Private Oceanfront Retreat

• Transports you to other worldliness

  Transports you to other worldliness

  • Guest Totallysuperdeluxe
  • Date of stay 10/07/12
  • Review Submitted 10/20/12
  It is rare to come upon a home that truly captivates and transports you to other worldliness. The Gills is a magical place filled with antiques, rare finds, quirky gewgaws and comfortable furnishings. We were thrilled to find this house, this place. The Gills met all our expectations and more. The house and all of its surrounding areas fill you with deep thoughts, creativity, warmth, and love for the outdoors. Each room conjures up ideas of time, place & history. You can spend hours sitting on the porch swing with your coffee and simply contemplate the Maine coastline and all of its shifting wonder. You come into contact with the elements and imagine Winslow Homer just a few isles over, studying the waves, the clouds, the changing light, the weather, and slowly come to realize that you’ve become a part of the same cycles he immortalized down the road evidence of which are now hanging on the walls of museums all over the world. The house is styled like what you would expect a Maine house to be, but even better with it’s eclectic mix of furnishings and décor, curated from the furnishings of the original owner, but enhanced by and processed through the impeccable taste and respectful hand of the current owner. It’s like a Maine House Museum filtered through the lens of a New York City stylist. A fire during the evenings with hot chocolate in hand, a book on your lap, and the memory of steamed lobsters pulled fresh from the sea that very day by Dave the next door neighbor was just too perfect. We will return. Hopefully often.

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, sightseeing.

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• Phenomenal

  Phenomenal

  • Guest Pamela A.
  • Date of stay 08/25/12
  • Review Submitted 09/04/12
  The Gill's was the perfectly located cottage for our end of Summer family vacation. It is a vintage cottage which has the best porch for enjoying hot morning coffee while feeling the cool sea breeze as the sun rises over the Casco Bay / North Atlantic Ocean. Your senses come alive with the sounds and smells of the ocean at your doorstep with a nearly constant fresh sea breeze. The neighboring local Johnson family did a great job of making us immediately feel welcome from our first inquiry on the property thru our arrival and during our entire stay not to mention providing the most fresh and best tasting lobsters on the planet. They are very fine people. Our kids are "ready to move to Bailey Island" and we can't wait to visit the Gill's again. The local ice cream shop close by at the end of the quiet dirt lane may have contributed to their love of the Gill's and of Bailey Island. The daily bike rides to the general store provided a sense of freedom for the kids. My wife and I enjoyed evening beverages on the porch with the daily moon rise which got better and better culminating with the full blue moon. The ledges off the porch provide great photo opportunities and can make an amateur photographer look like a pro. Bailey Island has a unique combination of lots of local hardworking lobsterman, great seafood chefs / muffin bakers nearby amidst the backdrop of stunningly beautiful Mackeral Cove with what seemed like very few tourists thrown into the mix. It was surprisingly quiet and everyone we et was very nice. If anything - our family and our good friends staying near Water Cove may have been the most visible tourists... It is hard to picture a nicer venue than the Gill's and Bailey Island for a memory making family vacation! We really appreciate that the owner of the Gill's wants to share this very special place with families like ours and thus has it available for rental. Thanks so much Carter! We understand why you love it.

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• Rainbow place

  Rainbow place

  • Guest Kitty
  • Date of stay 08/11/12
  • Review Submitted 09/02/12
  My family has been coming here for five years. The original house was built by the Senter family in 1918 as a rustic vacation cottage. The current owner was a child neighbor of them and has tried to keep the atmosphere of the place,and he has done it beautifully. The house is comfortable and evokes memories of what family vacations should be. My grandchildren and I climbed on the rocks, watched the lobster boats,made a "fairy village" in the woods,watched the turkeys come up to the porch, and sat for hours on the porch swing gazing at the magnificent view. There are many things to do in this part of Maine but my favorite thing is just sitting here at "The Gills". Dave, the caretaker, is a wonderful man who lives next door. He was very helpful, a great resource, and if you want will go out and get you fresh lobsters from the sea. We hated to leave and are already counting the days until next year.

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, age 55+.

