Historic Hotel. We have stayed here the last two Octobers and have been very happy each time. Great location with very scenic views. Love the large porches, enjoyed a bottle of wine overlooking the ocean, the hotel staff was very accommodating and provided us glasses. We liked that the rooms have few distractions, there is a community tv parlor if you just have to have a tv fix. Will definitely stay here again!!

I stayed at the Colony while speaking at a conference at the end of October. This location is perhaps the prime piece of commercial real estate in Kennebunkport. It is a short walk to the town center with lovely shops and to Walker Point for a magnificent view of the north Atlantic. I took advantage of the latter for a run in the mornings, as there is no fitness room.

The hotel is one of the great hotels of a previous era. While it is restored for modern use, it retains the decor of the past, which is lovely. The staff are very kind, the rooms are large with modern and spacious baths, and the breakfast (included in my stay) was great. Where else can you eat breakfast with a gorgeous view of the ocean? The hotel has a heated pool and it was being used even at the end of October. I wish I had thought to bring my swimsuit!

The down side, as has been mentioned in previous reviews, is the thinness of the walls. Given the fact that people were coming and going in the halls till quite late at night, and my neighbors were on the loud side, it was difficult to sleep. Thankfully I have learned to bring ear plugs, but I wish I had brought a white noise machine too.

Really a mixed bag - the good: excellent location with phenomenal views, including extraordinary sunsets (it helped that weather was extraordinarily beautiful), mostly exuberant staff. The not so good: we happened to be there for "dog weekend" - with yappy hour, etc. Constant dog barking, inside & out, & dog owners screaming (at their dogs), that combined with thin walls & floor/ceilings made for an extraordinarily noisy weekend. Hotel staff seemed more focused on the dogs than patrons. It's also a conference center so lots of traffic, people & cars. No spa services. No gym. Beautiful grounds. Poor wifi service, even in lobby. Another plus: it's a non-smoking facility.

We were in Kennebunkport in October 2012 to attend our good friends' wedding. As it was after Columbus Day weekend, many attractions in Kennebunk were closed so plan your trip accordingly!

What We Loved:
Beauty of Hotel
Helpfullness of the Front Desk
Sunset Views

What We Disliked:
Thin Walls
Check In at 4pm
Lack of Service Staff Attending to Cleaning Rooms

As for the hotel though, it's a gorgeous New England style historical hotel right on Ocean Ave with perfect views of the rock jetties and ocean sunsets. We loved this aspect. I was shocked when I called to see if we could get an early check in that the actual check in time isn't until 4pm. This seems rather late compared to most hotels considering their check-out time is early at 10am.
We immediately got checked in though and headed to our room to which we found that our bathroom door didn't close. This is not something we were ok with. We called to have someone take a look. Ten minutes later, we were immediately alerted to the thin walls as we heard a young child stomp up and down the stairs for about 15 minutes. I immediately went downstairs to ask for a new room as there was no way we were going to be able to sleep in the room at all that weekend.
The staff was very pleasant and were willing to change our room with no questions asked. They showed me a new room in the North Wing and it was better, the bathroom door closed, and we had a partial view of the ocean. We accepted it.
Unfortunately though, we heard noise all night- even snoring from the next room! Anytime someone was walking in the hall we heard that as well. I realize that this is the price you pay for staying in old hotels but we wouldn't recommend it.
Lastly, Saturday morning we lazily laid around the room, leaving at 1pm. We put out the service notice on the door, and coming back at 5:30pm our room was still not clean. We called asking or new towels and they brought them promptly but no action was taken to clean our room while we were out from 7pm-12pm.

Our stay also included a breakfast buffet with a la carte add ons- I liked that they were offering lobster Benedict.

All in all, if you're looking to get lots of rest I wouldn't recommend this hotel- especially not in the peak of summer when there are lots of families.

Stop by the hotel for a late afternoon cocktail, grab a cocktail, and watch the sunset.