This unique property on the quiet side of Narraguagus Bay is a haven of peace, just a 4-min. drive from Milbridge center and a hop, skip & jump from coastal US Rt 1. Our spacious, private rental unit's not like any "apartment" you might imagine. (See The Space for Details/Specials.) Creativity/Productivity Retreats for artists of all walks, too! Long-term professional guests needing office equipment access, just ask. For stays of 28+ days for job/relocation/education, State tax may be waived. The space Welcome! Here's our December Holidays update 2024: It's been a busy year here! And now we're looking forward to our guests who'll be coming through the December holiday period and throughout 2025--on vacation, or for work, relocation or education. Everyone: Travelers' plans can change, so message us about your needs just in case. Meanwhile, look ahead to a winter rental, or next summer's vacation season, for which we're currently accepting bookings. GENERAL NOTE: We now give priority to longer-term visitors. But always ask about dates you may be interested in, including for a minimum stay of a few days, in case there are quick changes in the schedule. We'll accommodate you if we can. *** IMPORTANT ABOUT RATES: please INQUIRE about rates for longer stays or other details before making a formal booking request. We can offer a 22% discount on a month-long stay through the site's calculator, but since July 2023, Airbnb has NOT been showing travelers the more substantial discounts we can offer on stays of longer than a month. We'll be happy to discuss those options with you and give you a customized quote based on your dates, needs and plans. Also, if you're staying for 28+ nights for business, relocation or formal education purposes in our area, you may be exempt from the 9% State lodging tax. SEND US INQUIRIES any time. Just pls. don't formally request dates till you've inquired about our availability and your actual cost. (It hurts our standing in the rental platform if we decline booking requests.) REVIEWS: Since March 2020, we've mostly had only long-term, private-booking renters, hence the slight age of our wonderful reviews here. We were longtime Airbnb Superhosts, while doing short-term rentals more or less non-stop, in the 6 years before COVID-19. ================== "Apartment" doesn't do justice to this lovely vacation and retreat space--which as of fall 2020 has not only its original private woodland Point with sand beach, but also a beautiful new gazebo looking out over the beach and bay, where our guests can visit together in a great outdoor space naturally ventilated by the ocean breezes! Handicap-accessible, like the rest of the rental. Guests have told us we have "a real palazzo" here, and that photos don't do it justice. It's a private, handicap-friendly, fully equipped independent ground-floor habitat with its own entrances, patio, kitchen, laundry, all amenities--and considerate, unobtrusive landlords who are there when you need them. The rental unit shares part of one wall with our half of the house. It has two private entrances of its own, one leading to a "Secret Garden," the dedicated guest parking area, and the quiet town road; and the other to its own patio with field and water views, and access to our Point. All the necessary independent facilities including washer/dryer are contained within the rental unit, which comes supplied with towels, linens, dishes, full kitchen needs. There's extra sound insulation between the apartment and our downstairs, and also between it and the room above. Are you a stargazer? Step out of your car on a clear night and find yourself under a bowl of stars, what Robert Louis Stevenson called "the infinite shining heavens." Some guests have come with their telescopes, year after year. **NOTE: Rental rates include the post-stay cleaning fee and the 9% Maine lodging tax Airbnb is required to collect. (See important note below if you might be a tax-exempt renter.) ============================== Now that you've read the yummy description, here's our commitment to creating safe space for our guests, our community and ourselves, some of these begun during the Covid outbreak: - In 2020, we built a beautiful gazebo overlooking the water in the field behind the house, to provide a special covered outdoor space our guests can enjoy. - We're in compliance with State, Federal and Airbnb policies on lodgings for out-of-state (and in-state) visitors, and are continuing to observe CDC guidelines for cleaning and sterilization. So we follow any current CDC and Airbnb recommendations with regard to cleaning/sterilization and space between bookings. -- Airbnb has a strict "no parties or events" rule with which we comply. We have NEVER permitted large or loud parties on the premises, or any that would bring in visitors from outside the 1-6 people booking and thus permitted to be at our accommodation. This would be completely out of character with our home and also with this peaceful neighborhood. Quiet celebrations: Guests peacefully marking special family milestones--birthdays, anniversaries, have always been most welcome here!