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Camden This lacy valentine of a B&B – decorated with great flair by doting innkeeper Joanne Ball – just keeps getting better and better. Joanne and her sculptor husband Bill Fontana (much of his time is spent in remodeling these days) bought the white Victorian turreted house in 1989 and turned it into a little dream world. From the pretty wicker and chintz furnished parlor to the elaborately decorated dining room to the conservatory they added off the dining room, everything is accessorized to perfection. Lace pillows on a chaise, tea sets, old playing cards, tiny sentimental books tucked here and there – you know that Joanne, who says "I have the nicest guests in the whole world," loves to pamper them. The choicest lodging in the main house is the Castleview, the former master bedroom on the second floor. Done in pale green and rose, it has its own balcony, a kingsize iron canopy bed, a TV with a VCR and video library, gas fireplace and a chaise lounge in a reading nook. When the leaves are off the trees, this room has a great view of Norumbega across the street and Penobscot Bay beyond. The new Songbird Suite to the rear has a queen bed, sitting room with a window seat in the turret, and a large deck overlooking the back garden. On the main floor are two queen-bedded rooms, the soft peach-colored Garden Patio with an oversize soaking tub and the Blue Turret with gas fireplace and wicker seating in the turret. Every room has TV and telephone, private bath, designer linens and down duvets, spa-style robes, a basket of hand towels, Crabtree & Evelyn amenities and imported chocolates. Everything is tied with ribbons. About eight pillows are on each bed and Victorian clothing is displayed everywhere. More lodging with wet bars and small refrigerators is available in the rear, three-level Carriage House, which houses Bill’s studio on the lowest floor. The upstairs Treetops Suite is almost an apartment, with a skylit sitting room, a queen brass bed and the best water view from its deck. The queen-bedded Loft has a balcony with a garden view. Always perfecting, the Fontanas recently transformed the middle floor into the huge Islewatch Suite with kingsize canopy bed, a chintz sofa and wing chair, and a window seat looking onto a glorious private porch with a view of Penobscot Bay. The bath contains a double soaking tub and separate shower. The TV’s whereabouts is a pleasant surprise – one of several “surprises” with which Joanne likes to entice her guests. Breakfasts are gala happenings at A Little Dream. On lace cloths topped with flowered mats and heavy silver, you might find fresh orange juice in champagne flutes, Kentucky butter cake with crème fraîche and local blueberries, a fruit platter with honeydew melon, black raspberries, kiwis, strawberries and grapefruit, and heart-shaped banana-pecan waffles with country sausage. Smoked salmon or apple-brie omelets, fruit crêpes, lemon-ricotta soufflé pancakes or baked featherbed eggs with pears, smoked ham and a raspberry puree sauce are other specialties. At check-in, the Fontanas will serve strawberry or peach herbal iced tea, with fresh mint from the garden, and at cocktail time, perhaps a tray of pâtés, including smoked trout, and olives.
(207) 236-8742 or (800) 217-0109. For more information: www.littledream.com e-mail: dreamers@mint.net
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