You go there mostly to savor the cooking and hospitality of Evin Hulbert, co-owner of the bed-and-breakfast, who doubles as your chef and daily trip planner.
Evin, 37, and her husband, Tom, 43, opened the inn in 1997. Evin, who formerly managed restaurants, and Tom, who previously worked in construction, gutted the inside of the 1895 house, created five bedrooms, and dubbed it the Holland Inn. An old farmhouse, the white inn's architecture is plain, though its front yard, landscaped by Evin, is beautiful in its simplicity. Petunias in rock settings rest on each side of the walk to the front door. Holly bushes grow under the breakfast room window, which overlooks Holland Avenue.
I stayed here first in 1999 and vowed to return because of the Hulberts' down-to-earth brand of hospitality and the inn's convenience to Acadia National Park and downtown Bar Harbor. Six years ago, both Hulberts and their son Simon lived in the inn and were around at breakfast time. On my return visit a few weeks ago, Evin made breakfast and chatted with guests, while two hired helpers did most of the serving. Tom watched Simon, now 8, and Benjamin, 3, in the Hulberts' home next to the inn.
Our room was on the second floor of the Quietside Cottage, an early-20th-century house behind the main inn. A gravel path from the parking lot leads to Quietside, which the Hulberts opened in 2002 with four guest rooms. On the way to the cottage door, Evin has planted a cutting garden, with purple clematis weaving around a trellis and hovering above red, yellow, and lavender flowers. A wooden bench, perfect for reading, faces the garden. Though across from a laundry, next to a hardware store, and off a main street, the inn is surprisingly tranquil.
The bedrooms, in the main house and in Quietside, resemble cute guest rooms you lovingly decorate for friends and family. The Hulberts named each room after hikes and mountains on Mount Desert Island, including Precipice, Beehive, and Bubbles.
