Is parking offered on site at The Thistle Inn?

Yes, there's free self parking.

What are the check-in and check-out times at The Thistle Inn?

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: anytime. Check-out time is 10:00 AM. Contactless check-in and check-out are available.

Are there restaurants at or near The Thistle Inn?

Yes, there's an onsite restaurant.

What's the area around The Thistle Inn like?

The Thistle Inn is a short 2-minute walk from Opera House at Boothbay Harbor and 7 minutes' walk from Boothbay Harbor Marina.

The Thistle Inn, Boothbay Harbor: Hotel Reviews, Rooms & Prices

10/10 Exceptional

Aug 27, 2025

Quaint room with a large bathroom. Well kept. Steep stairs to our room. Very nice!

1-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Aug 1, 2025

The inn is conveniently located near restaurants and shops. There is a restaurant on the property as well serving seafood meals and pub food. The only thing we didn’t realize is we had to park across the street down a small incline. We parked there after unloading the car but when we went to park there a 2nd time someone asked us to move. Overall, the inn is clean, quiet and fairly priced for its location.

DANA, 1-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Aug 10, 2024

Great little area, felt safe and relaxed in the property.

Cristaliz, 1-night trip

6/10 Good

Jun 26, 2025

Okay

I had no one to speak to. Went to put my bags in the car and I returned the door was locked. Very noisy and outside light kept me awake. AC was not on, so the room was very hot when we arrived. Had to figure out how to get key.

Monique, 1-night trip

4/10 Fair

Aug 2, 2025

This is NOT An INN! It is a pretty room in an old house. There is no innkeeper, no housekeeping. No public spaces. Just your room which has a private bathroom. And a tiny coffee machine with no instructions and a good selection of teas. our room was spacious comfortable. The bathroom floor is slick, no rugs anywhere. Up two very narrow sets of stairs. It is an historic home, after all. At 75, I could not bring luggage up. I unpacked at the car and took what I needed up in a small backpack each day.. if this works for you , great! If you are expecting to be welcome at a charming New England Inn, this is NOT the place, Oddly there was an elegantly inscribed envelope for “Housekeeping” ! There was none. No one at all ever made up the room, swept the bare floors, Replenished anything during our 3 night stay.

Susan, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jul 8, 2023

Large rooms in charming colonial building. Non-affiliated restaurant on site, excellent food. Walk to harbor. Just to be aware, stairs to 2nd floor suites very are extremely steep, no inn staff on site.

MARIA, 1-night trip

6/10 Good

Aug 23, 2023

This is not an Inn. You are renting a room above a restaurant. There is no staff or housekeeping on site. We stayed for 3 nights and the room was never cleaned. There are very steep steps to the 3rd floor where our room was. We never got an email with instructions for check in and had to call. This was more like an airbnb experience definitely NOT an inn.

valerie, 3-night trip

4/10 Fair

Jul 30, 2023

The room was clean and decent. Plenty of space. Good coffee selection for the Nespresso machine. That’s where the good review ends. Extremely disappointing. Refrigerator did not get cold at all. No response to emails, no answer on the phone. The restaurant staff kept giving us dirty looks as we enjoyed the outdoor sitting area, apparently they didn’t want us there (directly outside of our room) unless we were dining at the restaurant. Every single employee interaction was rude and unwelcoming. Restaurant and Inn are separate businesses, according to a sign in our room. That doesn’t excuse the rudeness. Broken curtain rods, the iron was oddly unusable with a zip tie around the plug. Our first floor room was next to the restaurant entrance, so people passed directly in front of our two windows all evening within a foot of the glass. In fact, the restaurant bathroom was in the hall right next to our door. Lots of foot traffic. The only way to close the view from outside on the first floor, where people walked directly past, was to shut the curtains, which covered up the air conditioner entirely. There are no shades on the windows, only curtains. Two days after checking in we still had no responses to our emails or calls. The restaurant was closed the Wednesday we were there. All outdoor lighting in seating areas were completely turned off in the evening outside the entrance to the Inn. Dark and dreary.

