Tranquil Retreat on Woods Pond

• Heaven

  Heaven

  • Guest Rellimarual
  • Date of stay 08/08/09
  • Review Submitted 08/11/09
  Remarkably beautiful in every detail, with thoughtful and sensitive owners, this place is my ideal cabin in the woods. Quiet, peaceful, spacious and well lit. It's wonderful to be right on the lake for a tranquil afternoon swim if you're not keen on the boisterous scene at the local beaches. The setting is gorgeous and it's surprisingly close to town for shopping & meals. I even appreciated the *lack* of such modern "conveniences" as a microwave, TV, AC and dishwasher. One thing: it's really better for singles or a couple, as the second bedroom is really small. A great place for a romantic getaway, absolutely.

  Recommended for: Pet owners, adventure seekers, romantic getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/4

• Absolute Peace

  Absolute Peace

  • Guest 3 peas in a pod
  • Date of stay 09/01/12
  • Review Submitted 09/11/12
  First of all, thank you to Vicki and Howard for sharing this peaceful retreat with us and our dog Gabbie. To say this was peaceful is selling this home and environment short. I thought this would be out of the way when I researched the house, but it turned out to be secluded and very accessible to town, as well as, day tripping around the blue hill peninsula. We went to Acadia two of the days and were happy to return to the peace of the retreat. We heard loons on the pond. We were lucky enough to hear the local owl, too! The pond kayaking was lovely. We also traveled to kayak elsewhere on the peninsula. Blue Hill is a gorgeous little Maine town with great food along with local hiking. The house itself was spotless with all the basics we needed to be comfortable. The bed was wonderfully comfortable. The pond and dock made for some great quiet time with the bullfrog that lives there. We are so grateful to have found this house filled with the serenity of Vicki and Howard. Thank you so much for making our vacation so special.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• A simply beautiful, quiet, romantic Maine vacation!

  A simply beautiful, quiet, romantic Maine vacation!

  • Guest Tom and Jackie
  • Date of stay 08/04/12
  • Review Submitted 09/09/12
  My wife and I have been coming to the "peninsula" for over 20 years; we stayed on Deer Isle but when the house we had rented for many years was no longer available we went looking. A friend suggested a "pond" experience over open water for something different- we found this incredible Woods Pond cabin on this website, and have stayed twice for two weeks and plan to come back. Vicki and Howard's beautiful cabin on Woods Pond captures all that is wonderful about this part of Maine. The cabin is exceptionally pretty, with great light, windows and views throughout, modern, clean, and exceptionally well appointed. I am a cook (Maine seafood and local produce in August is an incredible benefit) and the cabin has a well outfitted kitchen, and a wonderful space in which to work. The bedroom is charming, with skylights and a very comfortable bed. The bathrooms are similarly well done. There is no TV which adds to its restfulness and tranquility, but we come to read, to hike, to paddle, and to retreat; the wifi allows us to stay in touch with the world, and we bring an internet radio for music (they have a small CD player). The grounds are wonderful; you are 5 minutes from the center of Blue Hill with all its charm- shops, restaurants, groceries, but when at the cabin you can imagine yourself miles and hours away from the bustle of the greater world. Woods Pond itself is delightful- big enough to canoe and kayak in for hours (we rent two kayaks), but warm and swimmable off their small dock. They have a lovely gazebo for watching sunsets, and a sunny area next to the house for sitting and warming. And then there are the loons- they are just magical. The cabin is dog friendly which is wonderful for us (here again we love the relative remoteness- no neighbors close or in sight), and there are great dog hikes close by. And when we need an ocean fix- well it is very close in every direction. It is a very special, meditative, tranquil setting, and we count the days until we can return. Thank you Vicki and Howard for making it available to us.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, pet owners, romantic getaway, age 55+.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Woods Pond Retreat

  Woods Pond Retreat

  • Guest Claire
  • Date of stay 07/21/12
  • Review Submitted 09/09/12
  My husband and I went back to Woods Pond for a second summer and plan to go again next summer. The house is set on a beautiful, quiet, and because it is shallow, warm pond perfect for swimming. The house itself is a jewel and the love and care of its owners envelops the entire structure. Asthetically the architecture of the retreat is upliftiing to one's spirits and the colors cheerful. The house has everything one could want to be more than comfortable. Although it is one mile from town, which makes for easy access to restaurants, one only hears birds, loons, and other aspects of nature. The view of the pond is everywhere and sitting in the screened in porch down further towards the pond watching the sunset is something I look forward to seeing again all year. Every day we drove forty minutes to Acadia to bike the carriage trails, always happy to return to the peaceful surroundings of Woods Pond. I have travelled a great deal, and this property (and it's owners) is one of the most special and gratifying places I have ever vacationed.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• lovely two week stay

