As other posters have mentioned, the rental is bigger than it looks online. Everything was very clean and comfortable (beds and furniture in the living room). It is located in the quieter part of MDI, but we preferred that. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place to friends or family.

We had a fantastic time staying at the Shell cottage in Southwest Harbor. The cottage felt like home away from home during our week away in April. This is our second time in 4 years renting this cottage.

We really enjoyed our stay. The house was exactly as pictured and comfortable. Had everything we needed. Great location to enjoy SW Harbor and MDI. Hosts were great and very accommodating in every way.

Perfect vacation cottage for our family of 4, plus 2 dogs. Louise and Jim made everything so easy. We are fond of Southwest Harbor and the quiet side of MDI, but also like excursions along the carriage roads and to Bar Harbor, etc. This cottage is right on the free IslandExplorer bus line, which makes it a breeze (and eco-friendly way) to enjoy so much of the island.

Great time!

This house was perfect size for our family of four! Communication with Louise was always very timely and pleasant, and the house had everything we needed. Great location to nearby restaurants in sw harbor and a short drive to all of the spots in Acadia. Thanks for a great week!

Great place. It was clean, the beds were comfortable, and it had all of the things we needed. Location was fine. We usually stay in Bar Harbor but wanted to try something on the quiet side. Some noise from the traffic but we weren't bothered by it at all. Louise left contact info if there were any issues. Would stay there again and would recommend.

We have stayed in Shell Cottage before and definitely will again. It is the perfect size for our needs. The place is exceptionally clean, both inside and out. It sits back from the road and provides such privacy. It's location is close to all that Acadia National Park has to offer without all the traffic!!! We look forward to staying here again.

This is my second time staying with Louise. She's awesome. The house is immaculate, beds are comfy, kitchen is well-equipped and the whole thing is huge. It is on a busy street but you don't notice mostly because the trees are well-placed and all the other windows look out on the spacious lawn. You can walk around a beautiful neighborhood (with sidewalks the whole way) and down to the dock or walk to the little Southwest Harbour downtown. Be sure to try the area's trails - ESPECIALLY Acadia AND Flying Mountain.. so sweet and quiet!

We just spent 11 days with our dog in this sunny, open floorplan cottage. It was extremely comfortable and well-appointed with everything we could possibly need. The central location was great, we had easy access to tons of great dog-friendly trails. We look forward to returning and repeating this experience. Ann, Burt, and Ollie

4th visit. Love hiking and exploring the area. Always a treat.

Another perfect stay! Thank you again, Jim and Louise. Our home away from home.

Great location, wonderful hosts!

Very clean cottage with well appointed kitchen and bathroom along with very nice yard and outdoor picnic table and grill. Good location in SW Harbor with nice coffee shop just down the road and restaurants within walking distance.

We had a wonderful stay here for outings in Acadia. The house was very tidy and great for our family. There was a fun selection of games, VHS movies, and books that our kids enjoyed on rainy afternoons. The kitchen is stocked with some basics and the house has laundry and good wifi. As others mentioned there is some noise from the cars on the road but we didn’t find it bothersome.

We had a lovely stay at Shell Cottage, despite the rain and town power outage for a few hours on the night of 4th of July! Our hosts, Jim and Louise were quick to make sure we were okay, bringing candles and water supply. House is well-stocked with essentials, including electric fans to use... which were much appreciated during hotter days and great to have just to move the air around. Beds were super comfortable, wonderful linens and soft, plush towels! Town was cute, IGA super close. Great to have a grill outside too. Never got to check out the butterfly garden across the street...as we were mainly exploring Acadia National Park, visiting Bar Harbor, also went on whale watch (saw 8)!! and visited close.le shops (and just ran out of time). Shell Cottage is a wonderful, well- kept, clean place to start and and your days! Thank you, Jim & Louise!

It was a really nice place to stay, wish we could have stayed longer. The house had everything we needed to be comfortable. I really like the Southwest Harbor area, not too crowded or commercialized . Highly recommend this place to rent.

This charming cottage was the perfect property to experience all that the Acadia area has to offer. The accomoditations were clean and comfortable. With the grocery store nearly across the street we at in quite a bit, and found the kitchen to be well-stocked. The house is outfitted with a tankless water heater, so there was never an issue with showers, laundry, etc. The owners were close and responsive to questions (what IS that paint color?! :-) Additionally, they provided plenty of helpful and accurate information about the area - updated to account for COVID changes. We could not have imagined a better stay!!

I stayed for a week with my dog, and we loved hiking all around Acadia! Great location in Southwest Harbor (steps to coffee, short walk to town), and we enjoyed the house. It was comfortable and had everything we needed :)

Not only was the house bigger than it appeared in the photos, but it was comfortable & cozy, a real home away from home. Five minute drive to Flying Mountain, Valley Cove, Long Pond, and Echo Lake is just a slightly longer drive. We will be coming back! Very helpful hosts. You will have fond memories staying here.

