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Harbor Ridge Resort, Maine Local Area Info

mdurette

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Looking for any info you have on things to do in the Local Area.

I put in an OGS with an AC for Coastal Maine and I was hoping for south coastal - but I got a match last night for this resort in August. I need to decide if I'm going to keep it or throw it back.

To give you an idea of what we like - love White Mountains of NH because there is so much to do: From small theme parks, to easy trails, to horseback riding to canoeing, to mini golf, to zip line. We are never bored. I'm not a fan of places such as Stowe VT since I find it a bit harder to keep us entertained with just what nature has to offer.
 

kwelty

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We are at Harbor Ridge now and love it here, this is our third visit and we are owners. Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor are the big "to do's" on the island of Mt. Desert but Harbor Ridge is on the other, "Quite Side", of the island. Thank goodness, as it can get very busy especially when the cruise ships pull in. These are the things we enjoy doing:

Thurstons - great place to eat lobster on the pier and watch the lobster boats come in. http://www.thurstonforlobster.com/
Half price tickets to whale watching, lighthouse viewing or other cruises https://www.seizethedeal.com/deals/certificate-for-one-adult-whale-watching-ticket
Seals Cove Auto Museum https://www.sealcoveautomuseum.org/
Ollie's Trolley tours of Acadia and Bar Harbor https://olistrolley.com/
Acadia National Park https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm
Bass Harbor Lighthouse https://acadiamagic.com/BassHarborLight.html

upload_2018-6-13_10-1-33.jpeg


Harbor Ridge's Facebook and web pages https://www.facebook.com/Harbor-Ridge-Resort-129487700413888/
https://www.harborridge.com/
Units lay out https://www.harborridge.com/index.php/lodging-guest-info/property-and-unit-layout

Do go to the welcoming breakfast, as well as the wine & cheese night and S'mores roast, where Belinda or one of the other wonderful staff members will do a great job of going over all the things to do here.
 
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WinniWoman

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Just for the National Park (hiking) and Bar Harbor alone it is worth it to go there for the week. You have the ocean there- so you can kayak or take a windjammer out. And as Keith said- whale watching.
 

mdurette

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Thanks for the replies and Keith for sending all the links. I'm going to not mention the auto museum to my husband though.....that would be a LONG afternoon for me and the kiddo. Ha Ha Ha.

Think I will keep it - even if I change my mind for the cost of the AC usage I'm sure I can gift it so someone since we are local enough.

If anyone else wants to chime in on things to do in the area, feel free!
 

mdurette

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Do have one quick question.
Does anyone know how Verizon cell service is there? I use the phone as a secure hotspot for work. Since I "work" while out an about a good Verizon connection is a must.
 

Greg G

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- Acadia National Park :Visit Jordan Pond House for popovers, jam, tea, and great views.
Carriage Trails and WildWood Stables for a horse drawn carriage tour.
Sandy Beach for nice day at the beach.
Ocean Trail Path for great views.
Cadillac Mountain for great views, including pullouts along the way up the mountain
- Somesville and Somes Sound(Mt Desert Island) – Somesville is where the picture perfect little house with arched bridge is.

Greg
 

amycurl

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There is also plenty of mini-golf in Bar Harbor, and an "adventure park" that has zip lines. You can rent canoes, kayaks, and bikes heaps of places on both sides of the isalnd. Plenty of evening activities. Go see a play at Acadia Rep in Somesville. Improv Acadia shows are also good. Plenty of live music and other nightlife in BH. Excellent restaurants in NEH. The Abbe Museum in BH is a Smithsonian Institution affiliate museum, and is an *excellent* museum focused on Native Americans. There are also great libraries (which bring in guest authors and speakers all summer long) in each of the little towns on the island. Most have their own historical museum, too. (The Somesville library and museum--the "picture perfect little house"--are a great way to spend a few hours.)

The resort only has 40 units, and a summer unit is a rarity (because most summer owners use their weeks, or rent them for at least double the MF,) so I would keep it. But, then again, I am biased. :D

(I will also be on the island in August, if you want to try and meet up!)

I would call the resort and ask Margaret about Verizon cell service. I will say that cell service across the island can be spotty because large granite mountains aren't great for transmitting signals. We have AT&T so can't speak for Verizon. There is wi-fi available at the resort for a very reasonable weekly fee.
 
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amycurl

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RE: Jordan Pond House is under new management, and is not the same as it once was. For the *best* popovers, go to the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, which is managed by the same folks who had managed the JPH for more than 60 years. I think the view is even better--and there are fewer tourists. Make a reservation. At dinner, they'll keep bringing you popovers.

Good popovers can also be found at the Common Good Cafe in Southwest Harbor. In the winter, this local nonprofit run by volunteers operates as a community soup kitchen, but in the summer, they offer popovers and oatmeal breakfasts everyday but Monday to tourists on a "give what you can" donation basis. The view is not the same, but the popovers are still pretty fantastic.

Great. Now all I want is popovers. Thanks, thread. :p
 

kwelty

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Do have one quick question.
Does anyone know how Verizon cell service is there? I use the phone as a secure hotspot for work. Since I "work" while out an about a good Verizon connection is a must.
Verizon, our carrier too, works well at Harbor Ridge for calls but not sure about using it as a hot spot as we paid the $10 fee for internet. We are able to stream movies without a problem. Cell service is poor on a lot of the island,especially in the park.
As amyccurl said, Asticou Inn is the place to go for popovers. We ate lunch there today - lobster stew and popovers, we will go back.
 

tonyg

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Been to Harbor Ridge a dozen or so times, but not in a decade or so. A nice place and a tough place to trade into in summer. I'm in Maine and nearby right now. Lots of things to do and see in the area including many miles of the Maine coast. I agree with the negative comments about the Jordan Pond House- prior to the management change it was a must do for us and now it is a must avoid.
 

