Check out the great shot of the Rockland breakwater and lighthouse, snapped by yours truly from the balcony of my fourth-floor, ocean-front room at the Samoset Resort.

Vicki Doudera here. It’s true — a week or so ago my husband and I spent a wonderfully romantic night here, only twenty minutes from our home , and we enjoyed every minute.

The Samoset, or as the locals call it – the Samo – has been a destination since the 1800’s, but the handsome dowager needed a major facelift to keep up with the times. Huge renovations to the guest rooms, restaurants, grounds and amenities were all undertaken in the past few years, and the results are nothing short of stunning. “You’re at the Samoset,” I kept telling myself as I looked out over the infinity pool toward the ocean. And yet this Samoset was very different from the place I remembered from countless conventions, civic dinners, and kid birthday parties. In contrast to the “old” Samo, this hotel was hip, polished, and confident.

General Manager Connie Russell wanted as many members of the local business community as possible to see the startling transformation. In what was certainly a very smart (and generous) marketing move, Connie gave everyone who attended last year’s chamber of commerce dinner a gift certificate good for a winter or early-spring stay, an offer that many of us found too good to pass up.

It was a real treat to spend a chilly spring night in such a lovely place. Although the surrounding golf course was still spotted with snow, inside the hotel it was warm and welcoming. We enjoyed drinks on the balcony and a fabulous dinner at La Bella Vita, and even took a quick peek at the new, Zen-like spa.

A week before our visit, Final Settlement hit the stands.  Fourth in my series starring intrepid realtor Darby Farr, the book begins with a woman walking a stone jetty in the dead of a Maine winter, and getting ambushed when she reaches the abandoned lighthouse at the end.

The jetty is called the “Manatuck Breakwater” in the book, and it was inspired by the Rockland Breakwater, which we could see from our Samoset room. I had to chuckle when I looked at the smooth granite blocks forming the top of the breakwater, a midcoast icon frequented by strolling crowds all year long.  Contrast that tidy walkway with my book’s cover, depicting a treacherous, ice-coated, jumble of boulders, leading to a treacherous, ice-covered lighthouse.

Artistic license on the part of my publisher, Midnight Ink’s, team of artists?  For sure, but it’s convincing enough that I’ll probably never view the Rockland Breakwater in quite the same way again.

And thanks to a wonderful stay, I won’t see the Samoset in quite the same way either.