Courtesy / Malone Commercial Brokers
The front desk maintains the hotel’s historic ambience.
March 9, 2020
Century-old Herbert Grand Hotel once a Prohibition rendezvous
Courtesy / Malone Commercial Brokers
The Herbert Grand Hotel, completed in 1918, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Herbert Grand Hotel’s remote location in Kingfield limited the amount of interest when it went on the market midwinter 2019.
Still, it sold after only a couple of months.
Herbert Grand Hotel LLC sold the hotel, located at 246 Main St., to Shawn and Daniel Donovan for $695,000. John Doyon of Malone Commercial Brokers brokered the transaction, which closed Jan. 22.
The 26-room establishment includes an owner's suite, restaurant and lounge.
“Nothing explodes in the western Maine mountains in a small town,” said Doyon, who represented the seller. “But we had a couple of offers. In the case of a small Maine community, you’re lucky when you have two or three buyers over the course of a year.”
The hotel is 15 miles from Sugarloaf Mountain ski resort in Carrabassett Valley. Kingfield serves as the gateway to Sugarloaf.
“Because it’s not right on the mountain, it provides someone with a more affordable place to stay,” Doyon noted. “What you give up is the 15 miles of driving time. But you get to stay in a historic hotel.”
Bathtub gin
Construction of the wood frame structure began in 1917 and was completed in 1918 by Herbert Wing, a local attorney, state legislator and owner of the local bank and lumber mill, according to a Malone news release. It comprises 14,835 square feet on three floors, plus a 909-square-foot double car garage and 23 on-site parking spaces. The turnkey sale included fixtures, furniture and equipment.
The establishment “was once a gathering spot for Prohibition-era Maine politicians to indulge in bathtub gin and unsavory women,” according to the hotel’s website. “Some of these guests never left and are rumored to haunt the hotel to this day.”
Today, patrons include snowmobilers, Sugarloaf skiers and snowboarders, hikers, mountain bikers, hunters and visitors to the western mountains.
When it opened, the Herbert was the first hotel north of Boston to feature in-room and table side telephone service, according to the website. There was a speakeasy in the basement with easy rear access in case of a raid from the police.
In 1934, Wing stops renting rooms to the public and made the hotel his private residence.
In 1956, he sold the hotel to Mr. and Mrs. Alvin P. Westman. A succession of owners followed. In the 1970s, Don and Siouxsi Klein purchased the property, renamed it the "Paradise in the Wilderness" and hosted “bizarre parties” in the former speakeasy.
In 2009, it was acquired by Rob and Nerisha Gregor, attorneys and hotel owners from New York. It was run for the last 10 years by Rob Gregor’s mother, Dr. Dawn Sova.
In 2012, Maine Ghosthunters performed a paranormal inspection and the Herbert was certified "haunted.” Renovations were completed in December 2016 and the hotel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
The hotel has been featured in several publications, including Ski Magazine (“10 Most Charming and Cheap Places to Stay”), Men’s Journal (“25 Dream Towns”), New
York Times (travel section), Boston Globe and Downeast Magazine, as well as on the NBC affiliate, Channel 6 in Portland.
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