Black Bear Inn & Event Center

About The Hotel

From $155/night, the Black Bear Inn (Ascend Collection) is a solid, welcoming base for UMaine visitors and Acadia-bound travelers. The 4.3-rated inn offers clean, freshly updated rooms (paint and new floors), free breakfast, and genuinely thoughtful touches—evening soup, complimentary syrups and goody bags at checkout. Rooms are dated and the dining area is cramped, but the friendly staff and convenient Godfrey Drive location near campus and I-95 make it reliable and unpretentious. Best for UMaine visitors and Acadia-bound travelers who want a clean, friendly, conveniently located inn with thoughtful free touches. On Godfrey Drive just off I-95 near the University of Maine in Orono, a short drive to campus, downtown, and Bangor (about 15 minutes south); Acadia is roughly 75 minutes southeast.

What Guests Are Saying

“July 22, 2024-Clean and welcoming with many bonus touches that make Black Bear stand out from other hotels. Lobby sitting area goes beyond basic decor. It looks like a cozy living room. Across from the “living room” is a welcoming complimentary drink/food bar. I had a delicious bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup and glass of lemonade after we checked in. They had flavored syrups for the lemonade or coffee. My grandson loved the blueberry syrup in his lemonade. They have outdoor seating to enjoy the evening. They have a picnic table and large outdoor gas grill under a covered area right down from the tables we sat at. A guy grilled some large steaks while we enjoyed the smell and feeling like we in our backyard at home. Very unexpected relax at home type touches. They have a bookshelf of maple syrups, honey, jams, etc available to purchase. The soup the next day was loaded baked potato. Yum! At checkout, they gave us a goody bag of mini syrups, honey etc. Another pleasant surprising touch! We plan on staying here again. Kudos to this hotel, staff, and management team.!” — CT, 5 stars

“The Inn has been freshened up with paint and new floors. It was clean and quiet. The bed was very comfortable. The room was spacious. Our Wi-fi was very weak. Breakfast was good. The dining room was very small and cramped. Great location for U Maine events. We had a family function so family members stayed at the same hotel. The check in was a bit long.” — Patti D., 4 stars

“Convenient location, and the staff were all so sweet and friendly. The breakfast was a small but decent selection (waffles, yogurt, fruit, bagels, a couple cereal and microwave breakfast sandwiches) but they only offered tea, coffee, and orange so I would recommend bringing water with you! Our room was clean and the free wifi was decent, the shower water was the hottest of any hotel I’ve stayed at recently with really good pressure! The parking lot was cleared very well of snow and there were plenty of places to walk the dogs and we felt safe doing so with all the lights.they even offered contactless housekeeping! However, I was a little disappointed. I used to love this hotel for it’s cute bear theme (quilts, little plushies, artwork etc) and there were none. We thought maybe it was just our pet friendly room but the very sweet lady at the front desk informed us that the new owners were getting away from the bears. That really saddened me as I thought that was what gave it such a nice vibe and why we chose to stay here. We enjoyed our stay but I’m not sure we’ll be back when there’s no real draw to this hotel over a best western or holiday inn.” — Lucien, 4 stars

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Convenient location for UMaine events, just off I-95 with easy parking
• Thoughtful free touches: evening soup, flavored syrups, and checkout goody bags
• Comfortable beds and freshened rooms with new paint and floors
• Friendly, helpful staff and free full breakfast with waffles

Cons:

• Dated rooms and cramped breakfast/dining area with basic grab-and-go options
• Weak Wi-Fi reported by guests; occasional housekeeping inconsistencies
• Mid-renovation at times with limited amenities compared to newer chains

The Location

Sits on Godfrey Drive just off I-95 near the University of Maine campus in Orono. A short drive reaches UMaine events, downtown shops and restaurants, and Bangor (about 15 minutes south). Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor are roughly 75 minutes southeast, making it a convenient stopover for coastal-bound travelers. You can find more details or book your stay on TripAdvisor.