San Juan Islands Friday Harbor Inn

By Author: Pam
Total Articles: 7
Comment this article

San Juan Islands Friday Harbor Inn

Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:
http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/cabinweb/friday/friday.html

If you're looking for a getaway, an island is always a great place to start. On rural islands, there is a thing that I call "island time." I'm sure someone else coined that phrase, but it basically means that the frantic pace of the city gets left behind as soon as you step onto the ferry. In Friday Harbor, Washington on San Juan Island, it's a little harder to sense island time because Friday Harbor is touristier than other places in the San Juan archipelago. There's even a movie theater and a shopping district.

But if you want the best of both worlds -- a bit of island time while still having things to do when rusticity and quiet get to be too much for you, then Friday's Historic Inn (built in1891) might be a good place to start. It's quiet and tranquil while still being only two blocks from the ferry terminal and next door to restaurants and shops.
...
... br />The owners have menus from all the local restaurants and can point you to the best restaurant for your mood or diet. Since I was on a high protein diet that week, they sent me to a place called the Back Door Kitchen, which not only had wonderful food, but helped me figure out what I could order and how I could swap things around on their menu to get a nice meal without too many carbs for the same price.

Here you'll find rooms from $90 to $255 a night -- all decorated with handmade furniture from driftwood found on local beaches. My room had a driftwood headboard, but other rooms had more elaborate touches. The lobby/parlor is decorated with a hand-stamped tin ceiling (reproduction) and boasts a book and movie lending library as well as a fireplace and comfy couches.

But the rooms are where you'll really start enjoying your stay. All of the deluxe rooms have Jacuzzi tubs; one has its own hot-tub. Most of the rooms have balconies, and some have water views. All were furnished with king-size beds and kitchenettes (for the less deluxe rooms, the hosts have put in shared kitchenettes so that all guests have access to the same amenities). My room was spacious and quiet with a small desk and a huge bed. I had a shared bathroom, but I never encountered anyone else using it, so it felt private. And you have high-speed Internet access -- albeit at a Mac workstation, so this poor reviewer who works for a nameless computer company in Redmond was a little baffled about how that strange operating system works.

But what makes this inn a place I would recommend is the service. The host was informative without being intrusive. His recommendations for restaurants and places to stock up for a kayaking trip were very helpful. Better yet, the day I arrived there was an island-wide, planned power outage, so the host provided us each with flashlights. Since I had to be up early, he even leant me a battery-operated alarm clock.

To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:
http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/cabinweb/friday/friday.html

Pam, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent - Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com


About the Author Pam, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Leave your email next to the logo for FREE e travel newsletter.