THE INN PLACE – AUGUST 2008

By Joshua Bodwell

Photography Irvin Serrano

The midcoast’s European escape

 

Camden Harbor stretches out toward Penobscot Bay and Mount Battie soars overhead. Boats bob at their moorings, yearning for the open water and the wind in their sails.

Overlooking this bucolic scene, the Camden Harbour Inn seems to float in the treetops. This year marks the second season since the circa-1874 inn was renovated into a posh boutique inn that pulses with a summery and sophisticated European flair. With the addition of Natalie’s, an elegant, Parisian-style restaurant, the inn is nearly unrecognizable from its former self.

The transformation is the work of its new owners, Dutch natives Raymond Brunyanszki and Oscar Verest. After visiting Maine five years ago while on vacation, they fell in love with New England and, during many trips over several years, searched for the perfect location to open an inn. Brunyanszki—who has had a long career in the hospitality field, including consultant work for major hotel chains such as Ritz-Carlton—had been honing his vision of a lodging and dining destination for years.

When the two partners arrived in Camden, they were struck by the perfect intersection of mountains, forests, and ocean. “I thought to myself, ‘This village has it all!’” remembers Brunyanszki. Then they drove up Camden’s idyllic Bayview Street and saw the stunningly situated Camden Harbour Inn with its handsome mansard roof and wide wraparound porch. “With this location and this view, we knew immediately that it was the right place for us,” says Verest.

After purchasing the inn during early winter of 2007, they hired Bernhard & Priestly Architecture to design the renovation and Cold Mountain Builders to oversee the construction. The work proceeded at a breakneck pace, and amazingly, the inn was open for business by June.

The 134-year-old inn was reborn. Dutch designer Mascha Brunia, working closely with Brunyanszki and Verest, created a space that is modern but inviting. “We’ve tried to bring the warmth back, but with high design,” says Brunyanszki.

The inn’s twenty-two rooms were pared down to eighteen, since four rooms were awkwardly situated or didn’t have ideal water views. Seven rooms have working fireplaces and four feature balconies. All of the rooms—each named after a different port of call for the famous Dutch East India Company—were redesigned with a plush European sensibility. Modern design elements surround the lavish king-size feather beds and flat-screen televisions with DVD players. Nearly all the inn’s sleek tables, stylish lamps, cushy chairs, and overstuffed sofas came from Europe. “It is an experience to stay here,” says Brunyanszki with a smile. “I want people to think back and crave something they saw here—those lamp shades, those wineglasses, or that bed!”

Yet for all the wonderful modern amenities and details, it is because those details were merged with the inn’s seacoast summer charm that makes the design so striking—many rooms still have claw-foot tubs in addition to showers, and the rooms’ porcelain doorknobs hearken back to another age.

Enhancing the inn’s sophistication is Natalie’s restaurant, which encompasses much of the ground floor. Inspired by Parisian cafes from the last century, Natalie’s is a chic balance of white-on-white design and brilliant red details, such as the custom-made, tasseled light shades and upholstered Italian dining chairs. The patina of the new parquet floor glows, and the imported French doors and sconces add an air of Old World elegance.

Natalie’s menu is modern French fare with hints of international flavors. Le Cordon Blue–educated chef Lawrence Klang is pushing the boundaries of what can be done with fresh local ingredients. His steamed haddock fillet is served with artichokes, English pea tortellini, and a carrot-saffron sauce; his lobster lasagne with asparagus, sunchoke puree, and black-truffle–lobster jus. “There is a sincerity to how the French handle food,” says Klang, “and that’s what my training has instilled in me.” Undoubtedly, Brunyanszki and Verest brought Klang into the kitchen because he shares their passion for detail.

In the end, that is perhaps the most obvious exemplar of the Camden Harbour Inn: an exacting attention to detail. The best inns delicately straddle the disparate worlds of the hotel and the bed and breakfast. The Camden Harbour Inn offers the amenities of a swank boutique hotel and the personal service and attention that are the hallmark of the bed and breakfast. “I still blush when I hear how some of the guests rave about their stay,” says Brunyanszki. He and Verest seem to possess a knack for doing things with panache.

On the opening night of their 2008 summer season, for instance, the pair hosted more than 300 friends, guests, and locals for an evening party. The bebop of a live six-piece jazz band drifted across the harbor as people mingled on the wide porches and the early June twilight filled with the spark of possibility. The wine and beer flowed, and the hors d’oeuvres—such as raw oysters with crème fraîche and Thai beef sticks with slivers of cucumber—were snatched up by eager hands.

Friends who hadn’t seen each other all winter caught up with hugs and laughs. Some spoke of how the Camden Harbour Inn used to be: drafty and creaky. Then the talk turned to what Brunyanszki and Verest have accomplished, and the adjectives began pouring out: extraordinary, phenomenal, unbelievable, unrecognizable.

As the late-day sun draped itself over the treetops on Mount Battie, and the jazz combo wove a tapestry of low bass notes and rim shots, one middle-aged couple—he in blue blazer, she in white linen Capri pants and an orange top—carved out a little corner of the crowded porch as their own personal dance floor. Inspired by the mix of music and wine, the couple spun softly and gazed into each other’s eyes with looks that seemed to say, Aren’t we lucky?

Dusk came on gently, washing the inn with a delicate, orangey light.