…the card being gone we had to remember what we’d asked for. And we weren’t the only guests at the desk asking for towels and supplies. The front desk staff were responsive and helpful, but a few didn’t know where the various items were stored, and both times it took more than one visit to the front desk to get the things we’d asked for.
Pool: Definitely a major plus for this hotel. Easy to find, and very well maintained. The pool is not huge, but it’s indoors. The hot tub was indeed hot and the sauna was in working condition as well. Pool towels are available right there. The door to the pool is keycard-secured, which is good. There is no lifeguard but there are multiple cameras monitoring.
Lots of stuff for sale in the lobby, drinks, snacks, and souvenir stuff. It is always available. The hotel does not offer breakfast or any kind of prepared food. The good news is that there is a Thai place smack across the highway, Rice and Noodle, quite good and authentic Thai food. We did not try any delivery services; apparently this is rather limited in the Belfast area.
The hotel was quiet at night, generally. We found the walls to be rather thin, easily hearing lots of noise from both sides, TV, voices, etc. If you really want quiet, avoid the rooms in the X15 to X25 range, as they are centered near the elevator and central stairs.
Bottom Line: overall, a good visit. Would return.