COUPEVILLE, Wash. — It's a destination travelers have sought out for over 100 years.
Captain Whidbey Inn has sat along the waters off Penn Cove since it was completed in 1907.
"It was originally made as an inn," said Doug Mills, general manager at Captain Whidbey Inn. "Judge Still was the original (owner), bought the land and created the inn.”
Inside, guests are immediately taken back in time with many of its original features still standing. Long known as the Whid-Isle Inn, the historic landmark has grown from its original layout of 15 rooms to accommodate a wide range of guests.
"We have different cabins and they're all done uniquely by themselves," Mills said. “Our Lagoon rooms are a little more of our traditional hotel-style rooms with private bathrooms."
But the most popular rooms are inside the main lodge.
"Our lodge rooms or historical rooms with the shared bathrooms in the hallways and just that more historical, 1907 feel to it."
The inn also has a full-service restaurant and an inviting horse-shoe bar to belly up to. Outside, there's plenty of places for guests to relax or just explore the gorgeous grounds.
"We are very family-friendly oriented and they are allowed to come and enjoy.
There are outdoor games, places around the property that are just cute little areas to explore, and kids to run around," Mills said. "We get a lot of people from Seattle who are looking at a place to get out of the city, that they can get away, unwind, relax.”
Recently the inn's owners gave Captain Whidbey a refresh that preserves its past while keeping an eye on its future.
"We try to be careful with any kind of renovations or upgrades that we do so we still keep the integrity of what the building is and what it represents," Mills said. "Ownership has really taken pride in keeping the nostalgia the way it was but at the same time putting in their new kind of twist."
History and comfort — two things that make guests who stay at Captain Whidbey Inn want to come back again and again.
"They love it. They absolutely love it."
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