Cottage on Coolidge in South Portland

Great house, great neighborhood

Mike (Greenbelt, MD, USA)
Review submitted: August 4, 2010   Date of arrival: June 21, 2010

This was a wonderful rental. My wife, 6-year-old daughter, 1-year-old son, and I spent one week at Cottage on Coolidge in late June. We had never been to Maine before.

Wonderful house with everything you need. The surroundings are perfect for a middle-class young family needing to get away and wanting a walkable neighborhood (one that is *safe* to walk, both in terms of sidewalks and/or minimal traffic streets and in terms of family-oriented low-crime atmosphere). Willard Scoops home-made ice cream and Willard Beach are very convenient by foot and stroller. There is even a community college within walking distance which adds to the nice aura of the place; walking the bay-side campus is pleasant and I wonder if there might be performances during the school year (that I don't know). There are a number of good playgrounds in the neighborhood suitable for young kids.

Portland Head Light, which seems to be the most famous landmark in Maine because it shows up on all the tourism brochures, is an easy 5 minute drive down the street. One could walk if determined to do so, but I think driving is better for that one. Beautiful place. Old Orchard Beach is close by car -- if you come from a big metropolitan area chances are Old Orchard Beach might be closer than what you experience in your daily commute to work (I'm very lucky not to have a long commute myself, but most others I know would drive further than this distance every day).

Folks here are friendly and appear to be mostly family-oriented. There are plenty of places to eat in the neighborhood or closeby, with a good spectrum of food including Thai, Italian, and gourmet American. There is a full supermarket called "Hannaford" which is again just an easy drive down the road. There is also a very nice public library on the road before you get to the supermarket.

All in all, this is an outstanding place to spend your vacation if you have a young family, and I imagine married couples without children would also appreciate this quaint, fully-equipped house and neighborhood.

Recommended for: age 55+, families with young children, sight seeing, romantic getaway

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