Rocktide Inn & Restaurant

«Poor quality hotel for the money»
This hotel has a nice view from the restaurant/​bar and some rooms. The standard room has NO view and is tucked away by the road. Our room was in the main building so we had access to the veranda that overlooks the harbor. The room itself— purely generic room. Motel 6 has it beat. The bathroom door sticks, the bathroom sink cupboard won’t close, the furniture is non-​descript.
The main dining area and bar area are nice overlooking the harbor. Those rooms are in direct contradiction to the quality of the rooms. lounge is very nicely done. The dining room is very nice and serves a nice dinner and a hot breakfast. The Rocktide Inn had a very good lobster platter for dinner. It was a good value. Dining room overlooks the harbor.
I would not stay here again.
Stayed October 2015, traveled as a couple

Disappointed. We tried to plan our wedding here and there was a lot of unnecessary back and forth; taking weeks to get information; and when the information was supplied, it was inadequate or intended to direct us to someone else.

Just visited the Rocktide inn for a night. Rooms were nice and clean, not super modern, but nice. The views are amazing. However the good ends there. The food is absolutely terrible. Everything was frozen or of very low quality. The fried seafood was frozen and came out extremely greasy it made me sick. My girlfriend’s lobster tail on her surf and turf was also frozen. The salad had scallops wrapped in bacon on it, also frozen, the clam chowder was not fresh and was possibly from a can. I guess the old owners past away and the new owners (kids in the family) fired a bunch of good people and the place went down hill. I will never come back. It’s sad many coastal places turn into this trying to save a buck to stay in business. If there was no view it would have nothing but a parking lot close to downtown. Sorry for all the negativity but for the price, we expected more.

We stayed at the hotel for one night. We reserved a king as described to our specific room number but got two full beds. We were told the rate was for water view and even though website said King they had not gotten around to changing room over. Room had a nice view. Clean. Not luxury. Charming harbor side and we were not expecting the Four Seasons. Restaurant atmosphere better than we expected and hoped to have a great meal. Our second course Mixed berries and greens salad had a grasshopper in it. Very disgusting and waiter left table with no return until our entrees were delivered. Second waiter came over to apologize but simply staring at us and saying «sorry» no assurance the next course was going to be food safe. No chef apology, no manager. We left without entrée and they did not charge us. We left gratuity but they just followed us to door saying only thanks for coming. We are both from the restaurant field and just thought the ordeal was handled very poorly

This place is a travel agent’s nightmare. I have been waiting on a commission check for the past 3 months and everytime I call they lie and say that it’s in the mail. The staff are clearly disorganized on the back end. I won’t be booking this place again and neither will any of my colleagues.

Probably more a 2.5
Rooms here are pretty basic. Clean and such so I can’t be a total hater. Although this place is right on the water most rooms don’t have a view… Pretty odd. Staff was all pretty cold. No humor, no interest in wanting to provide much more than basic service… It is about 50 degrees out and I’m from California. My room only has a sheet. So called down to front desk, no we can’t bring you a blanket, no you can’t get one from us!!! What? Turns out the front desk doesn’t have a key to the closet, ok fine… At least the heater works. Basically everything in this town closes at 8. They are 1mile from the closest gas station. At a minimum they should have some basics to buy in at the front desk, nothing.
The restaurant is pretty decent on the food side. But slow as can be. Also the only seating was an outdoor patio that was freezing. The manager turned on the heater. We looked and never found a heater. It never got warm.
This place has potential but felt like it was due a Gordon Ramsey makeover…

After waiting one hour for our order to be delivered, we left. The appetizer and main course never arrived and had never been ordered from the kitchen. The popovers were terrific; the view from the table was terrific; the menu looked good; the wine list was from Mars.
This place is worth a pass.

On a whim I decided to grab my kids and go on a shirt adventure before school begins next week. The Rocktide had decent reviews but it’s draw was it’s location being situated in Boothbay Harbor… somewhere I had never before visited.
The staff are fantastic… always warm and friendly. Not a single exception. The room, although smallish was clean (save for the two generic Cheerios that were on the floor in the bathroom). The room also didn’t get serviced in Thursday of our stay but that may have been b/​c of our own schedule as well. I’ve straightened a few beds (!) so no harm.
Here’s the advice piece: when booking ask if the room is highly traffic’d and/​or on the first floor. We checked in on Wednesday and it was wonderfully civilized both during the day and at night. Friday night it was horrid. Late nighters returning from town and speaking in very un-​indoor voices… So room location is key.
Breakfast comes w the room and is superlative. That alone should be reviewed! The walk to town is just inured over the neat footbridge and the town easily accessible in every way… Except for those with difficulties walking. Lots of stairs and inclines. The complimentary trolley helps a bit in that regard.
We’ll be back… but will def steer clear of holidays.
PS: the puzzles in the enormous and comfy library are addictive!

All in all, not a bad place. The location could not be better; within walking distance to downtown and a beautiful view. Although the hotel is non-​smoking, people on either side of our rooms (2 rooms) were smoking on the outside deck. Couldn’t sit and enjoy the view or open the windows! Breakfast leaves quite a bit to be desired. Rooms were clean and beds comfortable. Although not a bad experience, next time we’ll try another hotel.

If you want a waterside view and a great selection of sea food definitely check this place out! We were surrounded by antique boats on the interior and the beautiful booth bay harbor on the outside. Our popovers came right out of the oven and were a great addition to the meal! The champagne lobster and the haddock were among our favorites! Definitely recommended for a great sit down meal!

