Cheap Sleeps: Penobscot Bay, budget friendly lodging near Camden, Rockland, & Searsport

The stretch of coastline around Penobscot Bay, including Rockland, Rockport, Camden, and Belfast, is Maine’s Gold Coast, but you can find budget-friendly lodging and downright cheap sleeps, even oceanfront ones.

Oakland Seashore Motel & Cottages, Rockport

Wow! Oceanfront lodging for a song is yours at this low-key, throwback on 70 mostly wooded acres. It originated as a recrreational park operated by a trolley company. in the late 1940s, shorefront cabins were added, and in the 1950s, the dance hall pavillion was renovated into a hotel. Rooms and cabins are simple, clean, old-shoe comfy, and right on the ocean’s edge. Bathrooms, however, are tiny. Some units have kitchenettes, others full kitchens. Well-behaved pets are $30 per stay. No phones or TVs. Not for fussbudgets, but a real find for those who appreciate quiet simplicity with a big view.

Granite Inn, Rockland

Only one room comes in at less than $100 per night, but with a primo location in downtown Rockland, this is an excellent choice. The room does have a private bath, but it’s down the hall. Not a bad trade-off for the other perks, which include an amazing breakfast, bottomless cookie jar, free wifi, and inroom TVs. The pet- and family-friendly inn is located smack dab across from the ferry terminal, making it an especially good base for day trips to Vinalhaven and North Haven.

Baits Motel, Searsport

Down comforters and fluffy towels; nice shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and soap; inroom coffee makers and fridges; hard wood floors in deluxe rooms and carpeting in standards and suites; cable TV, free local calls, free Wifi; individually controlled heat and air-conditioning; and quality furnishings. No, not one of the mid-range chains, but rather the Bait’s Motel, adjacent to Angler’s Restaurant, in Searsport. Renovated a few years back, this place has to be one of the nicest cheap motels in the state. Standard rooms from July through mid October go for $79; deluxe (bigger, some with king beds, go for $99); and suites (photo), with a separate living room with pull-out couch, go for $119. Go off-season, and cheap becomes dirt cheap. Oh, and standard rooms are dog friendly ($20 per night for Fido).