Wedding Venue/Resort Where Guests Can Stay Over?

[zgold10]

Hi, we are young professionals, recently engaged and looking for a wedding venue maybe 1-2 hours from Boston where the guests would be able to stay on the property. I'd like a place where our family and friends could go and make a weekend of it--preferably never having to leave the property. We would like a late summer/ early Fall wedding

- We're probably looking at around a 150-guest wedding, it is likely that not all guests would stay over.

-Any venues on the Maine/NH seacoast would be appreciated

-Obviously, great food is must

Thank you in advance for the help, you guys are the best.

[pinehurst]

Not coastal, but does anyone have any recent experience of Eagle Mountain House in Jackson NH. Both that and the Wentworth are on golf courses and used to have decent bars on site as well. There's always the Mt Washington, too (but the latter is $$$)

[Beach Chick]

White Barn Inn Kennebunk Maine..love love love but $$$$
Bethel Inn

Cape
Ocean Edge
Chatham bars inn
Wequessett resort

[Mainegal]

Check out the York Harbour Inn, Stage Neck Inn, and Union Bluff (all in York, Maine); the Cliff House, in Ogunquit; The Colony and The Nonantum, in K'port. All of these are large enough to host 150 guests and all are on or overlooking the ocean.

[gwenst]

Have to put in the new hampshire side of the story!!

On the seacoast in Rye, NH is Wentworth by the Sea. Would definitely be able to accomodate all your guests and is fancy, but i don't have any anecdotes about how it actually is.

Now, a bit outside your traveling time area there are some wonderful places i would highly recommend:

Wolfeboro, Castle in the clouds

Then any of the grand inns/hotels of the White Mountains

Sunset Hill Inn - excellent food, excellent views of franconia notch, awesome people ( i got married here in june!) You can rent the whole inn for the weekend - though i don't think 150 people could overnight in the inn, they can certainly accomodate a wedding of that size

Whitefield - Mountain view Grand
Bretton Woods - Omni Mt Washington
Both have excellent reputations and chefs on staff and certainly fit all your guests in
Jackson (several places here) - would highly rec Nestlenook - again, can rent the whole place for the weekend, but would need to find caterers

Good luck in your search!!

[foodieX2]

I went to a wedding at Wentworth by the Sea years ago and it was wonderful. Food was excellent, views amazing, lots to do, etc. Really a nice venue

However I went there this spring for a girls weekend and the place was pretty shabby. It’s now a Marriot and has a definite Marriot feel. Food was still good (not great by any means) but in line with a big hotel, views still amazing, still lots to do etc. I would just caution you to look at it pretty closely as some of the “ballrooms” were more suited for work conference than wedding.

[zgold10]

Thank you for all of the great suggest, paricularly Wentworth. We are headed there Saturday morning, and I am really curious as to what we are going to find, given some of the up and down reviews. Seems like a generally positive consensus, however. I will definitely report back

[Tante]

If you mean Sunset Hill House, I would not recommend it. I was at a wedding there 3 weeks ago and I was really displeased with the lack of staff attention. During the wedding, the microphone kept coming out, and there was no one--no one!--from the staff there to handle it, or even just standing by keeping an eye on things. A member of the bridal party kept jiggling the cord to get it to work again; there was no one on staff standing by to make sure things went smoothly. The food was nothing remarkable, either, and tasted very much like "we can make a million of these quickly" which, of course, it was.

[gwenst]

I am so sorry you felt that way as a guest!
I was the bride there in June, and have no complaints. Nice, small wedding may have made the difference. They had real whipped cream ( i have a vendetta against cool whip) and local strawberries with out having to ask. Good in my book.

[MidCoastMaineiac]

Not to rain on the parade, but Point Lookout is easily 3 and 1/2 hours from Boston...not 1-2 like poster was originally looking for. Of course I'd always recommend the MidCoast...esp for a wedding destination. If u are expanding your horizons I would also suggest the Samoset Resort. Huge, recently renovated, beautiful spot and a much improved restaurant. It puts you close to Rockland/Rockport/Camden too...2nd only to Portland for good chow.

[zgold10]

Thanks so much, any specifics on the MidCoast?

[zgold10]

Samoset is basically exactly what I'm looking for. have friend who got married there and absolutely loved it. Just too far from Boston.

[madisoneats]

For that many people I would check out some of the more upscale ski resorts which will have room for everyone, plus a host of amenities on site. For example, Jackson Gore at Okemo is gorgeous and does tons of weddings. Take a look here
http://www.luxuryskitrips.com/top10_s...

[zgold10]

Thank you all so much for the great suggestions. We are just setting out on the process of securing a venue with great food that meets all of the criteria above; so please keep the suggestion coming. Thanks again.

[eric10dk]

zgold10 - if you ever need feedback on Point Lookout, simply let me know. We did tons of due diligence on most wedding venues in Maine.

[bobbert]

If money is no object:
White Barn Inn - Kennebunk - great food as well
Can't comment on the food for the following but fantastic seaside locations:
Black Point Inn - Scarborough, Me
Inn By the Sea - Cape Elizabeth, Me
And if you want to stay on an island of the coast of Maine...
The Inn on Peaks Island - only about 6 rooms but a 20 minute ferry ride from the heart of Portland's Old Port for lots to do and many rooms at better price points for guests.

[eric10dk]

Where my wife and I got married: Point Lookout resort in Northport, ME (just north of Camden). Check it out.

[crawfish]

Point Lookout is an interesting spot. It was built high on a mountain as a private resort for MBNA but is now open to the public. It still feels a little corporate but they have little cottages which look quite nice and full facilities like a fitness club, swimming pool and even a bowling alley. You could have a lot of fun with it and it's only 10 minute drive from Camden and Belfast so you have some fantastic dining and site seeing options.

http://www.visitpointlookout.com/inde...