Franciscan Guest House

This is my second time staying here in the past three months and I LOVE IT! As it captures the Franciscan charism of simplicity and hospitality, there is a real warmth to this place. The grounds are beautiful, there are great places to pray and meditate, and people are wonderful. If you’re looking for a fancy place with all the bells and whistles, this is not the place for you. However, it’s a great price if you’re on a budget, want a spiritual place to stay, or just need a time out from the world. Also, the location is perfect for the beach and Kennebunkport. 5 STARS ALL THE WAY!

Traveling alone for the first time in40 years, I found the monastery a wonderful place to stay! The room was just enough… Comfortable, clean, and most important, I felt safe amongst the vacationing families, and staff of locals and foreign-​exchange college students. Early Mass with local parishioners and hours to myself sitting in the beautiful church. Especially enjoyed the prayers, chants, of the seminarians. Enjoyed early walk on property, however, insect repellant is a must! The breakfast is just enough of what one needs. Wish I had more time to enjoy the salt water pool. Big enough for serious lap swimming! Your stay can be all that you want to make it! You will be happy you stopped here! KMC

Agreed that this place is bare bones. It is clean, the property is amazing and it is VERY reasonable for this area. Their rate includes a breakfast and the people working there are very accommodating.
I cant speak about the rates compared to B & Bs in the area since none of the B & Bs take kids. If you need a reasonable place to stay at for a family… I recommend Franciscan

I’m sure that this place is fine if you are on a church retreat. The accommodations are bare bones — and honestly, a Motel 6 is probably going to be nicer. Our room had cheap wood paneling and cheap indoor/​outdoor type carpet. The linens were clean but the bedspreads were very dated. There was a small TV that did have cable and there was also free wi-​fi. The bathroom was clean. (That’s really the best I can say for this place… it was clean. Worn in places, particularly the carpet, but clean). The breakfast was nothing special. Lots of cereals and breads and some not-​very good eggs and pancakes. The pool is small and not much to look at. Overall it was disappointing, particularly considering that it was only a few bucks cheaper than some of the B&Bs I had looked at previously.

I love this place and can’t wait to go back. This is a very affordable place to stay for Kennebunkport. It is modest and rustic, but has everything you need. You feel like you are on church retreat, since it is an actual monastery. I loved it here and would recommend it to anyone seeking peaceful, quiet accommodations for a decent price. Don’t expect luxury, but expect to have a very pleasant and special stay. You will want to go back. You can attend mass every morning onsite, if that appeals to you, or you can skip it and walk to the beach (or drive, they have a parking pass you can borrow) or walk in town. The location does not get better for the price.

We spent five days here while on a family vacation. We had a family «apartment» which had 3 bedrooms (one with queen bed & two with 2 twin beds) and a family room with a couch, TV, microwave, & two small refrigerators. Each bedroom had their own TV, sink, & mirror. The apartment also had a full bath. Our room was OK. It was a bit dated, but for the price paid and the amount of space we had, I couldn’t complain.
Breakfast is included with your rate. The included breakfast gives you cold cereal, fruit, many types of breads, bagels, english muffins, coffee, & juice. For a $ 3 donation you can get the hot breakfast that includes oatmeal, scrambled eggs, & pancakes. We had the hot breakfast once and were not impressed, so we stuck with the free stuff which was more than filling. Breakfast is served from 7 – 9 during the week, so if you like to sleep in, you may want to eat somewhere else. They do serve a buffet dinner each evening (approx $ 15 pp) but we did not eat there.
The grounds are absolutely beautiful! They have a very large salt water pool which is 9 ft at its deepest. Being run by the Franciscans, there are some beautiful shrines and statues throughout the property. You can also take a quiet walk down a paved path through the woods which leads you down to the Kennebec River. They have a wonderful Catholic bookstore and a beautiful chapel.
They also provide you with a parking pass for the beach which is about ½ mile down the road. Downtown Kennebunkport is only a 5 minute walk away.

My family just had a huge reunion here, and it fit our needs exactly. With dozens of homemade baked goods for breakfast, interesting and historic shrines around the campus, rooms to accommodate every situation, wide open fields, and a close proximity to downtown Kennebunk, this is a great home base for people who want a low-​key rest on the Maine coast.
Our family was spread out, with some staying in dorm-​like rooms in the main hall, some sleeping in apartment-​like two-​story suites attached to the chapel, and some of us in hotel-​like rooms located around a small courtyard. The rooms are not glamorous, but offer just enough comfort (easy-​to-​use heat/​air conditioning, large bathrooms, tvs, etc.) to be worth your while.
We loved the freedom that this space allowed us. Whether sitting with 50 people at breakfast, playing bocce on the lawn, taking a short walk to the beautiful beach, strolling downtown, having a family picnic on the lawn, or just resting in the sunshine, the Franciscan Guest House met all our needs.