Bar Harbor, Maine
Be among the first to enjoy, "Balance Cottage," and experience the ultimate, luxury, vacation. This brand new, custom home, completed August, 2017, is located in a secluded, private neighborhood, just a half mile from the entrance to Acadia National Park and five minutes from downtown Bar Harbor.
"Balance Cottage" is a vacationer's dream and features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a grand stone fireplace, gourmet kitchen, custom bunk room, deck with contemporary fire table, and cozy coffee porch. The gourmet kitchen offers a 9' cook's island, fully integrated appliances, a limestone hood, authentic hand- hewn ceiling beams, granite countertops, a convection oven, full size refrigerator/freezer, a five-burner cooktop, ice maker, dishwasher, coffeemaker, microwave oven, and toaster. The kitchen is fully appointed with the finest cookware, flatware, and earthen tableware. An oak dining table, with comfortable seating, graces the spacious dining area. A large deck off the kitchen is ideal for entertaining and features plush and bench seating around a stylish 6' propane fire table. The living room offers a massive stone fireplace, beamed cathedral ceilings, a flat screen TV, with Roku and many premium channels, a stereo system utilizing AIRPLAY to stream all your favorite music, a leather sofa and luxe seating. Two of the three bedrooms each offer a king size bed, ceiling fans, opulent bed linens, new pillow-top mattresses, and the finest down pillows. The nautical themed bunk room has an entertainment center, complete with flat screen TV, BLU-RAY player, Roku and more. The bunk room features two queen lower beds and two double upper bunks, each with its own device charging station and reading light. The two bathrooms have custom stone showers, the softest terry towels and a washer and dryer. The sunny coffee porch is the perfect place to view the abundant wildlife in the area: families of white-tail deer, chipmunks, mallard ducks, wild turkeys, amazing birds, and a nesting pair of bald eagles. The house boosts brand new, designer furnishings throughout, stone and wide-plank wood floors, high-speed wifi, central air-conditioning and heat, a security system, tons of windows and natural light, and a large propane Weber outdoor grill. Gorgeous water views and shore seating at the back of the main house (not the Cottage) and water access on the beautiful sandy beach of Hulls Cove, completes the package and makes "Balance Cottage," the perfect spot for your next vacation.
This unique property provides privacy, solitude and security, while being just minutes from the thrills of Acadia National Park and the excitement of downtown Bar Harbor, with its many shops, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues. The shorefront of this south facing property provides views of Cadillac Mountain, the Bar Harbor skyline, the Porcupine Islands, Frenchman's Bay with its working lobster boats, and breathtaking sunrise and moon-rise views. Jump on your kayak, from the Hulls Cove beach and paddle away. Pairs of loon, and seals with their pups, will share the cove as you glide by. Return to explore a shore littered with sea glass, nautical buoys and the occasional lobster trap.
Acadia National Park is within walking distance ( it is less than a mile to the park entrance and Welcome Center.) Acadia is a gem and offers 30,000 acres, including 100 miles of car-free bike paths, mountain climbing, hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, bird watching, kayaking and breathtaking mountain vistas. Wildlife abounds and adds to the natural beauty. The park is a photographer's dream and talented photographers and park rangers lead educational expeditions daily.
All four seasons are special in Bar Harbor and must be experienced at the magnificent "Balance Cottage," to fully be appreciated. The crystal clear, low humidity, days of summer. Day-tripping to explore the out-islands and enjoy lunch. Lobster rolls on the dock, while watching the fishermen bring in their catch. The old-fashioned magic of July 4th, with the parade and heart stopping fireworks. Whale watching, music in the park, and souvenir shopping at the many shops or art shows. An unforgettable hike in Acadia, with the view from the top of the trail, imbedded in your brain. A mouth-watering dinner in town and then returning to "Balance," for a glass of wine around the fire pit and a chance to re-live the day. Hearing the mystical call of the loon as you fall asleep in your heavenly bed, knowing your family will never forget this special time together.
Autumn brings the majestic leaves in a cornucopia of colors, the hillsides a patchwork quilt full of golds, yellows and reds. The crisp air, the corn mazes, apple orchards, hay rides, pumpkin patches and apple cider doughnuts. Beautiful mums and other seasonal offerings line the shelves of the shops in town and photographers attempt to record the unforgettable colors of the season. The wildlife around "Balance," are getting ready for winter and a hint of cherry-wood smoke can be detected in the air. Vacationers stop into pubs around town to enjoy a crab taco, a brick-oven pizza and a pumpkin beer. A drive up Cadillac Mountain to see the fall color is in order, followed by a hike around Jordan Pond to glimpse the beavers preparing for winter.
Winter at "Balance Cottage," on Mount Desert Island, is special. Pure, crystal snow, blankets the area and Norman Rockwell scenes abound. The mist rises off the warmer water of Frenchman's Bay and forms a low lying fog, as it hits the cold air above. The cross-country ski trails open in Acadia National Park and the snowmobile trails are groomed by riders on their first ride of the season. Christmas is celebrated with Midnight Madness shopping sprees in town and visits from Santa himself. Ice skating ponds fill up and ice fishermen scatter the frozen lakes. White lights twinkle in the windows of "Balance Cottage," and snuggling up with a good book or glass of wine by the fire, while snowflakes fall outside the window, is the perfect ending to the day.
