Blind Tiger Portland: Live Like a Local in an 1823 West End Mansion

This fall's opening slate reads like a scavenger hunt across five continents: a former royal palace in Riyadh finally getting a firm date, a Silver Lake church that spent a decade half-finished before Casetta got its hands on it, a stilted safari camp going up in one of the last untouched corners of the Okavango Delta. Ten hotels made our cut this year, spanning six countries with almost nothing else in common: different budgets, different design languages, different reasons to book. Here are the ten worth planning a trip around before the year is out.

The house sits on a quiet, red-brick stretch of Danforth Street, close enough to downtown to walk and far enough to hear yourself think. Lark kept the bones: original moldings, tall windows, and wood-burning fireplaces in eight of the nine rooms. Then, it layered in mid-century furniture, bold color, and local artwork, so the effect is less historic house museum and more the home of a friend with better taste than budget discipline.

You can’t miss the giant moss-covered lighting fixture in the center of the house; it’s the kind of quirky that makes you do a double take, and then smile. Indeed, that’s the ethos of the entire property.

That said, the most memorabledesign decision is not visual. Each room is "hosted" by a Portland local, and you arrive to a letter from that host with their own picks for eating, drinking, shopping, and getting out of town. It is a guidebook with a point of view, and it makes the house feel connected to the city instead of sealed off from it. The name carries the same idea: a "blind tiger" was Prohibition slang for a speakeasy, and the basement that once hid one is now a billiards room open to every guest.

All rooms are unique and carefully curated, but we’re partial to Evangeline, a two-room suite in the house's 1901 wing, designed by John Calvin Stevens, the architect who shaped much of Portland's residential West End. That pedigree matters less at bedtime than the layout does: a king bedroom with a door that closes and a separate living room, about 400 square feet in all. In a nine-room inn, a second room is the rarest luxury on the menu. One of you can read in the living room while the other sleeps, and nobody has to negotiate the lamp.

If you’re really looking to splurge, go to Bon Viveur, complete with a living area and a private deck, and space enough for four guests. The rest max out at two, though you’ll never feel cramped. Robes are kimono-style, bath products are by Lather, and every room has a smart TV, though you will likely spend more time downstairs than in front of it.

Note, however, that there is no elevator, and every room is up at least one flight of stairs. Pack accordingly.

While there’s no on-site restaurant at the Blind Tiger, a self-serve breakfast is beautifully laid out in the morning: think fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, toast, and a rotating hot dish on some days. Critically, however, there is homemade bread, which is absolutely worth seconds or thirds and slathering with peanut butter, nutella, or whatever suits your fancy. Moreover, a complimentary pantry with coffee, tea, and snacks stays open all day, and it is the reason the parlor works as a living room rather than a waiting room.

The Blind Tiger doesn’t have a bar in the hotel either, but there are plenty of cocktail glasses, shakers, and freezers for those who are interested in mixology and want to bring their own ingredients to have an excellent night in. 

The amenities here are rooms, not equipment. Beyond the billiards room and parlor, there is a game library, a sunroom, and the Heirloomerie, a small retail shop stocked with the kind of objects guests tend to ask about. An on-site innkeeper is around through your stay for recommendations and the small fixes. There is no spa, but the house can arrange in-room massages and sauna blankets with advance notice, and Lark sells a day pass for non-guests who want the house without the overnight.

Danforth Street puts you on the seam between the West End and downtown. Victoria Mansion, Portland's lavish 1860s Italianate villa, is barely a block away, the Portland Museum of Art is about a five-minute walk, and the Wadsworth-Longfellow House is roughly thirteen. The Old Port and the waterfront are 10 to 15 minutes on foot, which is close enough for dinner and far enough that you will not hear it at midnight.

The West End rewards the walk in the other direction, too. The Western Promenade's sunset view over the Fore River is the neighborhood's free show, and Ohno Cafe, just around the corner, handles the morning sandwich run if the pantry breakfast is not enough.

Location: 163 Danforth Street, Portland, ME (West End)

Vibe: A friend's Federal-style mansion, if your friend had a pool table and a speakeasy past

Rating: 5 stars

Room Count: 9 rooms and suites

Pricing: Rooms start at $200 per night

Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The host letter in every room, a local's guidebook waiting on arrival

Dining: Light self-serve breakfast and an all-day complimentary pantry; no restaurant or bar

Amenities: Billiards room, game library, parlor and sunroom, Heirloomerie shop, on-site innkeeper, wood-burning fireplaces in most rooms, Lather bath products, in-room massage and sauna blankets by request, paid parking ($25/night, limited)

Nearby Attractions: Victoria Mansion, Portland Museum of Art, Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Western Promenade, Old Port, Arts District

Airport: Portland International Jetport (PWM), about 10 minutes