Fireside Inn, Ocean's Edge

It was very clean. Beautiful well kept grounds. Francis at the desk was very helpful and friendly. She went over and about the call of duty ta make our stay great.

The room was fine, the view excellent, the cleanliness a tad below par. We chose this city and hotel primarily on the strength of a puff piece in the Boston Globe telling about how great the town is. We would not agree. Nice place with nothing to do.

We chose Fireside Inn based on Trip Advisor reviews. We couldn’t have been more disappointed with our decision to stay here. Our room did not look like the pictures on line. I’ll start with the positives: wonderful view and the bed was comfortable. Aside from that, the entire facility is dated, dirty, and offensive odors throughout. The toilet in our bathroom smelled so bad upon our arrival. We tried to stay positive and sit out on the patio and while the view is good, there is zero privacy from your neighbors and the rail blocks the view of the bay. The patio was filthy and didn’t even have a table to set a beverage on. The most shocking thing of all is the price point put this in the same league of much nicer Inns and B&Bs in the area that include breakfast and other amenities. We checked out after one night.

Arrival: Three entrances/exits to the property—nice. Lots of parking, but only two identified handicap spots—there need to be more. They are clearly marked. Both are close to doors—good—but they are regular-size spots and need to be oversized spots. There are plenty of luggage carts available, but there is only one elevator, and it’s small so only one luggage cart at a time is going to fit in there. There are ample stairwells. Security: I noticed cameras outside, in the hallways, and in common areas—nice. Also, every exterior door we used was fully secured, available for entry with your valid keycard. Nice again. Room: The room was easy to find but the electronic door was troublesome, not wanting to open. I had to go to the front desk, who reprogrammed the key, and it took multiple tries to get the door open. After day two it was finally discovered that the door batteries were out and we had to wait while the front office staff disassembled the door lock to put in new batteries so we could enter our room. My question: isn’t there a central schedule of when to change the batteries? If I were the maintenance chief here that is something I’d have in place. Room temp control is an outside wall unit in the suite area. There is no air into the BR, but a tower fan is available to move the air from the suite into the BR. This setup worked pretty well for us; we put the fan up on the bureau to get a little better air circulation. The bed had electrical outlets at the bedside stand on only one side; they need to be on each side. There also should be the same outlet setup on the small table between the two easy chairs in the suite area. Bathroom: Small but workable. Nice grab rail for the tub/shower. Ample counterspace, which is crucial for couples/families. Had no problems with water or the operation of the faucets, toilet, or bath. Water pressure was sufficient, as was the hot water. Suite/Living Room: this was good size, with two easy chairs but only one ottoman. There needs to be a second ottoman, which would not necessarily crowd the room. There were two chairs for the small table and the galley area was nice, with a mini-fridge, microwave, Keurig, and small sink. Everything worked just fine. Balcony: the balcony opens to the large lawn, with Penobscot Bay right there. Nice view at all times, looking essentially directly south, beautiful. I caution that there is a small step-down from the room to the balcony, as someone caught off-guard by the drop could stumble forward and conceivably go right over the low railing. Watch yourself. TVs: There were two, one in the BR and one in the suite area. Both are large flat-screens, appropriate size for the rooms. Both worked just fine, but for some inexplicable reason the channel setup was different between them. You can get used to the channel setup on one, but this does not translate at all to the other TV. Strange. The Guide button on the remote control does not bring

Although it is a plus to be located where one can see the bay, it does not make up for the fact that this property is in serious need of an update and a competent designer. They have done away with the restaurant and breakfast, and didn't even bother to update the photos on their website.

We wished we had more time to take advantage of the amenities at the Fireside Inn & Suites. The room was very clean and comfortable. It was nice to have both an inside entrance and outside entrance out to the large lawn that had many lawn games and access to the shore. Beds were quite comfortable and the kids loved the gift shop.

Our room was a king bed with a sitting area with a tv in bedroom and the sitting area. Nice balcony which overlooks the large lawn that overlooks Penobscot Bay. The staff was helpful and pleasant. The hotel was well maintained. We would definitely stay again. We decided Belfast would be centrally located to visit other cities.

I have traveled a lot and stayed at many hotels and motels and have never had such a negative experience as I had at the Fireside Inn in Belfast Maine. First of all the staff was very unwelcoming. Second we were put in a handicapped room and when we told them that wasn’t what we reserved they totally dismissed us and said there was no difference between handicapped rooms and regular rooms. Well there is! The balcony where a person is to admire the great view was filthy. Two plastic dirty chairs which I cleaned with one of the washcloths in the room. No table to place a cup of coffee. The room itself was dusty and the bed linens were so dingy I almost slept in the chair. Sorry but this was the most disgusting place I have ever stayed at.