Not only was the house bigger than it appeared in the photos, but it was comfortable & cozy, a real home away from home. Five minute drive to Flying Mountain, Valley Cove, Long Pond, and Echo Lake is just a slightly longer drive. We will be coming back!Very helpful hosts. You will have fond memories staying here.

The hosts were wonderful, the space was nice, and it's a great jumping off point for exploring MDI. Would stay here again.

We greatly enjoyed the large/open layout of the living room and kitchen. The cottage was in a good location on the quiet side and short drive to the harbor, lakes, marsh, and hiking trails. We had a great time hiking, kayaking/paddle boarding the lakes and the Bass Harbor marsh, riding the carriage trails, and visiting the side of Thunder Hole. Owners were easy to contact if there were any concerns.

We had a wonderfully relaxing week! The cottage was the perfect size for a family of 4 and equipped with everything we needed. We were able to ride our bikes right into town for dinner or an ice cream and were a short drive from hiking and biking trails. Jim and Louise we’re easily accessible if we had needed anything. So refreshed after a week in the beauty of Acadia!

We had a wonderful visit. The location is ideal for visiting Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, and the rest of the island. The cottage is right next to the owner’s home, so they are always on hand to answer questions or help in any way. We had an issue with the WiFi that they quickly resolved. The owners are super nice, and having them next door was a plus. Our phones had no service, so the provided WiFi was a must. The cottage has been recently renovated and has a good functional layout. Plenty of supplies were already in the home (toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, hand soap, garbage bags, etc.). Plenty of towels and extra linens, and a washer/dryer on site. All of these extras made it so much easier to feel at home. The cottage is pet friendly which we really appreciated since we had our poodle with us. However, there is evidence that pet’s have been there (pet hair on furniture and living room rug). That was the only small negative that we had, and that would definitely not keep me from booking there again. The cottage has a nice yard and is in a quiet area. We were able to keep the windows open without hearing a lot of noise. We even saw deer in the back yard. Overall a great stay!! Would definitely recommend!

My husband & I stayed at Shell Cottage this past week and we couldn't be happier with it. The cottage is super clean and well stocked with everything that you'll need. The queen bed is very comfortable (this coming from someone that is pretty picky about mattresses). We didn't use the beds in the other room since it was just the two of us. The washer and dryer are great to have. We did a ton of hiking in Acadia while we were there and it really helped to be able to re-wear clothes instead of packing a ton of stuff. The water pressure and temp in the shower is really good as well and the large showerhead is an added bonus. The location was very convenient to Acadia & Bar Harbor while being out of the fray of the downtown area. It was really nice to hike all day then head back to the cottage to grill and relax for the rest of the night.

The property is well kept and the house is very attractive. The inside of the house is laid out for convenience and is very cozy. We have been very comfortable both times we have stayed there and we plan to return.

This very comfortable home served as home base for us as we explored all of MDI and Acadia National Park. Bar Harbor and the quiet side of the Park are both easy to access from this SW Harbor location. We appreciated the side yard deck and gas grill. A special bonus is the beautiful butterfly garden across the street.

Close to town, coffee shop, supermarket and very quiet location.

We've been renting homes in SWH on and off for 30 years so we have many places to compare this home with. This home is very spacious for a 2 bedroom/1 bath and very convenient to downtown SWH. Unfortunately, even though the bedrooms are on the backside of the house, without the small window fans on you can hear the road traffic. The home was not as clean as I thought it would be from reading other reviews, especially the kitchen (maybe just a glitch in the cleaning this time?). On cooler days, the deck area is great for grilling/eating outside but there is no shade over the house so it can be very warm on hot days. .

This cottage was a pleasure to stay in during our visit. It met all our needs as a family of 4 adults and our family pup! The space is airy with lots of light and windows. The full bath with washer and dryer is a nice size. The kitchen is very well equipped. We found everything we needed to prepare meals. We were not sure what to expect for outdoor space from the on line photos. It has a very nice deck off the side of the house with a picnic table and grill and the back yard space is deep and perfect for fetch with our dog. Private and away from the road. Although the cottage is on Main Street, it is nestled far enough off the road that we really did not mind the traffic. And as far as location goes, it could not be more ideal. Minutes from town, across the street from a lovely flower and butterfly garden and convenient to the park and Bar Harbor and ferry to the Cranberry Islands is nearby. Louise and Jim are gracious hosts. They live next door and are readily available if you need them. We would surely consider staying there again and hope to do so in the future.

We really enjoyed staying at the cottage! Location was great and free bus system was fantastic.