The Hartstone Inn in Camden, Maine is pleased to announce Cate Colombo as the hotel’s new General Manager.
Cate brings over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry to her new role. She will oversee the 22-room boutique property as well as their acclaimed Fiddle restaurant and bar. She is a seasoned executive whose strategic vision guides management teams and inspires staff to deliver consistently exceptional guest experiences and maximize profitability. Cate believes hospitality is the art of making every guest feel as though they are a lifelong friend.
Before coming to the Hartstone Inn, she was General Manager of the Claremont Hotel in Southwest Harbor, Maine. At the Claremont, Cate’s talented leadership team was able to steward the hotel to quickly exceed all performance metrics.
Prior to her tenure at the Claremont, she was Director of Guest Services at two hotels in Atlanta – the Wylie Hotel and the Hotel Clermont.
Cate discovered her passion for hospitality in the 1980s while working at the Gasparilla Inn, a historic Hotel of America Landmark Inn in Boca Grande, Florida. There she worked with several Presidents and First Ladies, as well as scions of American industry. This was where she honed her ability to make guests feel that they are speaking to a good friend the moment they arrive on the property.
In her various leadership roles, she implemented VIP guest programs and exceeded performance metrics. Cate also assisted in securing several prestigious awards and recognitions on behalf of the properties she worked at, including helping the Camden Harbour Inn become a member of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux association while she was Hotel Manager there. Other accolades she helped earn included recognition in Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Inns in New England, Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Hotels in the South, Travel + Leisure’s Best Boutique Hotels in the World and Top 100 Hotels in the World and #7 on Trip Advisor’s Best of the Best in the USA.
In 2001, Cate transitioned to the Maryland Bank National Association, later moving on to work with Americans for Fairness in 2007, where she passionately advocated bringing awareness to credit card reform. Her relentless efforts led her to become an integral part of ushering in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Later she worked as part of the Somali Narrative Project before returning to her original love – hospitality.
Cate graduated from the University of Maine where she obtained a BS in sociology.
In addition to being a skilled hospitality professional, Cate is also a certified Master Gardner and has developed and maintained some of the most beautiful gardens along the coast of Maine.
