Tips for Visiting the Bethel Inn Resort

During the first week of July, 2010, my family (husband, two children ages 8 & 11) visited the Bethel Inn Resort in Bethel, Maine to attend Golf School. This hotel is literally embedded into the quaint New England town of Bethel.  The hotel’s townhomes and outbuildings feel as if they are part of the town. Main Street has a nice sized grocery store within walking distance to the Inn so if you are staying in a townhouse, like we did, it would be very convenient to stock up on supplies. There are lots of cute restaurants and shops as well. While the hotel does not rent bikes this would be an ideal way to travel around the hotel grounds and town.

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1. The Bethel Inn Resort

On The Common
Bethel, Maine

reviewed on: July 25 2010

"Inn Town"

During the first week of July, 2010, my family (husband, two children ages 8 & 11) visited the Bethel Inn Resort in Bethel, Maine. This hotel is literally embedded into the quaint New England town of Bethel.  What started in 1913 as a small inn and 9-hole golf course has grown to 200 acre campus and 18-hole course. The hotel’s town homes and outbuildings feel as if they are part of the town. Main Street has a nice sized grocery store within walking distance to the Inn so if you are staying in a townhouse, like we did, it would be very convenient to stock up on supplies. There are lots of cute restaurants and shops as well. While the hotel does not rent bikes (those are available through Bethel Bicycle) this would be an ideal way to travel around the hotel grounds and town.

When we checked in we were given a 1 bedroom townhouse, No. 518, in “the Birches” Building in the Fairway Townhouses.  It is my guestimate these townhomes have not to have been renovated since the late 80s.  Our first impression was disappointment. Plus, I felt the layout was not ideal for families with small children as the bedroom and only bathroom are downstairs while the living area with pullout couch is upstairs.  Younger kids could have a hard time finding the facilities or Mom and Dad in the middle of the night.  With all those stairs, I inquired about a baby gate from housekeeping and they do not provide those.  They do have port-a-cribs for $10/night. If you are driving to the property, you might save yourself some cash and bring your own.

As it turns out there was no wireless internet access at the Fairway Townhouses so we requested to be moved to the other town homes closer to the Millbrook Townhomes (near the Main Inn) which does have WIFI.  I am sure glad we did! They checked us into No. 624 which is located in the first building of the Millbrook Townhomes.  The difference in the quality of these town houses is night and day (or more like 25 years). We were so much happier the accommodations at Millbrook Townhomes. The layout is also much better for families.  Upon entry, there is still a set of stairs that takes you up to the living space, but from there everything is all on one level.  So if you are traveling with small children you would want to bring that baby gate. Here we had two full baths.  The master bedroom had a full Jacuzzi tub at the foot of the bed with the toilet and sink in an enclosed space.  There was a huge deck with a lounge chair and outdoor dinning space.  What a contrast to the deck at the Fairway Townhomes which is rather small and shared with your neighbor.

The most surprising thing is that the price for either set of townhome is exactly the same -- from $300/weekend night peak season. The Fairway Townhouses are hardly “luxurious” as some of the marketing materials would lead you to believe.  So, don’t leave it to the luck of the draw, when you make your reservation, would be sure to make a special request to be in the Millbrook townhomes if you want the newer, nicer accommodations, with a better layout for families and WIFI.

LAKE HOUSE OFFERS RECREATIONAL OPTIONS
Down Rte 5 (accessible by car, 5 min)

Although Bethel Inn’s main focus is obviously the golf course, three miles south of the Resort, guests have access to a rustic, private lake house that has swimming, complimentary canoeing and kayaking.  It is only staffed on the weekends, otherwise it is self-serve.  Guests get the combination lock from the front desk at check in.  There is a small dock on shore and you can swim out to another one 150 feet off shore. If you have little anglers in your family, you definitely want to bring your fishing rods. I was told that the lake is stocked with salmon and bass.  Although we brought our own life preservers, I did notice some extras the lake house. I might also suggest bringing your own beach towels too.  At a bare minimum do remember to bring bath towels from your hotel room as there are none available there. There are two bathrooms inside the house.  And while there are picnic tables on the deck, there is no food service.  Knowing this, we stopped in town first at the Good Food Store and brought our lunch.