Greg G

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I apologize for my outdated info on Jordan Pond House. Last time I was there was in 2005.

Greg
 

MabelP

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I love the resort. This was my review...

JULY 4, 2010

I am a Marriott Owner who very rarely leaves that system. Harbor Ridge, with its beautiful setting, is a standout jewel in the world of timesharing. Southwest Harbor is absolutely beautiful . An ideallic setting with very kind, down to earth, classy townspeople.

The front desk called to see if everything was fine when I didn't arrive on the Fourth. Upon arrival, I was greeted with much warmth. Complete explaination of units and activities in the area. Each unit has a special book made by Harbor Ridge with every possible question you might have answered for you.

The units are VERY large and immaculate. Kitchen is fully outfitted. Beautiful views of Southwest Harbor from both balconies.




30890MabelP
 

amycurl

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Over this past winter, the resort has installed new fitness equipment in the workout room, and has replaced the main floor carpets with hardwood floors. Most of the living room furniture has also been replaced in the past year or so.

mdurette, you'll have to come back and tell us about your visit! (Or write your review...)
 

tonyg

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I apologize for my outdated info on Jordan Pond House. Last time I was there was in 2005.

Greg

Not sure when the management changed, but the first time we went under the new management we never got past the menu - left because nothing sounded good. A couple of years later, some one said they had got much better, so we tried it. Only outside seating available, only 1 popover instead of 2 and a lousy one at that. Terrible service, annoying bees/wasps. Before the new management we would go there 2-3 times a year, mostly for lunch and we enjoyed the food, the service, being indoors and perhaps most of all, the popovers.
 

amycurl

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The management changed in 2014, through a bid process that was not transparent and did not include local input of any kind. It is now managed by a concessionaire that is based out west. The Acadia Corporation, which had been the concessionaire since 1947, is still a local and active presence in the community (they still own and manage a series of gift shops in downtown BH,) and, starting in 2015, took over the management of the Asticou Inn--which now delivers the popovers and service that the Jordan Pond House was once known for.
 

Ricci

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Verizon, our carrier too, works well at Harbor Ridge for calls but not sure about using it as a hot spot as we paid the $10 fee for internet. We are able to stream movies without a problem. Cell service is poor on a lot of the island,especially in the park.
As amyccurl said, Asticou Inn is the place to go for popovers. We ate lunch there today - lobster stew and popovers, we will go back.

Do have one quick question.
Does anyone know how Verizon cell service is there? I use the phone as a secure hotspot for work. Since I "work" while out an about a good Verizon connection is a must.

We were at Harbor Ridge about a month ago. Sorry to say that the Verizon service there was horrible. If you turned your head a few inches the wrong way, the call was dropped. We did not try to stream anything.
 

Greg G

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RE: Jordan Pond House is under new management, and is not the same as it once was. For the *best* popovers, go to the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, which is managed by the same folks who had managed the JPH for more than 60 years. I think the view is even better--and there are fewer tourists. Make a reservation. At dinner, they'll keep bringing you popovers.

Good popovers can also be found at the Common Good Cafe in Southwest Harbor. In the winter, this local nonprofit run by volunteers operates as a community soup kitchen, but in the summer, they offer popovers and oatmeal breakfasts everyday but Monday to tourists on a "give what you can" donation basis. The view is not the same, but the popovers are still pretty fantastic.

Great. Now all I want is popovers. Thanks, thread. :p


We went to the Asticou Azalea Garden back in 2005. Nice gardens. That would make a nice day, have popovers at the inn, and then take a walk in the gardens (or vice versa)

Greg
 

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It's a *great* day! The gardens are really spectacular. Since the passing of David Rockefeller last year, the Land and Garden Preserve (which owns and manages the gardens,) has been able to use his bequest to significantly expand staffing and programming. The Asticou Ridge Trail is also very nice. You can find out heaps of information on their website here.

I could go on and on and on....
 

amycurl

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I am here now, and the weather has been amazing. I have to go home on Sunday, where the lows are what the highs have been here. *sigh*
 

tonyg

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In June we tried the Asticou Inn and tho it was more like the old Pond House, but just not quite as good except for the good service.
 

tonyg

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There is or used to be a path from Harbor Ridge that would lead to a side street that went to the main drag, so you could walk to downtown SWHarbor and back. I remember one year watching a fox hunting down in back from the deck.
 

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Brewster Green (two weeks).
Love that side of the island. I’m a huge fan of Thurston’s Too!
 

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I disagree about the popovers -- loved *both* Jordan House and Asticou Inn this past July, plus Jordan House has popover sundaes, which Asticou inn does not. :) (And at Jordan House, you do get 2, not one, on a regular popover order.)

There was a loon nesting along the Jordan House trail, right at the bridge connecting the 2 sides at the other side of the lake from Jordan House, unmissable if she's still there, a volunteer was always there to protect her.
 

melissy123

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Has anyone been to Harbor Ridge lately. Any new info about the resort and the are and what would be closed/open?
 

tonyg

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I would imagine just about everything is open. We are heading to Maine in eight days but staying at Acadia Village. A couple of other things near Harbor Ridge are Seawall in Manset and a walking trail (Wonderland ?) between there and Ship Harbor. There's the Wendell Gilley museum (bird carvings) and a butterfly park. My wife is from MDI and we used to spend a lot of time there, but all the relatives from there have passed on or moved, including Ravenswood (now in Ellsworth).
 
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