Basketball and Love | 2.1.2024

I went to my first Celtics game on Monday night. It was terrific fun, mostly because the fans are so crazed—there was entertainment everywhere I looked. I was woefully inappropriate in my attire and even got a sideways glance from a kid who apparently didn’t approve of my outfit choice. Not a stitch of emerald or a shamrock anywhere on my person. Note to self . . . 

Out in the brutal cold of a windy Boston night, we walked the mile or so back to my sister’s apartment after the Celtics’ win. It was invigorating, but I couldn’t help but think how nice it would be if Pub165 had been there around the corner, with warm smells from the kitchen and a roaring fire. 

In the midst of the this recent cold snap and the beautiful snow that so obligingly clings to the tree trunks and branches, we’d like to offer the following ways to stay warm, cozy, and well-fed:

Winter Getaway (or Staycation)

Sink into our super comfy pillow top beds after an evening by the fire at Pub165. No driving, no going back out in the cold! Prosecco and chocolate truffles will be in your room on arrival, and you’ll enjoy a $20 dining credit towards your meal at the pub or breakfast the next morning. Book online using promo code VALENTINE. Good any night in February, because celebrating Valentine’s Day on a Wednesday just isn’t easy for everyone.

Sunday Brunch Special

Enjoy a complimentary mimosa with your brunch this month! And keep an eye on the mall. What better way to spend a Sunday than a little skating followed by pancakes and hot cocoa or quiche and a mimosa? Too cold to skate? The Bowdoin Art Museum is open from 1-5 and only a short stroll away.

Some Côtes du Rhône with that room? | 12.12.2023

Don’t blink. December will be gone in a flash. I, for one, am determined to enjoy all of it: not get stressed, not spend too much, not eat and drink too much, not wax too nostalgic but embrace the present. Shop locally. Get enough sleep. Appreciate the beauty of the December light even though that light starts fading at 3:00. 

Hmmm. Tall order. 

Every year we try, right? Well this year, OneSixtyFive is joining forces with you to make a big dent in your holiday resolution to keep it simple, sane, and spectacular in a more meaningful way.

Come stay with us now through January 31 and enjoy a lovely bottle of wine and some of our delicious Park Row Kitchen cheese crisps. They’re on us! You can sit by the fire and read or visit or just relax and take in the cozy beauty of Pub165. If you’re up for an outing, here are some great ones close by:

• The Portland Ballet performs a Victorian Nutcracker at Bowdoin College December 16 and 17.

• The Maine Botanical Gardens once again thrill and delight with Gardens Aglow, running through December 31

• The Brunswick Topsham Land Trust hosts a beautiful lantern walk to celebrate the Solstice 

• LL Bean celebrates with Northern Wonder, a spectacle that includes Santa, reindeer, free cocoa, curling, warming benches, and more

• Or, just cozy in and our staff will make sure you have everything you need!

Happiest of Holidays to you!

Giving Tuesday | 11.21.2023

I’m not always aware of calendar celebrations like Sister Day or Donut Day or Lego Day. When and how did these become a thing?

I am acutely aware, however, of Giving Tuesday. I love the spirit of it (not that I don’t love my sisters, donuts, and Legos). It reminds me of the amazing organizations in our local area and how much they contribute to our community. They are an important part of why I love living and working here.

As a small business, OneSixtyFive is so happy to support these vital institutions, and we hope that on this Giving Tuesday you will also be inspired by them. If you aren’t familiar with them, check them out!

Bowdoin International Music Festival

Maine State Music Theater

Curtis Memorial Library

Brunswick Topsham Land Trust

Wayfinder Schools

Brunswick Downtown Association

SASSM

Midcoast Symphony Orchestra

Oratorio Chorale

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at OneSixtyFive!

Holiday Kickoff | 11.9.2023

Join us for the kickoff to the best season of the year! This Saturday, November 11th, the Early Bird Sale is just the thing for savvy shoppers and early risers. OneSixtyFive will be a great place to take a break from the action, rest those tired feet, and enjoy a hearty breakfast. Then you’ll be in the right spot to enjoy the Annual Rolling Slumber Bed Races, hosted from our porch. If you haven’t been to this kooky and unpredictable spectacle, this is the year to go!

On Saturday, November 25th, the Tree Lighting will be right outside our front door, so cap off your afternoon with a comforting meal by the fire at PUB165. Chef Stacie’s new menu has something for everyone: chili and cornbread, poutine, pot pie, citrus salad, pumpkin crème brulée, and more! Oh, and the new cocktails are fabulous . . . .

Finally, if you’re worried about fitting everyone in for the holidays, call us! We still have some rooms available for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Or maybe you just want to escape the holiday madness with a staycation. Hunker down in the library or by the fire or under a fluffy duvet in one of our gorgeous guest rooms. We will take care of you!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for OneSixtyFive and the incredible team that puts so much care and effort into creating a space that comforts and restores. And I am thankful for our loyal guests, many of whom have been coming to OneSixtyFive for many, many years. This is a very special place, and we can’t wait to have you join us as we celebrate the season!

