The cabins each offer a king bed and woodburning fireplaces, but that’s where the similarities end. In addition to repainting and redesigning, the partners have also brought in handcrafted furniture, organic Suite Sleep mattresses, Rudy’s bath products and other comforts you’d expect in a modern boutique hotel. Much of the rest of the refresh was cosmetic. (The resort is listed among the destinations in Kenmore Air’s Unique Charter Adventures.) The latter not only welcomes passing boaters, but also accommodates seaplanes. Now seamlessly connected, these spaces form the property’s social hub, spilling out onto a deck overlooking the water and a dock. The heaviest lifting included stabilizing the floor under the original lodge with concrete pilings and removing the walls separating the lobby, restaurant and bar inside. After completing their purchase last spring, they shut it down after Christmas to begin renovating, reopening in late April. Since the property sits within the Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve, there were limits on the types of changes the new owners could make. Nightly rates for this set of lodge rooms start at about $300, with the cabins starting at about $400. A second 14-room lodge and four waterfront cabins, built in the 1970s, offer more space and more-modern amenities, including a bathroom in each unit. And, with nightly rates starting at about $200, they’re also great bargain. They’re small but cute, awash in Douglas fir paneling and trim. The 12 rooms upstairs, with shared bathrooms, reflect the bunkhouse-style lodging of the time when it was built. Inside, a massive stone hearth nearly envelopes the entire wall surrounding the lobby fireplace. The siding consists of uneven madrona logs held together by thick layers of mortar. One of the first things you notice as you approach the original lodge to check in is its pioneer-era construction. The property, which opened in 1907 as the Whid-Isle Inn, sits on six acres of woodsy shoreline along Penn Cove, a few miles north of Coupeville’s historic downtown. Together, they are breathing new life into this old property by bringing modern touches to a setting replete with historic and natural charm. The principals include Matt and Mike French, 30-something brothers who grew up in Portland, and Eric Cheong, an architect in his early 40s who used to work for the Ace Hotel group. These are the types of timeless experiences that the new owners of the Captain Whidbey Inn are modernizing through their renovation of the 112-year-old Coupeville resort. It’s that one where you can explore a secluded cove in a row boat, or doze off on a hammock with that book you’ve been meaning to read lying open on your chest. You might have noticed that this place is incredibly romantic.Even if you’ve never been there, you’ve probably pictured that iconic waterfront lodge in your mind. There’s a garden on site where they grow fresh greens, herbs and other goodies for the dishes and cocktails. The bar program here is also impressive with stunning and creative cocktails. We absolutely loved the restaurant on site here (we loved it so much we ate here both nights which is something I almost never do because I like to explore all my restaurant options.) The duck cassoulet with this Oregon Gran Moraine Pinot Noir was truly perfection. This guy’s face says it all about this 32 oz bone-in, grass fed rib eye. (Note that there all types of rooms at the inn, you’ll need to make sure to book this one for this tub.) Our room overlooked this lagoon. We stayed in one of the rooms overlooking the lagoon. Every inch of this place exudes a fantastic rustic charm. Please allow me to show you around the Captain Whidbey in this photo diary: Traveling by ferry never ceases to amaze and excite me. A place so special that as soon as we saw pulled up we knew right away – this was going to be an enchanting two night getaway.

We stayed at the rustic and darling Captain Whidbey, an inn nestled in a grove of old growth pines on the shore of this magical little island. We made the less than two hour journey (which involved a drive and ferry ride) to Whidbey Island and, y’all, this place has absolutely stolen my heart. Last week we got away by not going very far from Seattle at all.

The captain whidbey