My wife and I spent 10 days at the Black Bear in June 2010, part of the tima as delegates to the annual meeting of the Dragonfly Society of the Americas. As "foreigners" we were made especially welcome and the front of house staff did everything they could to make us feel at home. Our room on the second floor was clean and airy and the breakfast area always clean and with enough seating - even during the conference. My only complaint was a very poor, tough steak served early in our stay - enough to make us eat dinner out for the rest of the visit. But there is no shortage of good food in the Orono area. We would unhesitatingly stay at the Black Bear on any future visits.

The staff was super friendly and we were able to quickly get into our room even though we did not have a reservation. The bear theme was cute and not over done and our room got really nice sunlight. Hot showers are very important to me, so I was very pleased to find the water had great pressure and stayed nice and hot the whole time. The sheets, carpet and bathroom were really clean and I had a very comfortable sleep. The worst part was having to get up in the morning, but fortunately there were waffles at the continental breakfast to motivate me. We did not quite make the 11:00 a.m. check out but they were really nice about it and did not charge us extra. We checked in too late to make the wine and cheese social, so we will definitely try to get there next time. I would definitely recommend this hotel!
-Paige

I stayed here for work last September and wasn't impressed. When I needed to come up to Orono again this September I decided to give the Black Bear Inn another chance as it does have potential- the staff are very nice.

My room was on the second floor and I decided to take the stairs. They were old and flimsy as was the hallway leading to my room. The carpet is worn and smells of dust.

Then I get to my two queen-bedded room. The first thing I noticed was the dank, dusty smell; the second was a concaved, old and worn bed. I chose the other bed which was a bit better.

The bathroom was dirty. The toilet had not been scrubbed in a while, bathtub had a slow drain and the shower curtain was moldy.

Some channels on the TV came in fine while the local NBC,CBS and ABC channels were fuzzy- odd- but obviously from low-end cable subscription.

I then went to the 'exercise room.'.
Worst I have ever seen! The weight equipment was fine but only one treadmill which was about 10 years old and in bad repair. I usually run but did not trust it so I just walked on it.

It seems like more of the positive reviews were from years ago. These days it seems like the management doesn't want to admit that it is time for a renovation.

I had to stay at the Black Bear Inn recently in order to attend a funeral of a lifelong friend. I was very happy to have such an easy check in process and such a friendly and welcoming staff. I got checked in in minutes, had a delicious cookie, and then headed to my room.

My room was clean, bright, and decorated with quilts and artwork depicting black bears. I thought the room was very tastefully decorated and very comfortable. I even had a small stuffed black bear on the bed to "keep me from being lonely." I purchased the bear (which his tag said I could) as the profits go to Cancer Care for Maine - one of the charities my friend who passed requested donations be directed to.

I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone who is staying in the Bangor/Orono area. It is very conveniently located directly off the Stillwater Ave, Old Town exit of I-295 and is an easy drive to Bangor and the surrounding area.

I will be back to stay for a happier occasion - thank you to the staff for the amazing service. My only note is that I wish the restaurant were open past 8 PM (at least until 10) so that when I got back from visiting hours at 9 I could have had dinner or a drink in the restaurant instead of having to drive into town. I did have a great dinner at Pat's Pizza (the original!) that night in Orono...which was a real treat...so it all worked out.