Jon, 2-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Oct 21, 2025

This trip would have been perfect with the following: 1. lighting at the parking across the street, especially for late arrivals 2. Bottled water 3. Napkins or paper towels 4. Plasticware 5. Cookware for microwave - I left a dish for heating there for the next guest 6. Better bandwidth- the TV did not really work when other guest were there or the restaurant was in operation. No one likes to watch TV the is constantly spinning 7. A WiFi connection Other than these things it was nice, comfortable and quaint.

ELLEN LUCIA, 3-night trip

8/10 Very good

Aug 23, 2025

Comfortable bed but no elevator

Good, quiet location with parking walking distance to the main part of town. It’s not an Inn with a front desk but we were aware of that. Getting your luggage from the parking lot to an upstairs room could be challenging for some. On the upside, the bed was very comfortable and the room was clean. I would only recommend for travelers are able to manage stairs with luggage and are just looking for a comfortable place to sleep.

1-night trip

6/10 Good

Aug 15, 2025

Third floor you better bed in condition to climb 2 step flights of stairs. Furniture not comfortable..

Sheila, 3-night trip

6/10 Good

Aug 4, 2025

No one to help with baggage and a flight of stairs, (steep and narrow). Room key a metal key that can easily be duplicated. internet service (non existent). No ice if you want ice. Lovely room. Nice shower. The stairs and carrying bags upstairs was difficult for an 80 Year old

Joseph, 2-night trip

6/10 Good

Aug 3, 2025

Needs an upgrade

The room we stayed in was not well thought out. Even though there was space we had a TV table as our kitchen table and the microwave and refrigerator were in the bathroom. We only had one roll of toilet paper and climbing into the shower was challenging. We were on the first floor, so people kept walking by our windows for the restaurant. The restaurant patrons also had to walk by our room to go to the restaurant. It was very loud at night because of the restaurant.

2-night trip

6/10 Good

Aug 1, 2025

The best part was how close it was to walk to the harbor. It wasn't super clean, chip crumbs found under bed etc. The air conditioning was annoying and loud. Our door was difficult to unlock and I hated that there was no deadbolt for safety. No staff members there. It was a weird vibe being above the restaurant, like we didn't belong there......the front door was also wide open during the restaurant service hours....anyone could just walk in. We did need to call Florin and he was wonderful.

Trevor, 2-night trip

2/10 Poor

Jul 18, 2025

Problematic, Poor Service

No one was there when we arrived on time. We didn't get an email giving us the door and room password. No one was there. We made several calls, left voice mail and was told they didn't like my attitude and was told to "talk to Expedia.' Narrow, hazardous stairs, no path to the parking lot. TV hard to operate, no channel guide, no coffee, just tea and no instructions on how to work the Kerug. We were there 3 nights with no housekeeping though we put the sign for it on the doorknob.

Robert, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jul 6, 2025

Great stay

The bed and pillows were so comfy. Great location too

Cathy, 3-night trip

4/10 Fair

Jun 29, 2025

Bare-bones room. One chair, extremely poor lighting, no table (had to place drink glass on the floor), saggy-in-the-middle bed, bed mattress 46 inches above the floor, no pictures or wall decorations, no housekeeping: waste baskets overflowing after 4 days, no beds made or linens available even if we wanted to change them ourselves: management had the audacity to include a housekeeping tips envelope, TV service offers only reruns of programs dating back to late 1950s (were it not for our smart phones we would never known Trump bombed Iran), stay not inexpensive considering how little our money bought. Built in 1862, this property desperately needs TLC and professional hospitality management that that knows what it's doing.

