Captain Whidbey Inn

Keepin' it real

In a world where anything new or trendy is of intense interest, it's a refreshing change to find a place whose owner wants to keep the same feel and pace it had from the beginning. Things have changed, of course, since 1907 when the Whid Isle Inn was built, but the pace has been fairly glacial. And that's a good thing.

It's wonderful that you can step into the lobby of the Captain Whidbey Inn and look at a photo of the Inn's builder, Chris Fisher, helping move downed logs to build the Inn. The photo is hung on the wall made from the logs Chris cut. A step to your left puts you in front of a stone fireplace, and around the corner is a brick fireplace; both are original. The original owner, a lawyer named Lester Carlos Still (Judge Still), envisioned a destination resort for those living in Seattle and Tacoma. He owned approximately 25-30 acres with cabins, camping, horse trails, tennis courts, warm water swimming pool and dance pavilion. People came on mosquito fleet boats and into the front entrance on the water side of the Inn. Things didn't pan out quite as expected and the Inn was sold 2-3 years later, becoming a community store and post office. It later became a girl's school. In 1946, it once again became an inn. Shirley and Steven Stone owned it for years and Shirley, in her 90s, still lives a few doors down. Their sons Steven and John bought it from them in 1980; later John took sole ownership. Loyd Moore purchased the property in 2007. "The Stones were hoteliers and they understood hospitality," says Loyd. "In the 80s, the Inn was a rocking joint. John still has his 52-foot ketch Cutty Sark on Penn Cove in front of the Inn."

Loyd's vision is to maintain the Inn as a real, authentic place. "This place has real history, not something fabricated to a marketing plan: here you can live it. It was built in 1907 and so many people have walked through these rooms. The icehouse, our most modern room, is used for meetings and private parties and is our latest repurposed building. We've taken an original structure and equipped it with high speed internet, great lighting, and digital equipment, but we're respectful of what's here. We've saved the original materials, footprint, signage, and windows. The old shop is now another meeting space called the studio. And we want our service to match the vision. We're a relaxed boutique inn, not pretentious or full of swagger. We work hard to offer first class, high-personal service. If a staff member seems to be formal or stiff, we encourage them to remember 'high quality relaxed feel' while they take care of the guest."

Much of the food served comes from the island. "If you look out the windows at Penn Cove and the hills, you realize you can see almost everything you need for a great restaurant," says Loyd. "We use island grass-fed beef, Dungeness crab, mussels, spot prawns. In season, halibut comes from the other side of the island, and we have lamb and free-range chicken. Farmers here provide vegetables and greens. Depending on the season, we get things off-island, like line-caught King salmon from Canada. We grow our herbs, garnishes and some fruit and vegetables here, like strawberries, rosemary, six kinds of mint, rhubarb, horseradish. We have a decorating and cutting garden for fresh flowers. It's about the quality of the experience for the guest. Our obligation is to meet their expectations. We're a small country inn; more boutique getaway than a destination hotel, and our focus is on the guest. We cook full-flavored food. We start with great product and aren't afraid of butter, cream, and salt, but if the guest needs something special, we work to accommodate them. We look at this property as a whole: authentic history, food, rooms, service, grounds. It all has to work."

Owning the Inn isn't really where Loyd's history would seem to lead. He was born in Idaho and grew up in Eastern Washington, then attended high school in Bellevue and college at the UW. He knew of the Inn in passing. He worked in restaurants and hotels when in college, but built a consulting business in product development and design, with branch offices in Newport Beach, California, and Manhattan. He sold the business and moved to their New York office. After 15 years in Manhattan, he returned to Washington in 2006-2007. "I was looking for a project. I need something with interesting layers and find it challenging and fun to step into new learning experiences. I bought the Inn because I liked the building, the history and the setting. It's close enough to Seattle and my family. It is funny that I was so ready to get out of the hospitality industry when I was young, and now I'm back. It's quite lovely."

The historic lodge has 12 rooms with shared bathrooms; there are cabins with decks, fireplaces, updated bathrooms, and a shared hot tub; one cabin has a private hot tub overlooking Penn Cove; and the Lagoon Rooms have private baths and look over a large lawn and, you guessed it, two lagoons. The fine dining room is off the lobby; Judge Still's Tavern and outside patio are beyond that. "We keep adding and fixing, like with the Lagoon Rooms, but the lodge remains historically correct."

Along with guests who love the simplicity of life at the Inn, businesses use it for corporate retreats, and there are 5-6 literary retreats each year, plus a busy wedding season. There was a 40-50-year-long tradition of Christmas holidays which stopped in the 80s. "We are bringing it back in a modified way," says Loyd. "It's an American experience: log fires, comfort food, relaxing with the family." They do an occasional wine dinner based on specific foods, like Dungeness crab done 3-5 ways, and talk about how wines pair with each.

When you're ready for a getaway and will enjoy a real Northwest experience in an historic location with possibly the best patio ever, Captain Whidbey is the place you need to be.

Photos courtesy of Captain Whidbey Inn

Captain Whidbey Inn
2072 W Captain Whidbey Inn Rd
Coupeville, WA 98237
360-678-4097
800-366-4097
www.captainwhidbey.com

Connie Adams/June 2014