The Towne Motel
68 Elm Street
Camden, ME
Motel bones, bed-and-breakfast heart, two blocks from Camden Harbor.
About The Towne Motel
The Towne Motel has been a Camden landmark since it opened in 1955, a classic mid-century motel two blocks from the harbor. Since 2013, innkeepers Siobhan and Katja have run it with the warmth of a bed and breakfast, renovating the rooms while keeping the retro character intact. What sets it apart is how personal they have made a motel format: they open their own attached living quarters each morning so guests can gather over coffee and home-baked muffins. The walkable setting is the other draw, a five-minute stroll from downtown Camden, its shops and galleries, restaurants, the public library, and the working harbor on Penobscot Bay. It is a small, hospitable base for exploring the Midcoast.
What The Towne Motel Is Known For
The Towne Motel's achievement is turning a 1955 motel into something that feels genuinely hosted. Opening their own living quarters each morning for coffee and homemade muffins is the kind of gesture that no chain and few independents match, and it transforms the standard motel format into a bed-and-breakfast experience. Pair that hospitality with immaculately kept rooms and a walk-everywhere location two blocks from Camden Harbor, and the result is a small property that consistently sends guests home feeling looked after.
Amenities
- Pets Welcome
- Breakfast Included
- Homemade baked goods each morning
- Innkeepers' living quarters open for breakfast gatherings
- 24-hour communal kitchen with self-serve items
- In-room coffee makers
- Two-block walk to Camden Harbor
- Renovated retro rooms
What Guests Love
- Innkeepers Siobhan and Katja open their attached living quarters each morning for coffee and home-baked muffins, often Maine blueberry.
- A communal kitchen in the main building stays open around the clock with help-yourself breakfast items and drinks.
- The location is two blocks from downtown Camden, an easy walk to the harbor, shops, restaurants, and the library.
- Rooms are renovated and immaculately kept, with fresh bedding and updated bathrooms.
- The personal, hosted feel turns a classic motel into a bed-and-breakfast experience.
Worth Knowing
- The property is small and popular in summer. Book ahead for peak Midcoast season and fall foliage weekends.
- The in-town location keeps the harbor and downtown within a short walk, so you can leave the car parked for much of a visit.
- Pets are welcome. A pet fee applies; contact the property directly to confirm current amounts and any restrictions before booking.
- Breakfast is a self-serve spread of baked goods, coffee, juice, and yogurt in the innkeepers' living room and the communal kitchen, not a cooked-to-order meal.
The Room
The rooms carry retro charm updated with modern comfort. Renovated within an older building, they read as spotless and well maintained, with fresh bedding, tidy tiled bathrooms, and controllable air conditioning. Larger rooms and bathrooms give more space than the motel's vintage exterior suggests. A coffee maker sits in each room for early risers, and the design keeps things clean and comfortable rather than themed or fussy. The care that Siobhan and Katja bring shows in the details: guests consistently describe the rooms as immaculate, the kind of upkeep that turns an older motel into a genuinely inviting stay.
The Grounds
The Towne Motel keeps the classic two-tier motel layout, with rooms opening to exterior walkways and parking close at hand. The main building holds a communal kitchen area open around the clock, stocked with help-yourself breakfast items and drinks, and the innkeepers' attached living quarters open each morning as a cozy gathering space. The setting is the standout: this is a walkable in-town property, two blocks from the heart of Camden. From the door it is a short stroll to shops, galleries, restaurants, the public library, parks, and the harbor, so the car can stay parked for most of a visit.
The Experience
Staying here feels like being hosted rather than checked in. Mornings center on the innkeepers' living room, where coffee, juice, and fresh-baked muffins, often Maine blueberry, are set out for guests to linger over. Siobhan and Katja add the special touches that make an old motel feel like a bed and breakfast, from the baked goods to genuine local advice. The rest of Camden is right outside: a five-minute walk carries you to the harbor, the restaurants, and the shops, and the schooners of the windjammer fleet sit at the docks. It is an easy, friendly, walk-everywhere kind of stay in one of Maine's prettiest harbor towns.
Details
Camden, ME 04843
The Boutel designation is earned, not purchased. Boutels is editorially independent and has no financial relationship with any listed property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Towne Motel have EV charging?
