One moment
A practical guide to lodging near St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine — for patient families and visiting staff. Saffron Inn, rates from $89/night.
If you are looking for a hotel near St. Mary's Regional Medical Center, chances are someone you love is being cared for there — and what you need is a calm, close, affordable place to land. Saffron Inn is about ten minutes from St. Mary's: a quiet, independently run inn on the Auburn side of the river, with free parking, a 24-hour front desk, a microwave and mini-fridge in every room, and weekly rates for families settling in for a longer stay.
This guide is meant to be practical and steady — where to stay, how to get to the hospital, what to pack, and how to make a hard trip a little softer.
St. Mary's Regional Medical Center is at 93 Campus Avenue, Lewiston — a regional acute-care hospital and part of MaineHealth, the largest health system in the state. Because it serves a wide rural and small-city region, many of the families we host have driven hours from across central and western Maine to be near someone in care. Most are tired before the visit even begins.
Campus Avenue is a mostly residential corridor near Bates College. There are no hotels on its doorstep. The area's lodging sits across the Androscoggin River in Auburn — close enough that the drive is a non-issue, far enough that you can actually sleep. You stay quiet on the Auburn side, drive about ten minutes to the hospital, and back.
St. Mary's is one of two hospitals in Lewiston-Auburn. If your visit is actually to the other one — Central Maine Medical Center, about a mile away — we have a separate guide for CMMC families with directions specific to that hospital.
There are no major hotels within reasonable walking distance of St. Mary's. The blocks around the hospital are residential, not a lodging district. The practical options are all on the Auburn side of the river.
Saffron Inn — 170 Center Street, Auburn. About ten minutes from St. Mary's by car. Six room layouts — King, Two Double, or Two Queens, on the ground floor or with a private balcony. Free on-site parking, free Wi-Fi, a microwave and mini-fridge in every room, premium cable, and individual climate control. The front desk is staffed 24 hours — which matters more than usual when someone in your family is in the hospital and a late-night call could come any night. Rates start at $89/night, with custom weekly and monthly quotes for longer stays.
For longer treatment stays. If someone you love is at St. Mary's for weeks — a long oncology course, a complex recovery, a stay that keeps getting extended — tell us when you book. Extended-stay arrangements almost always make more sense than nightly rates, and we quote them by hand.
From Saffron Inn (170 Center Street, Auburn), cross the Androscoggin into Lewiston and head toward Campus Avenue — about ten minutes in normal traffic. St. Mary's has visitor parking on the campus; check the hospital's signage and information desk for the current visitor lots and any fees, which change from time to time.
Give yourself a buffer for early-morning appointments. The bridges between Auburn and Lewiston slow during the 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. shift changes, and the parking-and-walking time at the hospital adds up. For an early surgery check-in, plan to leave the inn 15–20 minutes before your appointment.
Things families tell us they wish they'd brought:
A few things that help the families who hold up best across multi-day stays:
Sleep where the patient is not. A night in a real bed two miles away makes you a steadier presence at the bedside than an exhausted one who tried to sleep in a chair.
Eat off-site once a day. Even a quick takeout dinner reheated in the room resets the week. Use the in-room fridge and microwave — yogurt, fruit, and sandwich fixings turn an 11 p.m. arrival into a real meal instead of a vending-machine one.
Walk outside once a day. The Androscoggin Riverwalk is a short drive away and genuinely restorative, even in cold weather. Twenty minutes by the river does something no waiting room can.
This is the part of running a small inn we are most proud of. For hospital families we can:
About ten minutes from St. Mary's, 24-hour front desk, microwave and mini-fridge in every room, free parking. Direct booking gets our best rate, every time.
See our rooms · Email saffroninnme@gmail.com for an extended-stay quote · Call (207) 784-1331 anytime — a person picks up.
We are sorry for the reason that brings you to Lewiston-Auburn. We will do what we can to make the stay easier.
Direct booking gets our best rate, every time. Or call the front desk at +1 (207) 784-1331 — open 24 hours.