Interview with Cynthia Alley, co-owner of Elsa’s Inn with her husband, Jeff.
We opened our business in June 2004 after a long period of renovation. This was the home that my husband, Jeff grew up in and Elsa’s is named after his Mother. She would have loved the home and gardens that we have created.
There have been so many creative avenues for us to follow as we developed this business. When we made the decision to open the Inn we decided to operate it as a family business. My daughter, Megan,who manages the Inn, her husband Glenn, as well as my husband Jeff and myself. We all helped to develop the concept and make it come to a reality. Megan and I have incorporated a variety of ways to make the decisions about how we present ourselves and our home to the guests. We use our own experience as market research and we have always tried to put ourselves in mind as a guest to decide what others might like. We both have traveled enough to know what a quality experience will be like.
In deciding on our decorating style we have always wanted this place to be warm and comfortable and have kept our minds eye on how Elsa may have wanted it to feel. We offer games, cards, videos and TV’s in every room. Each room also has a private bath. We are very proud of our breakfast offering. Some people have stayed for as long as two weeks and have not had breakfast duplicated. We are always looking for recipes, new cookbooks and ideas for ways to serve a delicious and hearty meal. Diet and allergy requests are always considered in our plans.
We like to introduce folks to the area and help them find interesting things to do and see. My husband is a lobsterman and we offer a home cooked lobster feed if requested. We like to direct people Downeast so that they can discover some of the riches of the unspoiled coastline and wonderful people and towns. We can be very creative when helping folks discover our State.
The most exciting part of operating this place is meeting new people all of the time. It is fun to discover the things that we have in common. We have had many return guests. One family from Wales came to our place three times during their visit to the US. We have also found that quite a few of our guests have ended up purchasing homes in the area.
My advice for someone who is starting a business like this is to find out what the best is like. Know the demographic that you want to attract, then find out what they expect. Having a high quality inn that is friendly with a clean, comfortable atmosphere will attract happy guests.
The best part of living here is that the people are friendly, the area is beautiful. This is a wonderful place to raise children and many of our children and our extended families also live here. I love the four seasons. Some people wonder why I like winter. I find it a wonderful time to slow down, cuddle up with a good book and recharge my batteries. It is cold outside but it is easy bundle up in warm clothes and go outside to enjoy the pure cold air.