POOL NEEDS SOME TLC
The pool is located near the Main Inn at the Health Club.  This building also houses the spa and fitness room.  I also saw signs for on-site day care, although we didn’t use this as our children are older. The pool is salt water and very warm.  Personally, I found this to be a bit drying to our skin. Perhaps it is a combination of the salt plus the chemicals they use to keep it clean.  Our kids also thought they could open their eyes under water without their goggles, but after the first day complained they were irritated and choose to wear goggles the rest of the time.  The pool is 3’ to 5’ deep and has a small alcove with bench seating in the shallow end where young kids could easily stand.  This outdoor pool is open year round and is accessed through a small entrance indoors.  You swim out through the equivalent of a large “doggie door”.  The kids took great delight in doing this during much of our time at the pool.  The pool itself could use some serious TLC.  It is stained and is not kept very clean.  I was constantly fishing bugs and leaves out of it, my daughter even found gum at the bottom.  There appeared to be a shortage of seating.  The resort occupancy ratio is definitely higher than lounge chair availability.  Okay for a quick dip, but you’ll be better off spending time on the fairway.

This review is based on a complimentary visit to the Bethel Inn Resort. I received no other compensation and the business owner did not state any requirements that I express a particular point of view. All of the opinions I expressed are my own.

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2. Bethel Inn Resort Golf Course

21 Broad Street
Bethel, Maine

reviewed on: July 25 2010

"Scrambling around with my Foursome"

During the first week of July, 2010, my family (husband, two children ages 8 & 11) visited the Guaranteed Performance ™ School of Golf at the Bethel Inn Resort in Bethel, Maine. We chose the “Family Golf School Vacation” which included private instruction, all meals, unlimited golf, and two nights lodging for two adults and two children (from $1499).

On our first day we met Mark, the head golf pro for the course. Right off the bat we all took a liking to him. He is very personable and was great with our kids as he has children himself. Before we set out, he took the time to get to know each of us by asking lots of questions. He wanted to know what sports we played, how much golf experience we’ve had, and most importantly, he talked to kids, not just the parents. Later, he used this knowledge to relate it to the lesson. For example, we are all skiers so he suggested to some of us we needed to keep our “ski knees bent”.

Then it was off to the private range. While giving the basic techniques, set up, stance, grip, balance, he got the kids engaged early so they could hit the ball and they weren’t bored.  Unfortunately for us, we were working under unusually oppressive heat conditions for New England (90 degrees +) so it didn’t make the best environment for golf school.  But Mark understood that. He worked with us the best he could and he moved the kids into the shade whenever possible. Plus we took lots of water breaks.

I felt like he gave each of us plenty of individualized attention. We worked on alignment, our swing, and then we hit balls, all the while checking in with each of us individually and gentle correcting or repositioning our hands or feet.  Amazing how little changes make the ball go farther and straighter! Towards the end of the first day, he videoed taped each of us from two different angles so that we could review our swing and he could point some of the things we needed to work on.

The first night my husband took advantage of “unlimited golf” and was able to squeeze in 9 holes before dinner. He commented that while this is not a mountain course, you may want to take a cart with younger kids. But if you do, it’s worth noting that the cart paths are unpaved like a back country road so hang on to the little ones.

Day two started with our video tape analysis in an air-conditioned room – a nice respite from the heat.  We all benefited from seeing our strengths/weaknesses. I found out I needed to “lift my feet” and “keep my ski knees bent”. After that we headed out to the 18th green to practice our short game.  I was a bit surprised they didn’t have a separate practice facility for us.  At one point we had to move for golfers coming through. We worked on chipping and putting.  My daughter got it right away, for some reason, I fear I will always be afraid to “hit down on the ball”.  Again, we quit a bit early, due to the heat but went back out as a family that night to play the back nine and implement many of the things we had learned over the course of the two day school.

