Reflections on the Road to OneSixtyFive
This weekend on the chair lift at Sugarloaf, I reminded my daughter Helen of the invaluable perspective that comes with standing on top of a mountain. Things that are overwhelming suddenly seem manageable when we see the beauty and magnitude that lie beyond the day-to-day struggles of our lives.
One of the Christmas cards my family received a couple of months ago included a letter that began, “We took it on the chin in 2021.” In the words of the recently departed Meatloaf, “You took the words right out of my mouth.” The Brunswick Inn has taken it on the chin for nearly two years now. It has been an era for the books, and maybe there is a book about this strange and wonderful transition that I will write one day.
Before I can take a stab at that, however, I’ve got work to do. We are days away from our first guests in the Main House. We are a couple of weeks away from our official launch party. We are a few months away from Bowdoin’s commencement weekend, our 13th anniversary of ownership (let’s not go down that superstitious road) and, hopefully, the start of a robust tourist season.
Some reflections on the road to OneSixtyFive on the cusp of our launch:
What’s in a name? Many of you have responded quizzically to our new name. Trust me, if you had been there for the branding exercises and were privy to some of the clunkers, you would be relieved we landed where we did (think obscure flowers and stodgy colonials). Hopefully it’s a short and direct route to clarifying The Brunswick Inn/Brunswick Hotel mayhem. And hopefully it is also a reflection of something fresh and new.
What have I learned? More than I hope I will ever need to know about tile, flooring, and “fragile” wallpaper. Spreadsheets and color wheels can be my friends! Patience is a virtue. The words “estimate” and “Yeah, I can do that, no problem” are meaningless. The insurance industry is and will always be a baffling and irritating enigma. And if there is a hell, it’s a place where people clean and mop and clean and mop but can never get rid of the plaster dust.
The view from the top of the mountain tells me to put all this aside. Instead, I need to focus on all the good: no one was hurt in the fire (I could full stop right here and find my peace); my amazing staff is still here by my side; and my family and friends still love me even though my emotional roller coaster has, at times, been Hollywood-worthy.
And finally, OneSixtyFive is beautiful. I am so proud of this amazing property. Stay tuned on social media for the upcoming shout-outs to the team who helped put it all together, one wall at a time, one tile at a time, one floor board at a time, one coat of paint at a time. Nine bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, one dining room, one pub, one library. OneSixtyFive!
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