Berry Manor Inn
81 Talbot Avenue
Rockland , Maine 04841
Reservations: 800-774-5692
Business line: 207-596-7696
Fax: 207-596-9958
Your hosts: Cheryl Michaelsen, Mike LaPosta and family
Once the stately home for one of Rockland’s most prominent
merchants, today, Berry Manor Inn is among Maine’s most romantic B&B inns and was
recently named one of the top ten best B&Bs and inns in the US by TripAdvisor.com.
Down East Magazine calls it “The Wow House.” Renowned for its room amenities,
grand hospitality with a Victorian flair, and a very unusual collection of toy hamsters, the
Berry Manor Inn offers the ideal mid-coast location for exploring Maine’s arts, heritage
and sights. The Berry Manor Inn offers a host of amenities for everyone from those
seeking a romantic getaway to travelers in search of business amenities including
complimentary high-speed internet access, flat screen televisions with DVD players, IPod
docking stations, guest computer and printer work station, in-room phones and flexible
breakfast schedules. The Berry Manor Inn has been certified by the state of Maine as an
environmental leader in the hospitality industry.
There are twelve spacious and uncluttered guest
rooms – eight in the main inn (four each on 2nd and 3rd floors), and four in the Carriage
House (all 2nd floor rooms). Two of the Carriage House rooms can be converted to a two
room/two bath suite. All guest rooms have private luxury baths, air conditioning and
individual heat. Eleven of the twelve rooms have working fireplaces; eight rooms offer
whirlpool baths (four are oversized two-person baths) and four rooms offer custom two-
person walk-in, multi-jet showers for the vertical whirlpool experience.
Each of the twelve guest rooms is uniquely decorated in the warm, rich colors of the
Victorian palette and furnished with a blend of antique and period reproductions. Great
care has been taken to preserve the features of this grand mansion, including the display
of the original wallpaper in some rooms. Each guest room offers a telephone, wireless or
cabled high-speed internet access, flat screen television with DVD player, irons/ironing
boards, clock radio, hair dryer and warm, plush robes. A lovely collection of signature
soaps and shampoos is offered in each room. Each night, staff turn down beds, leave
chocolates on the pillows, and set the radio to soft classical music to welcome you home
to your room.
In the quiet season, (mid-October through mid-June) room rates range from $115 (double
occupancy) for some 3rd floor rooms with queen beds and private baths featuring claw
tubs to $175 for luxury rooms featuring king beds, sitting areas, double whirlpools and
multi-jetted showers. Two-room, luxury suites with two baths are $240 per night. During
the summer season, (mid-June through mid-October) the same rooms range from $175 to
$275 per night, with the two-room luxury suites at $400 per night. Online booking is
available.
Guests are welcome to enjoy the inn’s many common rooms including
the drawing room, the formal parlor, a quiet and fully stocked second-floor library with
books and DVDs, the front porch, and the 24 hour complimentary guest pantry complete
with refrigerator, microwave and freshly baked homemade pies made by the inn’s moms
recently featured on the Food Network! Guests of the Carriage House also have use of
their own living room, complete with a fully-stocked refrigerator, pantry and pies.
Guests should arrive hungry, as the wonderful fare begins at
7:00am with fresh coffee in the 2nd floor library and Carriage House pantry. Breakfast is
served at individual tables between 8:00 and 9:30am in the elegantly appointed dining
room, and features a multi-course meal including a choice of juice, fruit, pastries and an
entrée. Entrées alternate between sweet and savory dishes, including lemon blueberry
pancakes, banana stuffed French toast, baked eggs with tomatoes and basil, and even the
famous lobster egg casserole, served during the world-famous Lobster Festival.
Built in 1898 with all the grandeur of the Victorian age as a wedding gift for his
new bride, this shingle-styled mansion was originally the residence of Charles H. Berry, a
prominent local merchant and nephew of Civil War General, Hiram Berry. It was a center
of grand and gracious hospitality for more than a century, first as the primary residence of
four generations of the Berry family, then in the hands of another local family for fifty
years. Present owners, Cheryl Michaelsen and her husband Michael LaPosta bought the
inn 100 years after it was built, attracted by its bold, symmetrical design and potential. In
90 contractor days, they converted the inn from a private residence to an elegant bed and
breakfast inn. All renovation work met the standards imposed by the Department of the
Interior to ensure the original architectural features of the property were both maintained
and preserved. The property is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. A
complete history of the inn may be requested.
While all ages are welcome, the inn caters to adults. There
is a cat in the innkeepers’ residence. Guests traveling with pets are encouraged to board
cats and dogs at nearby facilities. All guest rooms must be accessed by stairways.
Emergency horns and strobes for hearing or seeing impaired are found in every room.
The inn is completely non-smoking and has a full sprinkler system in place.
Berry Manor Inn is renowned for the following unique features:
- The only AAA four-diamond rated Historic Bed and Breakfast inn from Portland through the Midcoast and one of sixteen properties in all of the state to achieve this rating based on superior facilities, guest amenities and concierge services.
- A family affair – While Cheryl and Mike are the primary innkeepers, both
Moms bake pies for guests and Mike’s dad still helps with the laundry. The
“family” has been extended to add Lori and Chelsea as assistant innkeepers to
make sure all guests needs are met.
- Frivolity within elegance – There is no doubt that the Berry Manor Inn is among
Rockland’s most elegant inns. What makes it special is light-hearted frivolity
which highlights every guest’s stay. A fabulous collection of dancing hamster
toys is on display and offered for just about any special occasion a guest could be
celebrating. If you’re lucky, you may even be treated to Cheryl’s mother’s bird
calls, which defy words and must been seen (and heard) to be appreciated. During
Lobster Festival, both innkeepers and guests alike don lobster hats, and guests
dine on red lobster-shaped pancakes and lobster eggs.
- Business traveler amenities – Berry Manor Inn offers everything that any
corporate traveler might need, and it’s all complimentary – in-room phones with
free local calls, free high speed internet access – both cabled and wireless, flexible
breakfast hours for early travel, use of the fax machine and copier, a computer for
guest use, concierge services and assistance with transportation needs.
From Portland, ME: Take I-95 to Rt. 295 North (Exit 44). Follow to Exit 28,
Bath/Brunswick Coastal Rt. 1 and follow approximately 55 miles into Rockland. Take a
left at the first traffic light onto Broadway (Route 1A). Go straight through the next
traffic light, and continue for 4 more streets. Turn right on Talbot Ave, and Berry Manor
Inn is the second building on the left.