I stayed here for a 3 night mini vacation in Boothbay Maine. Rooms were clean and modern, great thick towels. The location is right on the Bay a few feet from the walkway bridge across the bay so you never need to get in your car to get to any restaurant or bar. Free breakfast for guests in the dining room. They have Happy Hour every day on their patio on the harbor. Spectacular views.

Great location but the service is terrible! We waited over 15 minutes so the Staff could figure out where to seat us. BTW: they were at 20% capacity. Long service orders at happy hour for Apps and drinks!

Stopped in here for dinner on our last night in Boothbay Harbor with the bf and his parents. We started off with some alcoholic drinks. They had a pretty good beer menu and beer came with this crazy metal thing to keep cold. Instead of bread they served pop overs where which were fresh and fantastic! 3 of us had the surf and turf. At 29.00 itsa bang for the buck. There was a full lobster tail on top of my filet and one giant claw! The sauces were delicious and all went well together. The mashed potatoes also very creamy and yummy. I opted out on the veggies because they are dumb and they were happy to give me an ear of fresh corn on the cob. The bf had lambchops which he LOVED! They came with shredded snow peas which were also really good from a veggie haters view. For dessert the bf and I shared a strawberry shortcake-​not my first choice. I expected better after the great popover. it was fresh strawberries on a hard biscuit. The rents had blueberry pie. I didn’t taste it but they said it was good but crust was okay. The waiter was great too! The inside is really cute. Next time want to sit on the deck. We will all be back again!

This used to be a pretty nice place to hit in the summer for drinks, but the menu has always been very pricey. It’s sad to hear the new owners fired Phil and Mary Lou. There are far better choices in Boothbay for great food in an upscale setting.

I’ve grown up going to the Rocktide, my great-​grandmother worked here making oatmeal and overseeing the breakfast buffet forever! Friends would come visit and stay here so we’d get to swim in the pool, we’d ride the trolly to the aquarium and now we spend most of our weekend happy hours on the sea deck! I live in Boston but am in BBH most weekends from April-​October.
Happy Hour! We’ve come here for happy hour enough over the past few years that the server sees us and brings our drinks right out, which makes us feel special and happy :) Amazing view, comfortable seats, cheap drinks and the snacks are great. If it is rainy or cold, the inside Tiki bar is 50s awesomeness. They usually only have one server cover all of the outside and maybe the bar too so if it’s crowded, service may be a little slow. We usually drive and use the free valet but we’ve sailed over a couple of times, you can tie up on their dock. It’s usually just my sisters and me but occasionally our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins come join us! It’s a really nice spot for a get together and cheap enough that one of our parents or uncles will pick up the tab ;)
The dining room atmosphere feels cozy, lots of dark wood balanced by big windows with views of the harbor and models of boats and trains scattered around.
Breakfast Buffet: cheap and regular
Dinner: I’ve enjoyed most dinners I’ve had here. Good wine list, awesome chowders, prime rib, haddock… etc. The last two times our servers did not present the wine correctly but were great otherwise.
Dessert: Their key lime pie is the best I’ve ever had anywhere ever in the universe.
Unfortunately this year they made a few changes we’re not thrilled about. First they took down the awesome 50’s bubble letter signage and put up cheesy 80s signage, it’s just awful. One of these signs advertises the sea deck but, in doing so, it blocks the view of the water through the railing on the sea deck. Luckily there is still plenty of water to see. I understand wanting to change things up but if you’re going to do it, don’t change it to something ugly. Then they fired some really great people who’ve worked there forever :(Also, the new live steel drum music at happy hour is annoying. I still love this place for the location and all the points I made above but I don’t see us coming here as much in the future.

If you are thinking about dinner in BBH DON’T GO HERE!
Portions are small and way overpriced ($ 10 for any side dish!)
They just fired their best people.
Mary Lou moved to the Thistle Inn.

Stayed at the Rocktide for my boyfriends cousins wedding. The staff was awesome and so was our room! We were able to fit 7 people comfortably and the room even had a kureg! Our view of the harbor was amazing and the restaurant was nice as well. I would definitely recommend the hotel if you are staying in Boothbay! It’s right in the center of town with easy access to the bars and restaurant as well!

Yesterday the Rocktide lost it’s soul. Sadly, after Welles and then Melanie, the original owners of The Rocktide Inn passed away, their children took over and changed things forever. Yesterday they fired Phil and Mary Lou who have worked there for well over 35 years as the General Manager and Dining Room Manager. They were fired on the spot and told to get their things and leave. They were amazing bosses to work for — respectable, generous, compassionate, funny, caring and dedicated. Mary Lou always had a smile on her face and greeted returning and new customers year after year. Phil took pride in the food cooked in the immaculate kitchen and worked around the clock to assure the Inn ran smoothly. Every single employee that worked for them over the years will tell you Rocktide was the place to be, they were family. Seriously can’t find two people better to work for. They have touched so many lives over the years you can’t even begin to imagine the outpouring of support that has come from this terrible event. The locals here are outraged and want everyone to know we do not support The Rocktide Inn anymore. We love you Phil and Mary Lou, you deserve so much more and we are all rooting for your next adventure.

Happy hour on the deck would be nice, but the music is too loud (and kind of tacky).

Extensive menu and good food. We started out in the outdoor cocktail bar/​deck for drinks and apps. Great view of the harbor!
Moved indoors for dinner with five adults and four kids. Everyone had a great meal; standard fair on the kids menu, and good deal of choices for the adults. The sea scalops were nicely prepared and the Champagne lobster was tasty.
Our service was prompt, friendly, and professional. You can tell the place is well managed with a focus on service.
We’ll definately be going back next time we’re in the area.