Michael H.
Yelp
We stayed four nights at Norumbega for our honeymoon--three nights in the Canaervon Room, one in Sandringham--and we were so happy with the entire experience, could not have chosen better. The rooms are exquisitely decorated with attention to detail related to comfort and cleanliness and overall aesthetic appeal. So charming and delightful--a truly memorable experience.
Our first room had a private balcony and access to a shared balcony, the former with a cozy, secluded feel, the latter with a lovely view of the sloping lawn below, trees and farther beyond the bay with its sailboats. Breakfast was delivered to our room each morning and we enjoyed it for three mornings on the private balcony, each morning looking forward to pulling the plate cover off the main entree to see what artistic and delicious dish awaited us. Seriously, the breakfasts--the best. Like brunch at a five-star restaurant. Here was one of our favorites: scrambled free range eggs on wilted garlicky greens and buttermilk biscuit, topped with in-house pork sausage gravy. So good. Phil, the chef and part-owner, is a true talent.
Our fourth night we stayed in a room that included the turret and enjoyed breakfast and tea there, in a little pseudo-sitting room, taking in the decor and Victorian charm--felt like a scene from Downton Abbey, in a good way. The second room had a real claw-foot bathtub, which was much-appreciated after several weeks of increasingly more hectic wedding planning: let the worries about who was going to sit where, if we'd ordered enough booze, would the bacon-wrapped scallops be any good, which relative was going to be a little pill angry-face, would the Garfield and Arlene cake toppers arrive in time etc etc etc just melt away into the deep hot water oblivion of the claw foot, enhanced by complimentary lavender scented bath salts. I don't care if I smelled like a girl, those bath salts delivered me to Relaxation Town, population me. Why aren't there more claw foot bathtubs in America?
So, beautiful, comfortable, artful rooms and extraordinary breakfasts. I should mention the attentive service from Carissa, Lisa and Sue, all of whom were so nice, so friendly, gave some good recommendations for navigating Camden and where to find what. Back in April, I should add, we had to re-schedule our wedding (and our honeymoon) because of COVID junk, and Sue, the co-owner, was very helpful when it came to straightening all that out--so polite and friendly and understanding. Really wonderful service all around.
The grounds are beautiful, vibrant and colorful and very well-kept. I can trim a shrub. I know about these things. The gardeners are up to par, for sure. One evening we spent a few hours relaxing in one of the gazebos, de-briefing for our wedding memory journal all the fun times from the wedding as the shadows lengthened on the lawn and birds made their night sounds and it felt like it was just us, which was very nice.
Did I mention there's another gazebo? This one had corn hole. We played that one night. Beautiful landscaping, that view of the bay from the balcony, the whole place just so manicured and lovely--what a great time we had. You can too! Seriously, out of five stars, this place is six, probably seven, but you get it. Do yourself a favor: stay here. We'll be back, I hope for our first anniversary but more likely for our 10th or 25th or a big one because we live in Michigan. Norumbega Inn, you made all our honeymoon dreams come true!