Andover Guest House

[Downunda]

I can highly recommend the Andover Guest House. It's located in the centre of what is a very small town. The P.O. is a short walk down the road, a Diner is right next door and across the road are 2 well stocked convenience stores.

On the upper level they have a low cost hiker bunk room which has its own 2 showers and a toilet, or if you wish they have reasonably priced private rooms. The place is very clean and beautifully furnished.

In the downstairs lounge they have a large TV (cable) and about 100 videos to choose from plus free internet access.

It was the best hiker hostel I stayed at during my thru-hike. The other hostel in the area is quite away out of town.

[Papa Bear]

There are TWO other hostels in Andover, not one.

Pine Ellis (on Pine Street) is about a block from the Guest House and I have found it and Paul and Irene, the owners, to be excellent. They deliver a variety of services such as shuttling, slacking and mail drops. I will always stay they when I go through Andover.

The other Hostel (true, a ways out of town), The Barn, is also very highly regarded. Earl Shaffer stayed there on his 1998 thru hike and they were extremely helpful to him (read "Calling Me Back to the Hills"). They shuttled him all the way to Katahdin!

It's a tribute to the town that there are 3 great places to stay. It seems anyone who has stayed at any one of them thinks that one is the best.

They're all the best.

Pb

[attroll]

The other Hostel in Andover is not The Barn it is called The Cabin.

[Papa Bear]

Sorry, you're right. The Barn is in Gorham. It all runs togeher in my head sometimes.

Pb

[Downunda]

Thanks for the correction Papa Bear. I didn't know of the other hostel right in town. I agree that we are lucky that there are 3 great hostels for hikers to choose from.

Wouldn't it be great if that were the case in every trail town?

[Blister]

Does anyone know if Honey and Bear have an email address? I know they did at one point many years abck but then they changed services - is there aa current one? Honey and Bear at the Cabin in Andover.

[Lone Wolf]

[email protected]
www.thecabininmaine.com
207-392-1333

[magic_game03]

though I would have recommended the Andover Guest house in the past and it's still not bad, I think it has a few issues. The lady that runs it is a bit 'fruity' and doesn't have the same passion that "Peg-leg"(R.I.P.) had for the AT and hikers. next time I will try the 'Cabin' for a different flavor.

[attroll]

though I would have recommended the Andover Guest house in the past and it's still not bad, I think it has a few issues. The lady that runs it is a bit 'fruity' and doesn't have the same passion that "Peg-leg"(R.I.P.) had for the AT and hikers. next time I will try the 'Cabin' for a different flavor.

Peg Legs wife Saundra was running it. I talked to her about a month ago and the place was going down hill because she was getting no hikers. Your right she is fruity. She does not seem to even care about the buisness. She told me that she was moving out and leaving withing a couple of weeks to move in with her new fian'ee and that was a month ago. So I don't know if she has left yet or not. I don't know if the owner (Richard) has gotten a new tenant or not. But I talked to a hiker on the trail about a month ago and he told me that word up and down the trail was to stay away from the Andover Guest house. When I aked him why and what was being said he said there was nothing being said it was just that everyone said to stay away from it.

[the goat]

stayed at pine ellis while in andover, nothing but good things to say a/b paul & irene. they're 2 down to earth, good hearted people. when i was in andover, the lady at the andover guest house kicked out a hiker who was trying to visit two friends who were staying there. don't know her, but from what i've heard she's less than pleasant.

[neighbor dave]

we were gonna stay there on our way thru this past summer but, the lady gave us plenty of reason not to. we stayed at the cabin and were happy we did. peglegs brother is desperately trying to remedy the situation now. he realizes what is going on and will fix it properly. it'd be worth a look see next summer,i think it'll be better. his brother is a very nice man in my opinion.

[TankHiker]

That's too bad. Personally, I loved the Andover Guest House, and I thought Sandra was great. She was one of my favorite characters that I met during my hike.

I hope the trail-talk about the Guesthouse doesn't get too bad because it really is a cool place to stay. I hope they fix up whatever problems and the place prospers again.

-TANK

[Crash! Bang!]

the lady at the andover guest house was.......weird. also, her dog was sorta weird too. from what i understand, when i was there (sept 04) she was recently widowed. she wasnt openly hostile, but you did get the feeling she was taking you in grudgingly.

one of the motels in north woodstock is a place i will never return and i wish i could remember the name of so i could steer hikers away. the owner had a nasty disposition. it was across from the market.

[Cookerhiker]

Sorry that some have had unpleasant experiences there. I personally enjoyed my 2 days there and found Sandra a very accommodating host. She has some of the brusque New England mannerisms that may make some uncomfortable but I liked her. The prices for the lodging and the services - laundry, shutttles - were reasonable. Two things she had that many hostels don't: "town" clothes to wear while doing laundry and day packs for slackpacking.

[Askus3]

Does anyone know of these changes in Andover?
1) I went to the Andover Guesthouse website and see the name is changed to Andover Roadhouse and it is being operated by the people that own and operate Stratton Motel. Could this be for the better?

2) I am hearing rumors that Pine Ellis owners want to sell out and might end their long tenure as a facility of accommodations in Andover. Is there truth to this?

I am looking to make a visit of three nights in Andover next June as I slackpack from South Arm Road to Grafton Notch. So I am keeping an eye on these reports to see where I will wind up and am very interested about what is being said. I did stay at Andover Guest House in 2000 when Peg Leg was alive and found the bunkroom adequate for my needs. Used the refrig, laundry and they let me use their computer. At the time both him and his wife were friendly. No problems.

[attroll]

2) I am hearing rumors that Pine Ellis owners want to sell out and might end their long tenure as a facility of accommodations in Andover. Is there truth to this?

It is a fact that Pine Ellis is up for sale. I have been in contact with Paul and Ilene. They are selling the place. But they are not selling it as a hostel of buisness. They are selling it as a residence.

[JojoSmiley]

Don't know about the truth of selling it as a residence. I talked with them this summer and Ilene had said that they wish to sell to someone who will carry on the hostel/b&b business and taking care of the hikers and other folks that come through. There is another thread about this on here you can read the note directly from them.

[The Solemates]

I, too, was under the impression that they planned on selling to a hiker who wanted to keep the hostel up. They were adament about this. In fact, we had even looked into buying the place well before it was ever up for sale, but decided we couldnt really afford it comfortably. Unless something has changed, they want to keep the hostel open. Selling it as a residence probably just has something to do with the getting around selling it as a business, which may be more of a hassle/red-tape, but i know nothing about this so this is just a guess.

[Lone Wolf]

I got a letter from them a while back. They offered it to me. From the tone of the letter it sounded like they will sell it no matter what. They prefer it stays as a B&B but it's not a priority.

[Footslogger]

Note I receivec on 11/8 from Paul and Ilene:

=================================

Thank you so much for the note! It means so much to us to know that we have left good feelings with those who come through our door.
We may not be finished hosting hikers, however. If the place is not bought by someone who plans to continue Pine Ellis as we had it, we may continue to do "hiker hosteling" on a smaller scale. We just need to downsize our life. Either we are getting slower, or time is speeding up.............just don't have time to do as much as we used to do.
Unless the place sells quicker than I expect , we will continue the same as usual for next summer.
It is so nice that you remember us also. I do hope that you come through this way again.
We will be still living in Andover no matter when or to whom the house sells. We have built our "semi-retirement" home on the hill by the covered bridge.
Hope to see you again, and thanks for staying in touch and the kind words.
Paul and Ilene
Pine Ellis
Andover, Maine

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'Slogger