Inn To The Woods is a bed and breakfast located in the small town of Friday Harbor, Washington. Four personalized rooms fill the bed and breakfast with modern and rustic themes. Pets are allowed in two rooms on the property with an extra fee. Sportsmans Lake is across the street from the inn and offers many outdoor attractions during the summer months. Some popular things to do in the area include ziplining, boating, and hiking. A complimentary breakfast is served to guests every morning at 9 AM. Inn To The Woods is open year-round.
As the name of the property might suggest, Inn To The Woods rests in the forests of Friday Harbor, Washington. More accurately, the property is located a few miles to the northwest of town, close to a small region named Lakedale. Both areas are part of the San Juan Island in northwestern Washington, accessible primarily via ferry (though Friday Harbor also contains a small airport).
Inn To The Woods is a bed and breakfast style of lodging, offering guests four distinct rooms to choose from and access to different handmade breakfasts each morning. The property consists of two separate buildings, which are both surrounded by trees and have modern designs with rustic themes. One of the buildings has a porch overlooking nearby Sportsmans Lake, which is located right across the road from Inn To The Woods. The four rooms on the property are the Lakeview Room, the Forest Room, the Salal Room, and the Arbor Room. As its name infers, the Lakeview Room allows visitors to see the lake from its southern-facing windows.
The Forest Room, on the other hand, faces toward the bulk of the property's trees. The owners have noticed that the Forest Room tends to be their most popular room, despite the fact that it is the most expensive of the four to reserve for the night. The Salal Room is named after a kind of berry bush that is native to the region, and the Arbor Room is not named after anything specific (though the word arbor has Latin roots, which mean "tree"). Each of the four rooms is decorated distinctly, with apparent differences in the pillows, bedframes, lamps, and blankets.
Standard amenities for the rooms include smart televisions, ceiling fans, humidifiers, up-scale bathroom amenities, and Wi-Fi. Two of the rooms—the Forest Room and the Arbor Room—come equipped with jacuzzi tubs. There are a few activities in the area which are of note. Firstly, there is a zip lining company just down the road from Inn To The Woods called Zip San Juan. There are also multiple museums and farms nearby. Additionally, the island's nature allows for guests to participate in boating or other aquatic activities with relative ease.
Within the town of Friday Harbor, people can browse a handful of small stores or dine at local restaurants. Some of the owner's personal recommendations include Coho Restaurant and Mike's Café and Wine Bar. Breakfast, however, is a meal that is directly provided by Inn To The Woods. One of the owners, Patrick, does the cooking. His meals range from French toast to frittatas, supplemented by proteins, fresh fruits, biscuits, muffins, and juice. Patrick tries to mix things up, both on a day-to-day basis and in the sense that he wants to "make breakfast different than they would find elsewhere." In the case that special dietary needs are present, Patrick is willing to accommodate so long as time is given in advance. Breakfast is always served at 9 AM.
Because Inn To The Woods is located so heavily within a forest, its culture heavily emphasizes the seclusion that nature typically offers. The property is located far enough away from Friday Harbor that noise isn't likely to be an issue, yet close enough that guests are able to go shopping or participate in other city-specific activities should they desire it.
For the bed and breakfast itself, the owners prefer attempting to develop a culture of comfort and relaxation. The porches stemming off of the two buildings allow for guests to take in the views of the surrounding trees and lakes, promoting an atmosphere of tranquility. When it comes to comfort, the owners strive to meet that goal by means of their hospitality and cleanliness. They also attempt to be tolerant of many different kinds of people.
Typically, guests notice these behaviors. One guest stated, "Our host Patrick was there when we needed anything, quietly out of sight when we didn't." Another said that "The breakfasts on the deck were wonderful, the bed was very comfortable, the room was charming. The private hot tub on our own private deck was a joy to use - we used it every morning, as well as one or 2 of our 3 nights there." This guest's comment about the beds is one of many, indicating a pattern of patrons who are pleased about the mattresses' comfort.
The policies at Inn To The Woods promote their culture of acceptance and tolerance. Pets are allowed on the property, and management accepts many different forms of payment. One of the few things that the bed and breakfast doesn't allow is smoking on the property. Check-in and check-out times can be found in more detail on their website, but it should be noted that special arrangements can be made for times outside of their listed windows.
Owners Patrick and Nancy have been operating Inn To The Woods for around 16 years, having first taken over management in 2004. They entered the industry because there "wasn't much else to do" in the region. There were at least three owners before Patrick and Nancy, according to Patrick's recollection. There is little known about the history of the buildings prior to 2004.
46 Elena Drive
Friday Harbor, Washington 98250-6924
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Patrick & Nancy