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• An oasis, all to yourself

  An oasis, all to yourself

  • Guest Trapper
  • Date of stay 07/21/12
  • Review Submitted 09/01/12
  The Gills turned out to be a much nicer, calmer, peaceful and pleasant place to spend a week than we expected, and we were expecting a lot! This 100 year old house is perfectly tucked away from the road on one side, and perched above the sea on the other. Highlights include a great big fireplace, a huge porch, and a great old swing that just invites you to lean back and get lost in a good novel. At night, the bells on the buoys just offshore offer a gentle, cadenced toll just guaranteed to put you to sleep. Bailey Island offers kayaking and sailing (onboard Tevake), which we really enjoyed. A little further away, Freeport, Brunswick (Bowdoin College) and Popham Beach are well worth the trip. One of the best things about The Gills are the kind folk who take care of this little gem. They were present but never intrusive, friendly, and accommodating. They provide (and deliver!) locally caught lobster, and if you're lucky, some local lore about the community and its people. We're looking forward to our next opportunity to vacation at The Gills, and would highly recommend it to anyone.

  Recommended for: Families with young children, sightseeing, families with teenagers, girls getaway.

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• Love, love, love the Gills!!!

  Love, love, love the Gills!!!

  • Guest Colleen N
  • Date of stay 08/11/12
  • Review Submitted 08/27/12
  This is the way to do a vacation! My parents rented this house, and my husband and I joined them along with my sister and her husband and their three kids. There was plenty of room for all, which initially was a little bit of a concern, but the house is decently sized. The Gills is filled with character and charm, and it's very secluded compared to many of the other rental places in the area. We didn't see a single person unless we headed back out to the road. The decor has a rustic antique-y kind of look to it, but that's not to say things aren't comfortable and clean too. The chaise in the living room is soooo comfy. I took many a nap in it :-) The view is spectacular. The ocean is literally the backyard of the Gills. You step off of the front porch, take a couple of steps down a little trail, and you're right on the rocks out in the ocean. My husband and I really enjoyed climbing on the rocks and just sitting by the sea. There is a swing on the front porch where you can also just sit and watch the ocean. It was absolute heaven. The manager was really wonderful as well. Initially we had a little trouble using the Wi-Fi, so we let him know and he came out and had it fixed right away. We also ordered lobsters a couple of times from him, and he got them fresh right out of the water, and it was the most delicious lobster I've ever had! The only thing I could see that might be an improvement would be if there was a microwave. Everything in the kitchen worked well enough for our family, but for the times we had leftovers from restaurants or from cooking ourselves, having a microwave would have been more convenient for reheating than the oven. All in all, this is a great house to rent. Its seclusion makes it a great get-away, but you're still close to shopping, restaurants, and any attractions you want to try. The Gills makes for a very relaxing vacation!

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, age 55+, families with young children, sightseeing, adventure seekers, families with teenagers.

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• Cozy retreat with amazing views!

  Cozy retreat with amazing views!

  • Guest O's
  • Date of stay 07/28/12
  • Review Submitted 08/14/12
  The Gills is a beautiful, cozy cottage with an amazing view that felt more like a home more than a rental. The attention to detail: books spilling out of bookcases, period photographs and furniture, lovely china and cozy spaces welcomed us and immediately made us feel comfortable and at home. The view is out of this world! Soothing sounds of the waves against the rocks lulled us to sleep and welcomed us in the morning! Before you know it, you've spent most of the morning on the fabulous porch swing drinking your coffee and listening to birds. The GIlls provided a serene and inviting setting for our small family reunion. The photos on the listing are exactly what you will find, the home is clean and inviting, and the property is well maintained, including updated plumbing! Your concerns and questions will be answered by an attentive care taker promptly, and he even gives you history of the area, great places to visit and things to do. Bailey Island is remote; if you want something to entertain you every day, plan to drive at least a half hour to get to the nearest (larger) town, Brunswick. But both Bailey and Orr's Islands have their own attractions, oceans and coves and absolutely breath taking scenery, gift shops, a candy store (wonderful truffles at Island Candy Company), hiking trails and places to swim. We visited Bowdoin College's Art Museum, Freeport (L.L.Bean!), Bath, Portland, and Brunswick while on vacation. Be sure to go to Wild Oats in Brunswick, The Wine Shop and Veggie Corner, both in Harpswell! We would not recommend this home for a rowdy group, but a group that enjoys peaceful settings and lots of nature! We would not recommend The Gills for small children simply because of the steep rocks to the water and the stairs in the house.

