SMALL, TOP-TIER INCENTIVE GROUPS that want a dose of regional flavor with white-glove service will enjoy The White Barn Inn. Located in Kennebunkport, Maine (a few miles south of the Portland airport), its main building is a farmhouse constructed in the 1860s. Twenty-five guest rooms range from inn accommodations decorated with hand-painted furniture to two-bedroom cottages along the Kennebunk River. The seven junior suites are great digs for high achievers, with plasma TVs, working fireplaces, and huge marble bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs.

A Relais & Chateaux property, the inn has arguably the best cuisine in Northern New England, with changing menus of regional and French-inspired fare. Groups of up to 40 can take over a private section of the dining room, and up to 15 guests can have a wine tasting event in the inn's wine room, which stores more than 7,000 bottles. For more casual gatherings, in-house groups have exclusive use of a riverfront cottage.