The renewed glory of spring is best enjoyed at "Balance." The flowering trees and shrubs are in bloom and birdsong fills the air. Sand Beach is deserted and the perfect place to pick up sea glass and other treasures. Begin a new collection of smooth, heart shaped, rocks and realize once you look closely, they are everywhere to be found. The Bar Harbor Inn hosts its famous Easter Brunch and Easter Egg Hunts fill the parks. Enjoy a day at Eagle Lake and return to "Balance," for a family dinner around the massive oak dining table. In the morning, step out onto the porch to view the neighborhood Doe, with its white-spotted fawn, cross the lawn, stop and look, as though posing for a photograph.
"Balance Cottage," offers the vacationer every comfort and pleasure, during all four seasons each year. Return to "Balance," again and again, to experience it all. We welcome your visits and will do everything to ensure your stay is luxurious, carefree, and perfect in every way... just like you have always dreamed.
This cottage has everything you need to visit Acadia park in comfort. We enjoyed the fire pit and fire table as well as the comfortable furniture and kitchen.
Very comfortable, clean and convenient
Great house.
We enjoyed our stay. The location for us was great - out of the craziness of Bar Harbor but close enough to get to quickly. It was also very near the park entrance. The bunk room was a big hit and very thoughtfully designed with lots of drawers. We loved the privacy - although very near the owners house, the cottage is surrounded by trees so it was very private. We enjoyed the patio area, too.
A perfect spot for our group of four adults and two kids.
Our stay was incredible. Kathy was a fabulous host!
First, cottage is beautiful with decorating that is beautiful, simple and well done. The porch and fire pit are a great addition. The cottage is smaller than the pics look with the kitchen, living room and dining room in the same area with open layout. No water view which we found a little misleading when we looked at the house originally. The water is accessible by walking to the side of the owners property but you can’t get down to the beach area. We had some disappointments which I will fairly express. First, if you love to cook you will be frustrated by how poorly the kitchen is stocked. The nonstick pans are scratched up and some of the pans are warped and don’t sit on the burners flush. We are all very good cooks and we were frustrated with the limited kitchen stocking. For the price of this house, I feel like it should have had at least a good set of pots and pans and a good set of cooking utensils along with some reasonable serving utensils. We struggled all week to cook meals. There were also several chipped dishes which we found disappointing. Secondly, the floor in the master bedroom creaks so loudly that the person sleeping on the opposite side had to crawl across the bed to keep from waking the other. Third, the host of the house was not responsive enough to our needs. We had an issue and the host never responded. Owner lives on property… house is pretty but from our perspective, we think it is overpriced based on our experience.
The house is exactly as described and was in a good spot - far enough from town to avoid all the bustle, but close enough for convenience. Also just minutes away from Acadia. Would love to stay again.
It was a beautiful property and the location was perfect, quiet, and clean
Very clean and well kept.
This is a beautiful home in the perfect location. Easy to get to Acadia and to downtown Bar Harbor! The home is beautiful and perfect for a group! You have the Beach 100 yards away and it is breathtaking!
The ‘Balance Cottage’ is in a perfect location for Acadia National Park and downtown Bar Harbor!
Exceptional property in an excellent location. Fit and finish high-end and worth the $$ Bunk beds in kids room a huge hit Quick and easy text communication with Kathy, our host.
Balance Cottage is a very clean, quaint cottage in a high end neighborhood of Bar Harbor. Everything including Acadia, shops and many restaurants are easily accessible from the home. The house is clean, updated and well appointed. We got to use the kitchen for several nice meals including one that was prepared by a professional chef. The owner is extremely attentive to the guests and was very flexible with our complicated schedule. We really enjoyed our stay in the cottage.
We had a wonderful stay in this beautiful home! It was very close to everything that we wanted to do and was very clean. My daughter loved the bunk room and seeing the two deer that showed up most evenings. Thanks for providing us with a great place to stay and we hope to be back for a return visit in the future.
I first want to say that Acadia and Bar Harbor are beyond beautiful. The food is great, the atmosphere spectacular, and the park is beyond words. The only thing that could have made this better was the stay at Balance Cottage. This house is tucked away into a secluded and beautiful area just yards from the harbor. The house is clean, new, and very comfortable. To use the words of my kids. Dad this was my favorite house. I would say that you are missing out if you dont stay here. Worth every penny we spent. The host Kathy is on the spot with everything. She checked in on us every day and was always available to answer any questions. When the batteries ran out on a remote, she had them replaced within a couple of hours. Outstanding service. You are doing yourself a disservice if you don't stay here. This is how a VRBO should be run.
My family and I had an amazing time at Balance Cottage! They had truly thought of every detail to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable. You cannot beat the location… just a few minutes from town and the entrance to Acadia. I do wish I’d realized that the cottage wasn’t waterfront, as I had two young boys with me who would have loved to play outside more, but we felt uncomfortable using the yard of the main home. That aside, there isn’t a single thing I’d change about this rental, and we are already looking forward to coming back!
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Includes taxes and fees