October Musings | 10.2.2023

I remember reading somewhere that October 1st is the beginning of the best three months of the year. Full stop, no room for discussion. 

Indeed there’s a lot to be said for this cool and crisp quarter of the calendar. I’m a huge fan. Here are some of the ways you can enjoy the first month of it!

According to VisitMaine.net, the peak foliage for our area will be the second week of October. After hiking or shopping, you can enjoy an evening on the front porch, which now has sheepskins and some cozy plaid flannel blankets for the rockers. With the new Pub165 menu coming out next week, you should plan to sit with a Lyle Loves It and hope that maybe he’ll join you on his way to his October 16th concert in Waterville. It’s a delicious drink made with spiced rum, sparkling cider, red wine, pear, and pomegranate. I don’t know if Lyle Lovett really loves it, but I’m sure he would if he tried it.

The Robert McCloskey exhibit at the Curtis Memorial Library is a must, and  it closes on October 29th. To say it’s spectacular wouldn’t do it justice. As a board member and a huge fan of Curtis, I’ve wandered the exhibit so many times and it never ceases to amaze me. The New York Times even wrote a wonderful article about it.

The Damariscotta Pumpkinfest starts this coming weekend, a truly unique event that features artist-decorated Atlantic Giant pumpkins, weighing in at anywhere between 200 and 1,400 pounds. After the pumpkin regatta (yes, they hollow them out and set sail), the pie-eating, and the parade, the pumpkins will stay in place for viewing until October 16th.

I still haven’t made it to see the People Watching exhibit at The Bowdoin Museum of Art, and it closes on November 12th. I hear it’s an exhibit that shouldn’t be missed, so for an afternoon of art appreciation, stroll up to campus through the leaf-blown quad and enjoy. Stay tuned for our fall breakfast, pub, and cocktail menus or take a peek at our new Eat & Drink page!

September Musings | 9.7.2023

Augie, our golden retriever, has taken to hiding in the far back corner of our coat closet. This is new for him, as is the honor of being the only dependent left at our home. Helen and Charlie are both in college now, and the energy has decisively shifted. Augie is reacting.

The energy in Brunswick has shifted too. Traffic has eased, Park Row is once again full of Bowdoin students on bikes and scooters and hoverboards, and friends are back after closing up camps. The light has that special September slant, and everything glows a little more golden in the evening.

It’s a wonderful time to travel to Maine. Join us at OneSixtyFive! Check out our new Explore page for fabulous itineraries, and enjoy three nights for the price of two during September. Simply use the code 3FOR2 and we’ll take care of the rest!

What Lives Within These Walls 8.18.2023

Despite my love of the annual Arts Festival in Brunswick, it always signifies that summer is coming to a close. At OneSixtyFive we are making ourselves feel better with lobster rolls! Join us tomorrow for our Arts Festival Special: Chef Stacie’s Lobster Roll and a pint of Maine Beer Co. Lunch. Yes, we think it’s a great idea, too.

In addition to being delicious, I hope that it will distract me from my particularly poignant end-of-summer blues. We have just moved our son into his dorm for his first year of college. When our daughter returns in two weeks for her own junior year, we will officially be “empty nesters.” This is an expression common enough to have earned its own emoji, one that has been littering social media feeds as parents say goodbye to their youngest. It's a simple picture of a round twig structure, tan and brown, and, well, empty.

A picture can indeed be worth a thousand words. For me, however, this emoji just doesn’t do the trick. Our nests, even when empty, are not bare. They are not colorless. My house may feel oddly quiet without Charlie, and the mud room floor doesn’t look right without his wardrobe of sneakers, slides, and Birkenstocks blocking everyone’s entry. There is no more need for endless pints of Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer. When Helen leaves, there will be no more faint sounds of guitar coming from her room, no more stories about funny dog names and adorable puppies that she cared for at Happy Tails, and there won’t be a trail of sweatshirts and backpacks in the front hall and on the kitchen island.

But I will still feel my children in the bones and the fabric of this house.

Maybe that’s what makes OneSixtyFive stand out as a destination that travelers come back to again and again: its bones and its fabric exude the warmth of all the amazing guests who have stepped through its front door along with the kindness and generous spirit of the employees who keep it so well. It’s not just a place to sleep and eat. Please come for a visit–we hope to see you soon!

Brunswick is ripe for the even fussiest art lover’s picking. See below for a roundup for things to do in Brunswick, Maine!

The best way to spend a summer day in the coastal town of Brunswick, Maine— from your hosts at OneSixtyFive, The Inn on Park Row.

I love the ritual of a paper calendar and the tangibility of turning over the leaf of a new page. The new space we’re creating here at OneSixtyFive is clean and full of hope, waiting to be filled with adventures and experiences….

I have spent lots of time over the last 12 years rocking in a chair on the porch of The Brunswick Inn…