Tugboat Inn

The Tugboat Inn’s location was walking distance to restaurants and the boat cruises. There are 4-5 different buildings offering various views and room access. We stayed on the pier rooms facing the ocean on the second floor. Nice views and easy access. There are no elevators.

The Tugboat was a nice stay. You can tell it’s a bit older of a building but they did a nice job. The view of the harbor was fantastic. Watching the lobster boats was very relaxing. The room was clean as was the bathroom. My only real complaint was the bathroom size. As a not small individual it was a bit cramped. The shower head was lower than I’d like(water pressure/temp was good) and when they put the new shower insert? in the center piece for holding soaps etc was sticking out into the shower. Had it been flush this problem is solved. Don’t get me wrong I’d gladly stay here again and everything you need is within MAYBE a relaxing 10 minute walk.

The Tugboat Inn comprises a few blocks of rooms plus the restaurant. It's situated right before a sharp bend in Commercial Street and is a five-minute walk from the piers from which the boat tours depart. Most of the shops and restaurants are within 15 minutes' walk back along the straight part of Commercial Street. If you want to pick up groceries, toiletries, etc., stop by Hannaford's on your way through Boothbay to Boothbay Harbor to avoid doubling back. I booked Room 105 during the shoulder season. This matters because 105 is a corner room on the pier end, over the water. It's a cleverly organized small space -- instead of a closet, there's a shelf and pole with hangers beside the bed; the shower and toilet are in one cubicle and the sink is in the tiny kitchen area -- with fantastic views. Boats chug by just a few yards away, and you can watch the sun rise over the harbor through the east-facing windows. There are two hitches: 1) the second-floor walkway is the roof of 105, and the staircase is right behind the bed; footsteps on the wood planks are loud, especially when guests are hurrying or carrying luggage, so if overhead noise bothers you, book a room on the second floor; 2) if you park in the lot past the restaurant, you'll have to either walk back up to the sidewalk and go down the other side of the restaurant to reach 105 or walk up the stairs to the second floor, beg pardon of the guests who may be sitting outside their rooms with legs outstretched, cross the end of the pier, and walk down the stairs to the ground floor. Except when I was carrying luggage, I took the stairs only when I saw that the second-floor walkway was vacant. I'll write separate reviews for the nearby Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and the Boothbay Railway Village, but I will mention here the wooden footbridge across the harbor. It's about a quarter-mile from the inn, going back along Commercial Street, and it should not be bypassed. You'll get gorgeous views as you walk across, and the house located at the midpoint of the bridge is like something out of a fairytale; just respect the fact that it's a private residence and not for intrusive selfies. Once you're on the opposite side, turn right and keep going for about a mile, past the towering white Our Lady Queen of Peace church, until you reach the Boothbay Lobster Wharf, run by the local lobster fishers. I ate lobster rolls at three renowned restaurants in Maine, and the one at BLW won hands-down for quality, quantity, and price. The outdoor seating can be breezy, but you'll hardly notice as you savor the luscious pile of claw, leg, and tail meat. Overall, Tugboat Inn was a very good choice as a base for exploring. It's close to everything I wanted to see, had plenty of parking, very pleasant staff, and charged reasonable rates.