This 114-year-old inn is located in a tiny, quaint in a tiny town of the same name in the lakes and mountains region of western Maine. It opened as the Rangeley Tavern in 1909, then several years later a smaller inn which stood nearby was attached to the larger building and today is one wing of it. A visit to the rambling wooden structure provides both an introduction to the surrounding area and a walk back in time. The head of a moose and rearing body of a bear in the lobby greet; antique furnishings scattered here and there contrast with the renovated and well-appointed guest rooms; and walls are covered with vintage photographs that depict varying aspects of local history and lore. These include Rangeley's long-held reputation as a freshwater fishing mecca and the time when a narrow-gauge railroad carried visitors here primarily from Boston, New York and Philadelphia, then and steamboats then completed the journey to the large hotels that once lined the shore of Rangeley Lake. The inn's interesting history combined with the Norman Rockwell-like ambiance of the town in which it’s located and four-season choice of activities, makes this a perfect place to sleep with history.
Read more in Tripatini member Victor Block's post Sleeping with History at 7 of the USA's most Historic Hotels.
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