Gateway Motel & Restaurant

We have never stayed in the Gateway Motel, but have eaten many times in the restaurant. In 2015 the restaurant was renamed ‘Orchids’ and a new chef came on board — we ate in the ‘new’ restaurant last Fall and were very happy, but waited till revisiting Orchids this Jan to evaluate. simply said, it was as good as any meal we have had on the American side of the Valley. The décor has not changed much in the past 2 years, but the food quality, presentation, and selection were terrific. We each had the seafood chowder — rich/​creamy, and full of seafood — delicious. I had the scallops (huge, in a nice tomato sauce), and my wife had the large shrimp — both came with veggies and rice or potato, plus salad and hot bread — all delicious. Our only complaint is the very large servings — more than we could eat; and we made matters worse by trying the carrot cake for desert — as good as we’ve had.
The price was well within reason — entrees from $ 10 to 24 — average for the area. Decent wines and large selection of beer. I would note there are no ‘fried’ entrees — very welcome to us, but unusual for the area — there were 3 fish, 3 chicken, 3 beef, and several pasta entrees — well varied. Fast, friendly service helped.
All in all, as good as we’ve had in the area.

While visiting in northern Maine over the past week we were told to stay here because it was «newly renovated» I don’t believe that was the case. Myself and my sister stayed in room 19 while my father and his girlfriend stayed in room 18. There were so many problems with our room. We had extension cords ran all through our room to power different things such as the TV, lamps (which didn’t match), the AC and numerous different things. Finding out later that this place is owned by an electrician is astounding to me that he would allow numerous cords to be ran all over the rooms. Our bathroom sink had a horrible leak and there method of fixing the problem was to put a bucket under the sink for the water to drip into. By the following morning the bucket was filled to the rim with water and was «our responsibility» to dump it out. While taking a hot shower the bathroom has no exhaust fans so you need to open the small bathroom window to let all the steam out. The best part was that in room 18 where my father was staying had a microwave, but no refrigerator. Yet in my room, we had a refrigerator but no microwave. Needless to say, thank gosh I could go knock on their door to heat up any food and that they could store stuff in my fridge. We had other family staying at the Inn of Acadia and they highly recommended going there, so next time we visit family up north, we’ll be taking our business there!

Unfortunately, the Gateway Motel and Restaurant is a place I do not recommend for anyone visiting Madawaska or northern Maine. We were told, on the telephone, at the time we made our reservations, that the motel had been renovated. Nevertheless, our room 23 was dirty with flies in the room, clearly, there were no upgrades or renovations we could observe except for a wide screen TV where only 8 channels were available and several of the ones we could access were religious news. Also, wireless was non-​existent in the room, although the staff repeatedly said it was available, but it was not accessible. A technician was called in, but the wireless was never fixed and when I returned home, the computer we unsuccessfully tried to use in room 23 had lost its «wireless adapter» because of the failed attempts to access the wireless at Gateway. Obviously, I had to take my computer to a local reliable technician to have the wi-​fi adapter reset. In the Gateway restaurant, we ordered a haddock sandwich for lunch and, being we’re Maine citizens, we are absolutely familiar with the taste of this delicate fish but, believe me, what we were served as «haddock» was definitely something else and it wasn’t «haddock» at all. Our maid service did not include any replacement of shampoo nor was a vacuum used in the daily maintenance and no bed linen changes. I had to ask for a hair dryer in the room but to use the appliance I had to unplug the television to dry my hair on the same electric socket. So, I was worried the hairdryer would explode because of an overload on the current. I consider the Gateway Motel and Restaurant to be a gateway to the 1940s trying unsuccessfully to compete in 20^th century technology with mediocre customer service. I will try to obtain a refund for some of our stay at Gateway; but I doubt this will ever happen, so I’m trying to prevent others from experiencing the same lack of customer service and backwards accommodations we endured during our August stay at this dismal facility in Madawaska, Maine.

This old hotel is under new management, and nearly done with renovations. The room we got (16), on the first floor, facing the parking lot (our request, to keep our bike in view) was perfect. The beds were VERY comfortable, and the shower was great. As a girl with long, thick hair, finding water pressure enough to wash my hair while on the road is a challenge.
The staff and owners were very friendly and accommodating. The bartender was also friendly, and we had our dinner at the bar. The food was good, just like mom (or hubby in my case!) cooks. The drinks are poured well and priced right.
There isn’t much of a choice in Madawaska for a place to stay, going over the border is your only real option. I’m glad we decided to heed the counter girl at the Harley dealer and give it a try. We found out later she’s one of the owners! Hahaha
The only drawback was the wifi only worked in the main part of the building. Lobby, restaurant and bar. Not in our room, right next door.