Avis The Tortoise and The Mare self-keeping Inn~Peaceful or Playful~it's up to YOU!

Our hosts were above welcoming! Property was exquisite in space and ambience. Location was beautiful and drivable to all that Maine has to offer.

Can't beat the views from the porch. Lovely walks all around the property. Host is attentive and thoughtful.

It is difficult to put into words how much we enjoyed our stay at The Tortoise and The Mare property. This place was built for us. We were traveling with two of our kids, 12 & 13, and 2 friends of ours along with me and my husband. It is difficult to impress my tweens but they were! We loved our private rooms and the attention to detail. Laura has so lovingly decorated each room and the entire house. My children especially loved spending time with the tortoise and the mare! Anyone with teenage kids know how difficult it is to get them away from their phones. But Chewy and Hartley put a spell on them. Watching our kids just walk around the incredible grounds or spend time staring into Hartley's beautiful, big, brown eyes made me feel like I was doing something really 'right' for my kids. We can't wait to come back and stay in the Containerminium. Laura and Steve are the most gracious, loving and open hosts. We are already planning our next trip! Friends for Life!

We needed a place for a small family group to stay while in the area for our son's graduation from Hebron Academy. The Tortoise and the Mare was perfect for us. Beautifully decorated yet comfortable and homey, it was perfect for our needs. Everyone remarked at how nice their beds were for sleeping, a small but important detail. The large kitchen was great for our celebratory gathering. The vista of the hills from the closed porch and deck was a peaceful spot for coffee or a drink in the evening. Just a wonderful place to spend a few days with family. We highly recommend it.

Three generations of our family loved the Tortoise & Mare. It's a beautiful setting and was very comfortable. There was something for everyone. The kindness our hosts Laura & Steve showed us, put our stay over the top. They truly have the gift of hospitality.

Had a great time!

We enjoyed the privacy and vastness of the property, and the quaintness and decor of the premises. The grounds were meticulously maintained as well. A perfect fit for me and my guests.

I could not recommend The Tortoise and The Mare more highly! amazing house, incredible views with so much space and privacy.Steve and Laura are beautiful people and excellent hosts-truly inspiring! Everything was PERFECT! Exceptional place to stay! Tess Northeast , USA

After searching for the perfect place, we discovered The Tortoise and The Mare online and knew immediately that it was the place we would inevitably choose! The mountain views and large property delivered the natural, country setting we were looking for and the Inn itself made us feel right at home ~ we were in heaven! The decor is intriguing and the rooms are uniquely themed. Beyond the splendid setting though, which I can't emphasize enough, are a couple of exceptional character, who are a pleasure to meet and work with. Laura and Steve are down to earth, fun, caring, unique individuals who do a great job helping in any way they can to assure their guests are more than satisfied. We recommend The Tortoise and The Mare to anyone and everyone with no hesitation - WE LOVE IT !

Here was my experience, I had intended on leaving no review at all but the owner leaves me no choice. You’ll see why. We rented this property for two nights (the required minimum stay) to do some snowmobiling in the area. Due to a warm up the day before arrival a lot of the snow here melted, but that’s no big deal, we can just trailer up north for the day and come back to the farmhouse. However, within 5 minutes of our arrival at 1pm, the electricity went out (and most importantly the HEAT, it was 15 degrees and dropping into the negatives). The owners called the power company who gave a repair time of 3:15pm. The outage was widespread throughout the area. So we waited over 2 hours, and then by 4pm had to make a decision: If you were in a farmhouse in rural Maine, with no electricity/heat/light, and there was no certain time this would change, what would you do? We did what any halfway reasonable person would do-we left. I called the owner and advised that given the situation we would need to find other accommodations as this one was not legally inhabitable under Maine state law. As it turned out we could not find any nearby accommodations due to the power outage so we made the 3 hour drive home. The next day, I contacted the owner and requested a refund for the booking as the home was uninhabitable on arrival. The homeowner would only credit one third of the total, forcing me to pay (a censored amount of money because Home Away won't let me tell you) for a house that I couldn’t stay in (including a cleaning fee!!) The owner stated that it was because we “chose” to leave, and the power came back on later “that evening” Here’s the bottom line, most reasonable adults would shake hands and agree it’s too bad an unforeseeable circumstance like a power outage happened, here’s your money back, we’ll try again next time. But these greedy people are not reasonable. So if you choose to get involved with them, good luck, you’re on your own. You’ve been warned.