Five Gables is one of the nicest and cleanest B&Bs I've stayed at. It's located about 3 miles outside the downtown area of Boothbay Harbor, on a dead-end street across from the bay. The grounds and gardens are beautiful and the area is very quiet, athough I couldn't believe the number of locals out and about on this quiet street - walking dogs, BBQing, etc.

The inn itself has a huge front porch with tables and a hammock. This was the perfect place to eat breakfast in the mornings. Now that I've mentioned the breakfasts, they were 5-star, with homemade pastries, breads, frittatas, fruit salads, french toast and more.

The inkeepers, Mike and De, were really helpful in terms of giving recommendations of what to do, see and where to eat. They keep menus, books and maps in the main lobby, which was helpful since this was our first time in the region.

More on the lobby - comfortable chairs, a full library, daily papers, a fireplace and warm interior decorations (shells, interesting bottles, bird sculptures and more!) At 3 PM everyday, tea and the most amazing cookies are served and sit out until dinnertime. After dinner, chocolates and cordials come out. Never a shortage of yummy treats at this place!

The halls of the B&B are neatly decorated, with antiques and picture frames. Rooms are on the small side, but are extremely clean.

The only negative - the mattress was very hard and I didn't find it comfortable at all, but I guess it must have been good for my back...or so they say.

Five Gables is an incredibly relaxing place to stay. Great value, food, management and location. Hopefully I'll get the chance to stay here again soon!

We traveled with two couples for ten days through Maine, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. We all agreed that this was the best place we stayed! The breakfast was supurb, the place is very friendly. The only negative was that the guys didn't have a TV for football and the beds were hard. Will go back if visiting again and recommend to all of our friends!

Even though we have stayed at the Five Gables Inn several times, we continue to be impressed with the quality of the food, the cleanliness and comfort of the rooms, and the peace and quiet of the location in East Boothbay. Proprietors Mike and De Kennedy are consummate hosts, always ready to provide information on local attractions and restaurants, as well as suggestions for day trips in the Boothbay region and beyond. Mike’s experience as a Culinary Institute of American trained chef shows in the fantastic breakfasts attractively presented buffet style. I can think of no better way to start your day than to eat Mike’s cooking while sitting on the porch overlooking Linekin Bay. And what could be a better way of ending your day than with tea and cookies in the afternoon or port and chocolates in the evening around the roaring fireplace?

Some of the rooms are a bit small so pay attention to the photographs on their web site. Almost all of the rooms have great views of the bay however.

This is one establishment I can recommend without any reservations. However you will need to make yours well in advance as they often sell out.

After much research online, we booked room #3, a charming, pink, first floor room for two nights in September. The is a great time of year to visit Boothbay Harbor. Daytime temps in the 70s-80s and 40s-50s in the evening. The summer crowds had pretty much gone from the area. The inn is located on a pretty dead end street facing Linekin Bay. The property is attractively landscaped, and the buildings are well cared for both inside and out. We found it spotless (no peeling paint, no mold, no mildew, no spider webs, no holes in the screens). The inn keepers have great taste in decor - it's bright, charming, whimsical, attractive, colorful, but still quiet and unobtrusive. Each room has it's own climate control. We used the baseboard electric heat at night and it was quiet and fast. There is a separate baseboard heater in the bathroom. Our room was small (no closet, just some pegs on the wall and a small cabinet to hang a few shirts in). The bed in this room is a platform bed (a VERY firm bed with no spring to it) with two drawers underneath for storage and a large space at the end to stow suitcases, but if you have very large suitcases or are large people, this room will feel tight to you. We found the bathroom very clean and attractive with marble counter top sink, but it's very narrow, and you have to step back several feet to swing open the door. The room had two windows opening onto the porch, a chair, a fireplace with a log already in it ready to use, good lighting, and a view of Linekin Bay. They rope off the porch at night so it's quiet. The only noise we heard was someone snoring in room #2, and someone running the water/flushing in one of the other rooms. The people who seem to stay at this inn are generally very quiet outdoorsy/bookish types. There is a nice library off the common room with a great selection of books and magazines. There is no TV in the common room. It's a very serene place. Breakfast is delicious and you can eat out on the porch and enjoy the view: fresh cut fruit, muselli, fat free vanilla yogurt, homemade granola, spicy spoonbread, crab crepes, bloody mary "soup", blueberry coffee cake, biscuits, plum tart, gran marnier orange blintzes, homemade bread... it's all yummy and served hot. We really can't complain, but if we had our way, we would have preferred that breakfast go a bit lighter on the sugar. After breakfast, you can walk 10 minutes to the general store (newspapers, donuts and more breakfast items, sandwiches, wine, crackers and cheese, and some basic vacation home necessities). The store is closed on Mondays. There is a public landing on Murray Hill Road from which you can launch your kayak. There is a public dock as well, across the street from the inn.