With 21 luxe rooms, each with its own private terrace featuring ocean views, the Nevada in York, Maine, isn’t your typical beachfront motel. But locals and travelers familiar with its sister property, the Viewpoint Hotel on nearby Cape Neddick, won’t be surprised by the mix of high design and homey touches of the newly renovated motel. At the Nevada, which reopened under new ownership July 15, you’ll find peacock blue tiles and white terrazzo floors in the bathroom, impeccable painkiller cocktails at the bar, and umbrellas and beach chairs to take across the street to Long Sands Beach.
Husband-and-wife owners Joe Lipton and Michelle Friar are longtime York residents and hospitality industry veterans. Along with the Viewpoint, they also own Long Sands beachside hotel and restaurant, Stones Throw. The historic Nevada property has been a popular spot for both families and surfers on the southernmost coast of Maine for more than 70 years. One of the first motels in the state and a staple of the community, the Nevada was originally built by a World War II veteran to resemble the USS Nevada battleship. Lipton and Friar purchased the property with the goal of continuing its legacy as a local, family-owned operation, while elevating the rooms and restaurant.
“The Nevada has been a quiet fixture in our lives for the 40-plus years we’ve lived in York,” Lipton says. “We would walk by it on our way to high school as teenagers—and it was there when we had our own teenagers! We remember passing by it after long days of work at the Inn at Long Sands, where Michelle used to staff the front desk, and we know the Nevada holds a similarly special place for thousands of others. We wanted to make sure this iconic building would be leveled-up—rather than just leveled.”
But once the couple took it over, it quickly became clear that the entire structure needed to be rebuilt and replaced. “We got to work and raised the frame of the building three and a half feet out of the flood zone to protect it from the climate crisis, and added a third story to make the rooms more spacious,” Lipton says. They also ditched the old window A/C units for more eco-friendly heat and cooling pumps.
In the rebuild, the team worked with New York-based CR Design to keep the 1950s Art Deco aesthetic, classic U-shape design and familiar teal and white exterior. “To keep things local, we commissioned two artists who just happen to be members of our team at Stones Throw to create original paintings and digital art inspired by mid-century Long Sands,” Lipton says.
Lulu’s, the motel’s restaurant and tiki bar—named after the couple’s daughter—features a pan-tropical food menu that includes a daily rotating ceviche, al pastor tacos, crispy, homemade Spam fries with fresh pineapple relish; coconut-pineapple skillet shrimp, and local mussels with a Mexican beer and jalapeño-butter broth. The beverage menu, curated by Friar, features fun, island-inspired cocktails like the Your Thai, Lulu’s take on a mai tai made with a house rum blend, pineapple, orgeat, citrus and a dark rum float, perfect for sipping while you watch surfers ride the waves.
Turns out, you can be on island time and barely leave Boston.
The Nevada is located at 141 Long Beach Ave. in York, Maine. Room rates start at $239. For more information, visit thenevadamotel.com.
Neighborhood
Coastal York, Maine, boasts Gilded Age architecture as well as structures dating back to the mid 1600s, multiple sandy beaches, and a quick weekend commute from Greater Boston. Whether your vibe is historic tavern, old timey-arcade or mid-century modern surf bar, there’s something for everyone in this classic New England resort town.
Nearby
1. Sohier Park: Pull up to this park for exceptional views of historic Nubble Light and its gingerbread keeper’s house. If you’re in town around the holidays, the Christmas lights strung along the roofline are particularly charming, but year-round it’s worth the visit at sunrise or sunset. For a preview, follow lighthouse keeper Matt Rosenberg @nubblelightkeeper on Instagram.
2. Little Auk: At the Viewpoint, sister property of the Nevada, this all-outdoor restaurant offers craft cocktails and tasty small plates served out of a vibey airstream trailer. Shuttle service between the two hotels is coming soon.
3. Short Sands Beach: Nowhere oozes nostalgia quite like Short Sands Beach. Saddle up to the soda foundation at the Goldenrod restaurant (open since 1896) to dig into house-made checkerberrry ice cream and watch fresh salt water taffy being pulled in the window. Just down the street, play skeeball and classic arcade games at Fun-O-Rama and lose track of which decade you’re living in for a while.
Time Out tip
Whether you book a beginner lesson at Liquid Dreams Surf Shop or just imbibe rum punch at Stones Throw while watching the locals paddle out, you’ll want to soak up the particular brand of East-coast surf culture in York.