No, The Towne Motel does not have on-site EV charging. The Road Trip Planner map shows public chargers near the property.
What is there to do near The Towne Motel?
Camden Harbor: 0.3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk. Camden Hills State Park and Mount Battie: 1.5 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can bike there. Camden Snow Bowl: 3.3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can bike there.
How far is The Towne Motel from Camden Harbor?
Camden Harbor is about 0.3 miles from The Towne Motel, close enough to walk (roughly a 5 minute drive).
How far is The Towne Motel from Camden Hills State Park and Mount Battie?
Camden Hills State Park and Mount Battie is about 1.5 miles from The Towne Motel, roughly a 5 minute drive or a short bike ride.
How far is The Towne Motel from Camden Snow Bowl?
Camden Snow Bowl is about 3.3 miles from The Towne Motel, roughly a 5 minute drive or a short bike ride.
How far is The Towne Motel from Camden Harbor?
The Towne Motel is about two blocks, a 5-minute walk, from Camden Harbor and downtown Camden.
Does The Towne Motel have a pool?
No, The Towne Motel does not have a pool. Its draws are the walkable in-town location and homemade breakfast, with Camden Harbor a short stroll away.
Is The Towne Motel pet friendly?
Yes. Pets are welcome at The Towne Motel. Contact the property directly before booking to confirm current pet fees, room availability, and any restrictions.
Is breakfast included at The Towne Motel?
Yes. The Towne Motel includes a self-serve breakfast of home-baked muffins, coffee, juice, and yogurt, set out each morning in the innkeepers' living quarters and a 24-hour communal kitchen.
Can you walk to downtown Camden from The Towne Motel?
Yes. The Towne Motel sits two blocks from downtown Camden, an easy 5-minute walk to the harbor, shops, restaurants, and the public library.
What is parking like at The Towne Motel?
The Towne Motel offers free on-site parking, with spaces near the rooms in its classic exterior-access motel layout.
How can I give feedback on a property I stayed at?
If you are a guest that stayed at the property, we would love feedback about your experience. Boutels listed on this site do not pay to be included nor can they pay to be sponsored or promoted. Your feedback matters. Please .
I’m affiliated with this property and have feedback on this listing.
We’d love to learn more about your property. To provide images, simply log in as a member (it’s free), find your listing on the map, choose “Visited,” and you’ll be given the option to upload images and leave a note. You can also and we’ll be in touch, just be sure to provide us with contact information in that form. Thanks!
Things to Do Near the Midcoast, Maine
Camden Harbor Park & Amphitheatre
0.4 miles away
At the head of Camden Harbor, this free public park and stone amphitheatre were designed by the Olmsted Brothers and Fletcher Steele and given to the town in the early 1930s by arts patron Mary Louise Curtis Bok.
Camden Hills State Park and Mount Battie
1.8 miles away
Camden Hills is the striking exception on a low, rocky coast: here the wooded hills rise straight out of Penobscot Bay.
Lincolnville Beach
5.9 miles away
A rare pocket of real sand on Maine's rocky coast, right where US Route 1 meets Penobscot Bay, with a War of 1812 cannon on the shore and the Islesboro ferry coming and going.
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
7.1 miles away
A lighthouse at the very end of a great granite breakwater reaching nearly a mile out into Penobscot Bay from Rockland, Maine.
Farnsworth Art Museum and Wyeth Center
7.3 miles away
People come to the midcoast for lobster and lighthouses and miss one of the best American art museums in New England, right on Rockland's main street.
Owls Head Transportation Museum
9.8 miles away
Kids who love things that go will not want to leave. The Owls Head Transportation Museum near Rockland packs its halls with more than 150 vintage cars, planes, motorcycles, and engines, and the twist is that almost all o...
Moose Point State Park
16 miles away
A restful day-use state park on Penobscot Bay, once a sea captain's dairy farm, with an evergreen picnic grove, short trails to the shore, and tide pools at low tide, all with views to the Camden Hills.
Acadia National Park
43 miles away
Granite peaks meet the Atlantic on Mount Desert Island, with the first sunrise in the country from the top of Cadillac Mountain.
Camden Snow Bowl
3.3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can bike there.
3.3 miles, about a 7-minute drive, leads to the community ski and recreation area, notable for its rare ocean views out over the bay from the slopes.