  lovely two week stay

  • Guest T-man
  • Date of stay 06/25/11
  • Review Submitted 07/10/11
  Sunday July 10, 2011 HI Vicki (& Howard) - Well, we awoke this morning and heard a plane flying overhead .... and knew we were no longer in the idyllic Woods Pond cottage. Sigh. Next, we realized that SOMEONE ELSE was probably waking up where we'd been waking up for the past couple of weeks - another disturbing thought!! HOwever disquieting, we are forced to acknowledge that our little vacation has ended. But we wanted to communicate to you folks, more fully than our scrawled napkin-note of yesterday's departure, our vast satisfaction with Blue Hill in general and your cottage in particular. It was truly all as advertised, and we couldn't have been happier. We did get a canoe from the Activity shop, which knew your place and delivered, and had five splendid paddles over the last ten days or so of our stay. We ate in, but also ate out a lot and were actually HIGHLY impressed with how many very good eating experiences we had over our two weeks - the worst places we went were OK, the best ambrosial. We recommend Cleonice highly, and also had great breakfast & sandwich type stuff at c.shell's coffee spot in the brick building downtown in B.H. Arborvine was good, rather than great, but we'd probably go back there. The Lookout over in Brooklin, though underpopulated when we were there to dine (four tables on their porch the only eaters), still gave us excellent food. The Brooklin Inn had amazingly good Mussels Dijon, but the dinner fell off after that starting success. We Kneiselled two Fridays - it really doesn't get any better musically .... but that of course you know as you shared both the music and the mosquitos with us two nights ago. The drive to Acadia isn't much fun, but we got over there for hiking and biking three times - oh, and we did get over to visit our Isle au Haut pals for a night, too, hauling lobster traps with them and happily wolfing down our catch. Galleries, Khen Rinpoche talk at one of the local churches, even the Blue Hill Pops over at GSA on the 3rd w/ the flashing pans, Paul Stookey, et al... all this, plus gazebo-sitting several evenings with a perfectly chilled fume blanc. So: it were more than swell! Thanks, and keep up the good work! All best, Tom and Christopher.

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• Close to Perfect

  Close to Perfect

  • Guest Diana
  • Date of stay 07/31/10
  • Review Submitted 01/06/11
  We had a wonderful time at the Woods Pond Retreat. An already beautiful place was made even more so by the perfect weather. We kayaked on the pond, ate blueberry pancakes, bird-watched from the porch and the screen room. Our dog happily ate blueberries, hung out on the porch and slept on her bed placed under the spiral staircase. We tromped on many of the trails within an easy 30-minute drive, ate great seafood and had a perfect Maine vacation. We are delighted to have discovered Vicky and Howard's exquisite hideaway on Woods Pond--a very comfortable and beautiful cottage, completely private but minutes away from the village of Blue Hill. Vicky and Howard were great hosts--answering all our questions and giving us good advice on kayaks and trails.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, pet owners, romantic getaway, age 55+.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Piece of Paradise

  Piece of Paradise

  • Guest Linda
  • Date of stay 09/18/10
  • Review Submitted 10/19/10
  Our stay at Woods Pond was spectacular. The cottage was charming, well maintained, clean and furnished beautifully with all the necessary amenities. The photos and description on the website of this gorgeous home and property were perfect. The owners were very helpful and kind in wanting us to have a positive experience during our visit. We are appreciative that the owners allow pets - our Samoyed enjoyed the outdoors. The town of Blue Hill offers restaurants, shopping and a co-op grocery store - delightful area. We feel very fortunate to have found such a lovely place to revisit in the future. Thank you Vicki & Howard!

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, pet owners, romantic getaway, age 55+.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Amazing retreat!

  Amazing retreat!

  • Guest nashkim
  • Date of stay 10/07/10
  • Review Submitted 10/16/10
  We loved our recent stay at this Woods Pond retreat.The owner was nice & house was amazing in every detail- the lake view was awesome, even the view from master bed was planned to look up thru skylights at the dark starry sky! We really enjoyed the fact that due to no light pollution the sky was amazing at night. Took a night walk w/ flashlights down to their dock on lake with our little boy who'd never seen such an amazing scene at night. Awesome gourmet kitchen, however, we didn't get to use it much since we went to Acadia & other local sights. I laughed when my hubby noticed no window blinds, but explained there's no one but trees to see you for hundreds of yards at least! You can't go wrong with this if looking for quiet, peaceful place to stay. We can't wait to return for a longer stay. Kim from TN

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+, girls getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• This tranquil retreat is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I have ever been.

  This tranquil retreat is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I have ever been.

  • Guest Jon
  • Date of stay 09/25/10
  • Review Submitted 10/13/10
  I spent a week here with my partner and our golden retriever in late September. We were seeking peace and quiet and found that and more, incredible beauty, water views, lush woods, beautiful foliage, amazing outdoor space (the gazebo, the dock and the porch), incredible hikes, great canoeing, delicious local seafood and produce, wonderful seaside architecture and incredible tranquility. The owners were especially accommodating and welcoming of both us and our dog. I thought perhaps that the lack of a daily newspaper or a television would be an issue for me but I can honestly say that once I arrived I was actually glad to be able to turn off that part of my regular life. I would highly recommend this home for anyone looking for a true getaway and a chance to reconnect with their loved ones and nature. The Buddha sitting above the granite boulder sets the tone for the sense of harmony that pervades the entire property. I look forward to returning again and experiencing Wood Pond in all of its glory during the other seasons of the year as well.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, pet owners, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Relax & Reconnect to nature

  Relax & Reconnect to nature

  • Guest Bob & Mary
  • Date of stay 06/19/10
  • Review Submitted 07/07/10
  Beautiful location, tranquil and serene. We had a wonderful relaxing stay at your retreat. Would recommend to those who need to relax and recharge. Nice escape from a hectic schedule. Would love to return in fall or winter. Blue Hill is great location close to many lovely areas of Maine. The couple at the Activity Shop were great, rent your kayaks there! The co-op is great too. Thanks Vicki & Howard for sharing your retreat!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

Jul-Aug ...... $1,350/week (6/22 through 9/6/2013)
June, September & October .... $1,225 /wk (5/18 - 6/21 & 9/7 - 10/11/2013)
Other times .. $ 1,075/week.  Heat and plow fees included.
Lodging tax of 7% applies.
$100 cleaning fee.
$200 advance deposit required + $100 if there's a dog.  No cats please.

Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.