This summer has seen a surge in the highest end of luxury across the world. Some of it is about revenge travel and increased global mobility: A lot of the Middle Eastern market parked closer to home in Covid and are now shipping their Bugattis to the streets of London and other haunts in Europe. The palaces of Paris, the best hotels in Europe, and five-stars in the U.S. did brisk business at eye-watering rates.
Maine's Boutique Hotel Scene Heats Up With Nordic Spa Concept
25.08.2023 - 13:24 / skift.com / Leslie Barrie
When brothers Tony and Nate DeLois opened The Francis, a boutique hotel in Portland, Maine, back in 2017, they realized something was missing in the market.
“There has been a lot of hotel development in the past 10 years in Portland, and every new hotel that has been built on the peninsula has been branded,” said Nate, the co-principal and chief financial officer of Uncommon Hospitality.
“That’s not hyperbole — that is every single one,” said Tony, co-principal and chief operating officer.
Their goal with The Francis was to bridge the gap between a large, corporate hotel and a bed and breakfast.
“All the hotels in Portland are over 90 rooms or less than 9 rooms, and really nothing in between,” said Nate.
After opening, though, the fourth-generation Maine residents realized they could go bigger. The Francis, set in a historic mansion built in 1881, has only 15 rooms and no space for a spa, gym, or meeting rooms.
So they are building across the street The Longfellow, which last week began taking reservations and will open in September. The 48-room property will be the first full-service boutique hotel in Portland to open in 20 years.
What gets Tony and Nate most excited about The Longfellow is its Nordic spa called Astraea. The brothers want to bring some of the Nordic spa culture to Maine.
In addition to its treatment rooms, the 1,800-square-foot spa has two sauna suites. “The idea is that someone will be in the sauna, then go into the rain shower, drench themselves in cold water, and then sit in a relaxing room with a slightly warmer temperature,” said Tony. “So, it has this very loosely Nordic-themed spa routine.”
While Nate and Tony were working in 2021 on developing The Longfellow, they purchased a 5-acre property in Rangeley, Maine — just over a two-hour drive from Portland and near the New Hampshire and Canadian border. It’s made up of 5 buildings, including two motels, a cottage, a single-family home, and a main inn.
The plan is to turn that property into a full-on Nordic spa destination.
“Instead of being a hotel with a spa it’s going to be a spa with hotel rooms,” said Nate.
The brothers did research in Canada, where Nordic-style spas have taken off. Nordik Spa-Nature Chelsea, located in Québec, opened in 200 and features a similar concept to what Tony and Nate are developing. Meanwhile, Strøm Nordic Spa, which has locations all over Quebec, Siberia Spa in Québec and Scandinave Spa in Whistler, have expansive Nordic spas (but lack accommodations).
“We’ve become completely infatuated with [Nordic spas],” said Nate. “We have a very similar geography and climate up in Rangely [to Canada], where we’re up in the hills, overlooking the mountains — you know, peaks and the lakes, and it’s
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