There’s a reason many of New England’s finest inns are within landmark buildings. Structures that have stood for a century or more have not just strong “bones” but a soul. Step through their doors, and you’re transported in wondrous ways.
At the Cape Arundel Inn & Resort, our story begins in the late 19th century, when the railroad brought the first “summer people” to Kennebunkport, Maine. Our town’s 17th-century settlers farmed and fished. In 1755, the first schooner was built on the Kennebunk River, touching off a century of prosperous shipbuilding. Just as the tides of fortune were changing, our enviable spot on the Maine coast became a cherished summer destination for elite vacationers.
Seacrest—our resort’s Main House overlooking the Atlantic on Ocean Avenue—was built as a summer “cottage” in 1895 by a prominent Ohio family. The mansion’s view would soon include the home built on Walkers Point in 1902 by George Herbert Walker: grandfather of President George H.W. Bush.
So many architecturally alluring mansions were built on our point of land, the Cape Arundel Summer Colony Historic District earned National Register of Historic Places status in 1984. Most remain private residences, and our inn offers guests the same privacy and comfort of coming “home” to Kennebunkport—with a world of amenities.
When you stay at Cape Arundel Inn & Resort, you’ll enjoy the timeless elegance of our Main House, which became an inn and restaurant in 1953 and was christened the Cape Arundel Inn in 1980, as well as the former Old Fort Estate’s circa 1890 stable and carriage house, which are now our resort’s Club House.
Uniting these two gracious estates—and renovating them for today’s discriminating traveler, while preserving their historic character—has been a labor of love for the Kennebunkport Resort Collection since 2014.