--with just the people in attendance who are entitled by lease to use our 1-6 person space. Please see the Airbnb party-and-events-policy for its prohibition of large or potentially disruptive situations. (We'd include the link, but can't put links in our descriptions. Try the platform's FAQs, or ask if you have questions.) --We are not hosting events (weddings, film shoots, workshops, etc.), on the property until further notice. ============ Booking comments: IF YOU DON'T SEE THE DATES YOU WANT, PLEASE INQUIRE. :) In our brave new travel world, the status of bookings is changeable. TAX EXEMPTION: Stays of 28+ nights, if you are traveling for work, schooling or a relocation, are eligible for a State lodging tax waiver. Airbnb isn't set up to waive collecting the tax, so ask us about this BEFORE requesting your booking, and we'll work it out with you. **NaNoWriMo participants and other writers -- this is a great place to work on your novel undisturbed, any time -- but especially during the month of November if you're doing NaNo. ======================================================== Guest access Outside your completely private independent living quarters, you have access to the entire 3.5 acre property with open field, landscaped areas, gazebo, and the unique wooded point with its stairway down to the sand beach of our tidal cove, and typical dramatic Maine-coast boulders and rock formations. Extraordinary opportunities for observing wildlife and birds and the intertidal zone. We do expect that guests won't walk directly around our half of the house's downstairs, for our privacy--which is a non-issue given the property's layout, since you won't be missing anything at all! HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY, IMPORTANT note: This apartment was built according to AWD guidelines. All rooms, kitchen, patio, laundry, etc., are on one level floor, with wide doorways and no floor-level barriers; in other words, accessible to people with mobility issues. Unfortunately, when Airbnb changed its photo requirements in early 2022, its algorithms robo-disqualified most of our pictures in the Accessibility section of the listing. So it looks to searchers as if we can't offer these features. We'll be posting new photos shortly. Check-in note: call or text us with your ETA when you have a reasonably clear idea. Night-time arrivals are fine, as long as we can anticipate how late to stay up to welcome you, or make simple arrangements for you to get in to the apartment if we'll be out or asleep. We always send local directions and check-in information to guests before arrival, along with a list of some of our favorite places to eat, shop and sight-see. We expect arriving guests to wear masks if we're meeting you; we will do the same. Other things to note --Rather than listing just a few items in Airbnb's online Guidebook, we provide all guests with a substantial emailed/printed "Favorites" document of suggested places to eat, sightsee and shop. --We run a small music & arts center, Sunrise County Arts Institute, which provides much-needed services in this area. Your rental fees help toward SCAI's operating expenses. Since March 2020, all formal indoor SCAI activities were moved online, or outdoors in warm weather, including a new online initiative called "Sing into Joy: Singing as Your Path to Wellness." (Ask about Zoom voice lessons!) But always, our property and the region are fantastic places for your own artistic exploration: photography, painting/drawing, writing words or music--and sand castles! Individuals or a small group traveling together can rent the apartment as a Creativity Retreat. We're grateful that one of our 2018 guests, who took some marvelous photos outdoors, is willing to let us share them here. To see this place through another's appreciative eyes-- and expert photographic skills--is a delight for us too. ----- New Airbnb-ers: Don't be nervous about the security deposit amount you'll see: $2K is the deductible on our HO insurance policy, so we do protect ourselves with a $1K deposit. Travelers aren't charged anything at all unless damage is reported after checkout. If there were to be damages, Airbnb would only recoup the cost of those for us. Our Airbnb guests have always been very considerate of our property--and if something little gets broken despite that, they just replace it or reimburse us before they leave. Simple. :) Word to the wise: We recommend our guests consider taking out inexpensive trip insurance. The best-laid plans can be derailed by The Unexpected, and by the time a vacationing party has to cancel, we may be unable to rebook their dates and thus offer full or partial refund. BUT since 2020, trip insurance is not what it used to be, especially as it might apply to COVID-19 related cancellations. Read the fine print! :)