If your family is interested in finding a sport they can enjoy together, while still benefiting from a resort that offers many activities on-site and off then the Bethel Inn School of Golf would be a good choice for you.

This review is based on a complimentary visit to the Bethel Inn Resort. I received no other compensation and the business owner did not state any requirements that I express a particular point of view. All of the opinions I expressed are my own

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3. The Millbrook Tavern and Grille

On The Common
Bethel, Maine

reviewed on: July 26 2010

"The Local Watering Hole"

The Millbrook Tavern and Grille is located on the lower level of the Bethel Inn.  There are lots of choices here: choices for where to sit and what to eat. Sit in the bar if you want to see the game. Sit in the main room if you want to play pool.  Sit in the sun room or on the terrace if you want to see the outdoors, or even play shuffleboard. The menu is quite large with a combination of standard tavern fare and New England style entrees like Maine Mussels and Grilled Salmon.  

With our 8 & 11 year olds, we skipped the kids menu (grilled chicken, pasta, hot dog, grilled cheese, Jr. burger, chicken dippers, mac & cheese $4.99 - $7.99), in favor of smorgasbord dinning.  We ordered up mozzarella sticks, spinach artichoke dip, chicken tenders, an iceberg wedge, onion rings and all of us shared.  

During dinner we caught up with the very personable Dick Rasor, the Inn’s owner for the last 31 years.  While mingling with the restaurants patrons, he pulled up a bar stool to find out what brought our family to his Inn.  In a small world story, it turn out that he went to the same sleep-away camp that my son did in Vermont, Camp Abnaki many years ago. Having the opportunity to meet the owner of Bethel Inn added a special warmth to the our experience.

This review is based on a complimentary visit to The Bethel Inn Resort. I received no other compensation and the business owner did not state any requirements that I express a particular point of view. All of the opinions I expressed are my own.

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4. 22 Broad Street

22 Broad Street
Bethel, Maine

reviewed on: July 27 2010

"Delish Dish"

Located directly across the street from the Bethel Inn, you will find a large Victorian bed & breakfast that has a wonderful restaurant with a wrap around screened-in porch serving authentic Italian cuisine.  Inside you will find tables set with red linen table cloths in small rooms with tin ceilings.  There is a kids menu with spaghetti and house-made meatballs ($7.50), Tortellini and sauce ($7.50) and pasta with butter ($5.50). However our kids ordered the pasta special of the night, ravioli, off the main menu.  There are plenty of choices including chicken parm, filet mignon, rib-eye and a t-bone for the carnivores in the family.  And save room for dessert! The crème brule is absolutely delish.  

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5. Good Food Store

Route 2
Bethel, Maine

reviewed on: July 27 2010

"Great Gourmet Grub"

Yowza - we stumbled on to this place as a recommendation from a staff member at the Bethel Inn. We were headed out to the Lake House for the day and wanted to bring some sandwiches with us.  The Good Food Store part market, part sandwich shop.  Choose items from the menu like steak bomb, the spicy veggie wrap, the TBLT, BLT, BBQ Turkey & Cheddar or create your own sandwich/wrap with all the fixin's you can imagine.  While your food is being made wander around and pick up local syrups, jams, chips and more to compliment your meal.

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6. DiCocoa's Market & Bakery

119 Main Street
Bethel, Maine

reviewed on: July 27 2010

"All That and More"

We popped in here for an ice cream treat after golf school and were pleasantly surprised to find homemade gelato and sorbet in flavors like Brownie Blitz, Double Fudge Bliss, Happy Cappy, and Lemon Mint Breeze. Not only do they sell frozen sweets, they are also a “bakery, not a fakery”. Looking at the bakery case, it was a hard choice for my daughter, a self-proclaimed sweet-tooth, to decide between the vanilla or coconut cupcake.  On the shelves you will also find everything you need for a perfect packable picnic: mini humus tubes, small packages of snacks and crackers, to-go packs of PB & Chocolate (squeeze on a banana?), plus sandwiches, wraps, burritos and fresh salads.

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