JOSEPH, 4-night trip

6/10 Good

Jun 27, 2025

The room was not decorated. It made the room very cold and unwelcoming upon arrival, and the empty hooks made it feel like the place was just robbed. The air conditioner is a window unit, which was (very) loud in the rain; and just as loud when running. There was only a table and lamp on one side of the bed (I had to place my eyeglasses and watch on the floor). The bed is also too tall in my opinion and has very squeaky springs. Parking for the inn is across the street, in a gravel, unlit parking area, surrounded by abandoned vehicles. It is a short walk but requires crossing a dangerous intersection and walking thru grass down a rocky hill. It’s terrible. I know the restaurant isn’t related, which is a shame. There were take-out containers in the lobby for four days – the entire stairwell smelled like rotten food. The first two nights we stayed, the staff from the restaurant slammed dishes and argued (outside) from closing til 11 pm. Lastly, our kcup selection was limited to Sleepy Time tea & decaf coffee, and the Keurig was filthy. Oh, and we found extra towels on our own (a buffet in the hallway) – there were no instructions on where to find them. None of these issues was worth a call or a complaint to the restaurant, but the annoyances and inconveniences combined for an overall experience I’d rather not repeat. Limited to 1500 characters, I had to trim down my comments.

Denis, 3-night trip

4/10 Fair

Jun 22, 2025

Not at all what I expected! I don’t mind that there is no one there to greet you but it would be nice to be able to ask questions about the area and room conditions. No one was ever there!! Some of the issues we found were the following. No soap at bathroom sink and not then found the container in shower was also empty. Very, very little parking. The coffee maker, although a Keurig, was not as easy as it should have been. The day we were leaving there was only one regular coffee. Plenty of Sleepytime, decaf and breakfast tea. I don’t even want to discuss the TV. Most of our issues could have been easily attended to if there was someone on the premises. There was a phone number to call and leave a message. Then they texted us! No human contact ever. I’m a regular business traveler and have never had issues like this. I had heard great things about the Inn. I hope our experience was just an aberration.

Nancy, 2-night trip

2/10 Poor

May 13, 2025

We reserved and paid for a room in advance, and then found out that the room was on the second floor and required climbing a long flight of stairs. My wife is unable to climb stairs because of a disability. When I contacted the Thistle Inn, I asked for a room on the first floor. This was their response: "Good morning, we only have one room at the ground floor that’s occupied and the building had no elevator. Thank you!" Not accommodating at all. I have written asking for a refund, and have asked Expedia to help mw receive a refund. As of this moment, I have heard nothing.

Ronald, 1-night trip

8/10 Very good

Dec 22, 2024

I’ve stayed at several different places and Boothbay Harbor over the years. I enjoyed that everything was no hassle. We arrived late due to snow on our way up and my only slight complaint was I wish someone could’ve turned the heat to the room on. Other than that great stay!

Michael, 2-night trip

8/10 Very good

Nov 17, 2024

Great experience

Mohammadali, 2-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Oct 21, 2024

The house was built in 1861 with original flooring and lovingly refurbished. The sleeping accommodations are tastefully furnished. Being a short walk away from the hubbub of the shopping doesn't mean that your peace and quiet is disturbed. The restaurant, which is located on the first floor of the Inn serves delicious food and staffed by competent and polite people. The only suggestion that we could make is a full length mirror in the room. Looking forward to returning in the future.

Carol, 2-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Sep 27, 2024

This is our 2nd trip to Boothbay, first time at The Thistle Inn, we stayed in the Crows Nest, as a family of 4. The room was beautiful, clean, spacious. We loved having a full kitchen and room to spread out. This would even make a great weekend getaway for 2 during the off season. The fireplace makes a nice cozy touch.

Michelle, 2-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Sep 19, 2024

Unique Property

I would say this property is Unique!!! There is no Front Desk;; check in is a code for the main door and coded key lock box with a key to your room. Checkout is the same. Everything is done via email and phone. What makes this place Great is the Restaurant attached to the Inn. Food is Amazing and the service is Awesome as well!!! The are owned by separate entities. There are only 6 rooms which makes it nice as well and located walking distance to downtown Boothbay Harbor. The only downfall is the narrow stairs going up to the second and third floors, I have bad knees so the stairs were a little rough but still didn't take away from a Great Stay!!! Next time I will try to get the room on the first floor lol. I would definitely stay there again!!

Howard, 3-night trip

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