Captain Whidbey

nice staff

very steep stairs for elderly people in the main building.

The place is spectacular and a true hidden gem at the same time, with that old school Pacific Northwest vibe. The restaurant on site is excellent, overlooking Penn Cove Beach, and I recommend the Lagoon Rooms, although it's worth knowing that the WiFi barely works in that area. The breakfast options at the Espresso Bar in the General Store are really nice (special shout out to the honey & lavender latte!), even if they're paid separately. It's a very peaceful place, parking is easy, and it was such a nice touch to receive a personalised welcome sheet with details like the Moon phase and fun facts about Whidbey Island. Plus, the property is very close to Coupeville center. All of this makes for a really lovely stay.

A few suggestions: it would be great to receive an email before arrival with the best options for getting to the island, especially for guests who aren't familiar with the area. The Wellness Studio and Sauna could also be more visible. Lastly, the service could be warmer. Sometimes when I went to the front desk there didn't seem to be many people around, and I wasn't sure who actually worked at the hotel. It felt like more care goes into the written communication than into the way guests are welcomed in person.

Love the unique, quirky, rustic, cozy vibe. I loved my dinner and the cozy atmosphere at dinner and the double cabana style seating on the lawn out front. Special touches like the wellness room, tree net, pour over coffee option in room was lovely. Of course loved the waterfront. The cabins looked adorable, but packed in (we didn’t stay there) . We had to stay in the lagoon room since traveling with our 18 year old daughter. Only 21 + allowed in lodge. Wait staff was great, recommend making a reservation.

The lagoon rooms were rustic but appreciate the extra touches. Historic properties have challenges with charging devices, they made efforts to remediate this but may need to plan ahead. Garden was neglected and lagoon was not what I was expecting, a bit let down but still a nice place to relax and loved the Adirondack chairs on deck. Biggest downer was that other residents walked by our room/deck to get to their room. We couldn’t leave the windows open (someone could easily get in the room, and it was too warm for us making it hard to sleep. Also the price was a barrier. That being said, I’d still stay here again-just request a different room.

Setting in the grounds are beautiful.

The rooms are absolutely uncomfortable. Minimalist, Zenny and dark. The bed is about 24 in off the floor and hard as a rock. It's a single futon style mattress. The room is large enough to accommodate an easy chair which would have been very nice. There is no television or mini fridge which we look forward to having on our trips.., I called the restaurant at least a half a dozen times in the day before and day of our stay and was never able to reach anybody to book a reservation. Skip this place.