Lots to say about this wonderful vacation rental. First of all, the location of the property couldn’t be better. Only 10 minutes from Bridgton and all its small town pleasures: Reny’s, Bridgton Books, the Magic Lantern Theater, the drive-in, Pondicherry Park for an easy hike through a gorgeous forest, the Gazebo for ice cream and giant board games, Highland Lake for swimming. Highly recommend Ricky’s Diner for breakfast (try the homemade hash) and the Black Horse Tavern for dinner (delicious fried shrimp). Then it’s less than 30 minutes from Fryeburg for tubing on the Saco River and barbecue at the 302 West Smokehouse & Tavern. Story Land and North Conway are about 45 minutes away, both of which we enjoyed. Yes, my 19-year-old twins and their two friends all loved going to Story Land and “reliving” their childhood. It’s still fun for all ages.
Beaver Pond is wonderful for kayaking, canoeing, and fishing. Not so great for swimming (bottom is really mucky) but we found the giant duck float in a shed attached to the house and enjoyed floating around on that. The side of the pond the house is on (East facing?) gets full sun, so you can stay out on the water all day if you want.
Inside, the house is spacious, well equipped, and clean. We brought our Roku to use with the TV but connection was spotty, so we ended up using the TV only for watching a couple of DVDs we had brought with us. The mattresses seemed very new and no one complained about being uncomfortable, as is often the case with rentals. We had to bring our own sheets, bath towels, and beach towels, but I didn’t really mind because I kind of prefer my own linens anyway. Don’t forget towels to use as bath mats and towels to use to dry dishes!
PLEASE NOTE: As the photos and reviews indicate, there are a LOT of animal heads on the walls. In fact, several more were added to the family room apparently after these photos were taken. And what the photos don’t show are the deer and bear heads on the bedroom walls. If this is the kind of thing that bothers you or your children, think twice before renting this property. My teens ended up naming the animal heads to make a game out of it for themselves. The rest of the decor is creative and totally appropriate for Maine. Someone sure had fun shopping!
Henry was easy to communicate with and very responsive to all my inquiries. All in all, we enjoyed our time on Beaver Pond.