Inn on the Blues

The food was decent quality, nothing special, and I had no complaints about it. What soured the visit was the pace. On a summer Sunday night, we waited 20 minutes for a table, then longer than expected for the food, which was rushed out. After only an hour in the restaurant, we felt unwelcome and pushed to leave. They should have told us they wanted the place empty by 8 pm. That seems early for a beach vacation town.

My baked haddock arrived 30 minutes after everyone else’s meal, and they did remove it from the bill. But halfway through eating, I nearly choked on a bone, and then found two bones in the fish. Unreal. Beware.

The location was convenient for walking to the beach and the downtown shops and restaurants, but the stay cost too much for the quality. I wouldn’t come back or recommend this Inn. It felt more like a restaurant with rooms upstairs than a real inn. There was no front desk or dedicated inn staff, and the hospitality was seriously lacking. Parking was a small gravel patch in a back alley, barely big enough for the guests’ cars. As soon as we entered, there was an overpowering chemical cleaning smell. A week after leaving, some of our belongings still smelled of it. Our room’s large windows and doors to the deck made getting in and out convenient, but the inadequate coverings let in sunlight, and because they faced the sun, it was hard for me and our toddler to sleep. The tub drained poorly and had no proper shower head. The toilet took so long to refill that we had to plan our flushing. Our door wasn’t sealed properly, so we could hear people talking in the hallway, as well as the restaurant’s second level in the evenings. The music was the worst part. The booking process didn’t clearly explain that several nights a week, including Tuesdays, the restaurant becomes something like a nightclub, with loud music until 1 AM. It woke my husband and me from a deep sleep and shook the room like an earthquake for four hours. When I asked the restaurant staff to lower the volume or at least the bass, they said they couldn’t do anything and that we’d agreed to the conditions by staying. The music situation was crazy.

My buddy and I stumbled into Inn on the Blues on Short Sands, and the views, food, drinks, and service blew us away. The hosts, bartenders, and everyone in between were top notch. Sam and Chloe were a blast and knew the menu well. They walked us through their favorites and helped us put together a delicious meal. The drinks were delicious and strong, too. Chloe was a smoke show in a wifey kind of way, and Sam was wildly efficient and made perfect libations. Best experience we’ve had in York beach, without a doubt. Five stars, two thumbs up. An absolute must.