Innkeepers

What Our Guests Say

“We came strangers and left friends.” (2021)

“Janis and Peter are the most welcoming innkeepers we have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and their way of making you feel right at home makes your stay a pleasure in every way.” (2021)

“As innkeepers, Janis and Peter deftly walk that line between being present to address any questions or needs while creating space and privacy for guests to enjoy the inn on their own.” (2020)

“The innkeepers, Peter and Janis, are some of the kindest, most welcoming people you could ever meet, and feel like old friends by the time you leave.” (2020)

Hello! We are Janis and Peter Kesser, the innkeepers of the Camden Maine Stay Inn.

We have owned the Inn since February 2018 when we purchased it from our good friends, Roberta and Claudio Latanza. Before we were the owners of the Inn, we were guests here for many years. We always stayed at the Inn at the front and back ends of our family’s summer vacations on Monhegan Island – a beautiful, rugged and tranquil island located about 10 miles off the Midcoast of Maine. We so thoroughly enjoyed our repeated stays at the Inn that when the Latanzas told us they were going to retire and sell the Inn, we jumped at the opportunity to become the Inn’s new owners and proprietors. Our goal is to continue and improve on the legacy of first-class accommodations and service that have been the hallmark of the Inn for many years.

Here’s some background on us: We are, without a doubt, from away. Janis grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Peter was raised in Houston, Texas. Prior to moving to Camden, we lived for more than 25 years in Memphis, Tennessee. Before becoming innkeepers, both of us practiced law for many years, Janis as a trial attorney and Peter as a business attorney. There are four Kesser children, all daughters, ranging in age from 19 to 29. The oldest daughter works in marketing in New York City; the second is a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville; the third is a senior at the University of Oregon in Eugene; and our youngest daughter is a first-year student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (It’s a lot of fun, financially, having three children in college at the same time. What were we thinking?) We also have a regal, joyful Irish Setter named Paddy and two cats named Ella and Einstein who, being cats, vacillate between being friendly and aloof.

We hope and believe that our appreciation and enthusiasm for Maine, Camden and the Inn will both attract guests, and, once they are here, rub off on them. It is so easy to fall in love with the natural beauty, history and traditions of these places – not to mention the fabulous gourmet breakfasts for which the Inn is deservedly so well known. It is not by chance that we have so many repeat guests who make it a point to stay at the Inn year after year after year. After all, we once were one of them.

So, please come see us at the Camden Maine Stay Inn and stay for a while. We are committed to providing you with a truly enjoyable, relaxing and memorable vacation experience.

With warm regards,

Janis and Peter Kesser