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway.

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• A Little Bit of Heaven on Earth

  A Little Bit of Heaven on Earth

  • Guest Dave
  • Date of stay 10/12/11
  • Review Submitted 10/16/11
  We have been coming to BI for several years and stunbled onto the Gills. What a fortunate find for us. The house is full of charm and character and the fireplace can't be beat. We had wonderful storms, wind, and sun. We had breakfast (as always) at the Giant Stairs Grille and Kerry was her typical wonderful self. Thanks for offering this wonderful property.

  Recommended for: Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, families with teenagers, girls getaway.

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

• Know before you go...kind of like indoor camping

  Know before you go...kind of like indoor camping

  • Guest Catherine
  • Date of stay 09/24/11
  • Review Submitted 10/16/11
  My husband and I rented this home for our 30th anniversary, based on description and pictures. This was the 4th VRBO home we have rented in the last 2 years, but was a huge disappointment. I will try to be objective even though we were so uncomfortable we left midway thru our rental week. The house simply wasn't what the description and pics represented. 1)The tap water isn't drinkable. Owner supplied 5gallon plastic containers of water with a pump. The tap water smells heavily of sulfur and a metal odor. Very iron-y.. So you have to shower in this terrible smelling water and use the container water to drink or make coffee. Anytime you wash your hands you end up with metallic smell. Dishes, silverware, everything has this smell. We ate out rather than deal with this. 2)Water pressure is extremely low and makes it difficult to take a shower. Between that and the smell, you may be tempted to give up and not shower. 3) The clawfoot tub that looks so attractive in the pics is unusable unless you don't mind the drains and the faucets being rusted. The sinks in both bathrooms have oxidized, rusted faucets. 4) Indoor air quality is very poor thanks to the humid dampness. It just smells mildewed. And if you look at the windowsills, vinyl shades, etc. you will see mildew. Doesn't help that much of the fabric is old and the curtains are virtually disintegrating. The lampshades and vinyl window shades have yellowed from age. 5)The canvas floor cloth going up the stairs is frayed and heavily stained. It is unacceptably past it's prime. Throw rugs are ripped. There is a difference between quaint, rustic decor and just old things that need to be retired. For example, the dressers were very old and the drawers smelled damp and musty. 6)Many cracks in walls and peeling paint. Guestroom closet ceiling is heavily water-damaged and made me concerned about hanging my clothes for fear of leaks. 7) The pics DO NOT show another home that is situated directly on the rocky cliff overlooking the ocean to the left of the Gills looking toward the ocean. If you are sitting on the rocks in front of the Gills overlooking the ocean, the deck to that home is to your left a bit above you. No one was there during our stay, but it would impact the privacy of your stay if it was occupied. The pics I took tell a very different story from the owner-supplied pics. Yes, the view was beautiful, but the house was just an uncomfortable ordeal. The Gills was not as advertised.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 11/16

• What an amazing storybook house!

  Guest comment entered by owner

  What an amazing storybook house!

  • Guest Liz, Ethan, Louisa, Simon & Frankie (Montclair NJ)
  • Date of stay 08/06/11
  • Review Submitted 08/13/11
  We've enjoyed Harry Potter and Monopoly and bubbles on the front porch; wine on the back porch; fires every night; s'mores and barbecues; ice cream at Tiffins; breakfast at The Giant Stairs and shopping for precious souvenirs at Land's End; Popham beach; the Art Museum in Portland; kayaking in Boothbay...not to mention lots of fun with our cousins in Brunswick. Our eighth summer on Bailey Island - the first (hopefully of many) at The Gills! Thanks for making us feel so at home!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/2

• a truly remarkable place

  Guest comment entered by owner

  a truly remarkable place

  • Guest Kristen and Scott (Norberth PA)
  • Date of stay 07/10/11
  • Review Submitted 08/13/11
  Peace in every corner, on every chair, bench, couch, rock. Fire in the fireplace both morning and evening. Visiting the rocks below at every tide. Can't wait to return with the rest of the family next summer (this was just the two of us for our 20th anniversary) Visited Bradbury Mountain, liked the cliff trail and saw the osprey, Bath, Freeport etc, but always wanted to come back to The Gills for R & R.

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

May-October............$2200/week

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