Over the New Year’s holiday this past January 2013 my husband and I spent our ten year anniversary at the Rosario Hotel & Spa on Orcas Island, WA. I have to say that most of my vacations include kid friendly hotels where we take our three rambunctious children. Needless to say, our “vacations” aren’t really relaxing. It’s very rare we get this kind of chance to really get away from everything including our precious offspring.
The Journey to Orcas Island
We took off from Anacortes via the Elwha Ferry, transporting us across the bays and inlets with astounding views of Mount Baker to our East. We spent the time cuddled on the deck enjoying the peace of just being together without having to run after the short people. We dreamed about buying one of the many cabins or houses on the islands we passed. It was a great ferry ride.
Ferry out of Anacortes, WA
Eastsound, Orcas Island
“A fifteen-minute drive from the ferry lies the historic village of Eastsound, Orcas Island’s downtown. Nestled above Fishing Bay, this walkable village bustles with life—a visitor’s dream of galleries, boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and history.” Via VisitSanJuans.com
We arrived at Orcas Island all too quickly and disembarked our SUV and made the trek to the other side of the island to have breakfast at Island Skillet (easy options of gluten-free offered here!) in the East Sound. We loaded up on gluten free snacks for me, sodas and beer at the local supermarket to keep in our hotel room. We weren’t quite sure what to expect of the hotel after only looking through their website photos and reading about it. We did receive many rave reviews from family members and friends, but it’s always different for each person.
I think we were already transported into island time, it runs about half the speed of regular life, at the point of leaving Anacortes. We found a really great espresso shop Enzo’s Italian Caffe which also had gluten-free biscotti (HUGE bonus for me!). The easy access to gluten free eating was quite shocking to me, considering we live in Bellevue and I can rarely get gluten free anything at the restaurants. This island was definitely made for me.
Rosario Resort At Last
We made our way to the Rosario Resort and checked in early. The check-in staff were very friendly, they gave us all our special tickets for the New Years Eve bash and seafood buffet for the upcoming day. We had checked in on the 30th and were staying for two nights to enjoy New Year’s Eve then our ten year anniversary on New Year’s Day. The hotel had offered up this great package deal for a beautiful room for two nights, New Year’s Eve seafood buffet and New Year’s Eve party at the Rosario Mansion.
Rosario Resort offers multiple types of rooms- suites, houses, regular rooms, round house rooms- it’s a very unique place to visit and offers the chance to stay with your family or extended family groups. I could easily see having a family reunion here.
The Bayside King Room
Our hotel room was across the little Cascade Bay and in one of the Bayside King Rooms. The staff had given us this lovely music cd of piano player Christopher Peacock along with a handwritten card wishing us a happy anniversary and to let them know of any needs we might have. There was easy access with front row parking within 30 feet of our room. The furnishings were definitely updated and looked on par to the Hyatt suites we stay at normally with a few differences. The view off the deck was simply amazing as we were right on the bay, maybe 20 feet from the water. I took many landscape photos right off that deck, including the very first photo above of the resort itself.
The only drawbacks to the room were probably the odd hallway entrance to the room, the old carpeting, baseboard heaters and the outdated bathroom. The towels were fluffy, the shower water was nice and hot, flat screen TV with not the best cable reception and best of all I think the insulation between the rooms must have been cement because we could not hear a thing from the neighboring rooms! We know the people next to us had a couple kids with them too, we could hear them if they left through the hallway but other than that it was very quiet.
You should note that cell service was pretty much nonexistent around the hotel (Verizon) and we had to travel into Eastsound to call family to check on the kids. I guess we could’ve used the hotel phone, I have no idea why we didn’t- I guess we’re just used to using the cells. The wifi worked decent enough but not all that quickly.
The Mansion Restaurant
“Overlooking Cascade Bay, The Mansion Restaurant located in the Moran Mansion offers casual dining in a beautiful waterfront location. The Mansion Restaurant is open from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. Thursday through Monday for breakfast and from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Wednesday – Sunday for dinner (open until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday). For dinner reservations, please call 360-376-2152 ext. 400.” Via Rosarioresort.com
We ate in the restaurant two separate times, breakfast and dinner. The food was excellent, on par with some high end restaurants back in Seattle or Bellevue. The servers were very friendly and knowledgeable; it was definitely a laid back atmosphere where you enjoyed the bay with all window seating. We ordered steak and salmon- both mouth-watering delicious! The evening of New Years we really enjoyed the huge spread of all seafood. Definitely a must eat buffet!
So Many Things to do
There were countless things to do on the water but unfortunately it was storming, snowing, sleeting and blowing for the majority of our trip. It was winter so we weren’t really expecting to do any kayaking, whale watching, hiking, Farmers Market or swimming. What we did do was travel over the island looking for amazing photo spots- in the snow/sleet/blowing wind. I managed a few but the island is definitely on my return-to-photograph and enjoy in the warm weather!
We walked through the Moran Museum and were amazed by the stunning Arts & Crafts style woodwork throughout the mansion. The play of light over all the woodwork with all the honey tones just made you ache to photograph it.
The Music Room
This stain-glass Belgian window picturing the harbor at Antwerp was simply mesmerizing, to have weathered all the storms this mansion must have seen through the many years it has stood, amazing!
One of the many seating areas right off the Mansion Restaurant. The resort has all sorts of comfy seating areas where you could easily grab a book, warm drink and settle down for the afternoon.
We really wanted to see the view off Mt. Constitution but it was snowing, foggy and very cold. They had also closed off the road. We were only able to make it to the base where this little lake sat. It was still beautiful, definitely another place to hit up this summer when it’s much warmer!
We found this quiet little harbor also near Doe Bay during our exploring the island time. It was peaceful out there, I really wished I had the chance to go on one of the many island tours by boat.
The morning of New Year’s Day my husband and I strolled along the harbor taking photos and avoiding the icy sidewalks and enjoying the sun rising. I’m so excited to return to the resort in the summer where we can take advantage of all the amenities they offer and head out on one of those kayaking adventures.
Hotel Services
The hotel offers multiple swimming pools, a beautiful spa, a museum to explore, a bar and restaurant, wedding and event venues. Go view their website to find out everything they have.
“Rosario Resort was named “Best Destination Wedding Site” by Seattle Bride Magazine in 2005 and 2007 and voted “Best Romantic Getaway” by King 5 TV’s Evening Magazine viewer poll.” Via Rosarioresort.com
Links for Orcas Island-
http://www.visitsanjuans.com/the-islands/eastsound
***All opinions are completely unpaid, just a happy customer wanting to share the love!***
Where Art Meets Life 
I grew up on Orcas, and it’s great to know that Rosario is still doing so well!
I was really pleasantly surprised, I sure hope they’re able to keep it up and continue improving because they’ve done an amazing job.
Hi there,
My name is Jane and I’m with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about Easstsound to share on our site and I came across your post…If you’re open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Jane
Jane, I have emailed you- I’d love that!