Bird Rock Hotel — Hotel in Friday Harbor

Horrible. Let me preface this with we took a trip to the Bird Rock Hotel as a part of our honeymoon. We made a reservation 6 weeks in advance for the Marrowstone suite. The hotel offers several other amenities. (Massages, flowers, etc.) One thing we wanted to do on our honeymoon was a couples massage and booked that through their website. While honeymooning in another city 3 days before we were to arrive in Friday Harbor I received a call from Kilee who informed me that we would not be able to do the couples massage due to a staffing issue. When I asked for further information and questioned why they had the reservation for 6 weeks and didn't staff for that she promptly began talking over me and interrupting. I found her to be extremely rude and inconsiderate. I felt like I owed it to her to just say thanks and hang up. Fortunately, others in Friday Harbor realize that their business partially depends on tourism and made last minute accommodations for us.

The room was a disappointment. I am disabled and it is listed as ADA accessible. I guess in the raw form of the word it was mostly there, however, be prepared for grab bars in the shower and toilet seats to just fall off. I spent a good portion of time fixing things in the room just to make it usable. The room was HOT. The only way we could find to cool it down other than open the windows that are right next to the sidewalk (remember we are on our honeymoon) was to leave the front door open. This did allow some airflow and the fence around the outside of the room did provide some privacy. The hot tub in the strick sense of the word was a hot tub. Sortof. Upon our arrival the temp of the hot tub was in the mid 80's. Kilee told us that guests couldn't be trusted adjusting the temp and she would have it turned up. The next time we went to get in it it was 105. Since we couldn't be trusted to adjust it we sat of about 3 minutes got out beet red and waited until the next day to have it adjusted again. The hot tub was one of the reasons we booked that room and out of the 4 days we were there we were able to use it once.

The last straw came on the final day. The fire alarm went off. It rang twice. Two beeps. No big deal. We know and understand that things happen. We examined our room looked out of the hotel. No evacuation was happening there was no smoke. We went back in the room and were doing what honeymooning couples do on their honeymoon. 30-45 minutes after the alarm I heard the maintenance man yelling at our front door that he was coming in. Remember we have the front door open because it is so hot in this room. I yelled out that everything was ok in the room and asked him to leave. He acknowledged me and proceeded to stand in the doorway. I am certain that this voyeur got a good show until I realized that he was still standing there. I feel like our dignity was stolen by this guy. Kilee who I assume is the manage was no help on the situation either. Later I found a voicemail on my cell phone from Kilee regarding the fire alarm. There are no phones from the room to the front desk so these people figured the best way to communicate was just to walk on in... We are not prudes by any means but I felt like something was stolen from us by this experience.

I could go on and on but these were the highlights of our horrible experience at the Bird Rock. We loved the island and can not wait to go back. Having said that there are MANY great hotels, condo's, and really quant places to stay. I would avoid the Bird Rock at all costs and find one of the other amazing places to stay. Hell my tent would have offered a...

We visited Friday Harbor a month ago and looked many videos to see the area beforehand and to decide on a place to stay. -Time stayed: May, we liked that it was off peak. It wasn't packed with people. Definitely quiet after 7pm in the town. -Location: Well within walking from the ferry dock. It was so close. Lots of shops nearby but if you're interested in certain places, some are closed Tuesday/Wed or some variation. -Restaurants: If you're vegan/plantbased, we tried out Mike's Cafe (burgers were on the small side but tasty, accompanied with pan fried taters) and the Golden Triangle (Thai). Like other reviews from the Golden Triangle they can accomodate making a lot of things vegan. The pad thai with tofu and veggies was substantial. -Parking: We were notified by text there would be street construction on the side we were staying. Since they assured entrances would not be affected we decided to stick with our plan and go ahead. We had the option to cancel, switch to a different date or stay at their sister hotel. First St was closed but there was 2hr and 4hr parking on West Street. We were lucky to be able to park in the 4hr when we got back in the evening. That allowed us to stay parked until 12pm at the latest the next day (I think). -Rooms: We picked one room but we ended being able to be in two! We started out with the Salt Spring Suite, entering from First. The construction crew was demolishing the sidewalk close to the entrance and they were surprised we were entering that way. They weren't aware this was the only entrance. We settled in for a little while and headed out to see the sights. While we were out, the concierge contacted us by text that the construction would be closing the sidewalk to our entrance so they had to move us to another room. I am grateful they tried to make the situation flexible. The Salt Spring suite was quite spacious living/dining area with a jetted tub with microwave/mini-fridge. It was private with only another room sharing the same entrance (FYI, the door has a window at the top so anyone tall can see directly through into the room. I wish they had a privacy screen for that.) In the end, we went from the basement to the top floor! The San Juan Suite is on the 3rd floor and you get there through the main entrance lobby. When you enter the room, what is impressive is the tall vaulted ceiling! It faces First Street and there is a partial view of the ferry dock. There is a private balcony with two seats and small coffee table. The kitchen area had a fridge, 2-range electric stove, microwave and toaster. We used the stove to boil water for apple cider (complimentary packets in the lobby) but it took a while to get boiling. There is one chair in the room. The kitchen area could have had a small table and two chairs. This would be helpful for those rainy days where you couldn't eat on the balcony. Since we got take out, we made do with using the side bed tables and using our cooler as a second seat. It just happened to work out. The ensuite was massive! Shower stall with 2 shower heads, heated floors that kind of worked, and an aerated tub. We never tried an aerated tub before but it was cool. I think I like it better than the jetted tub. You can tell it's easier to keep clean (there is a cleaning cycle after you turn it off). I wish it was built for two people. Concierge staff: Ali answered my questions before arrival and handled the move. We had a great time staying at the Bird Rock Hotel. We definitely...

I would like to give this location a strong 3.5 but not quite 4. I appreciated the distance to the ferry and sites downtown but there were quirks which could not be avoided by the hotel. We stayed off season which was great. Rainy and cool did not bother us. There was no on-site attendant so communication was via text, which was fine, mostly. I received a door code and instructions to enter the facility front door, our room and private bathroom located in the hall near our room. I found the on duty absent attendant to be helpful but there were little things like the light was not on outside the front door which made it difficult to manage the keypad. Phone out, flashlight accessed and it was fine but for someone older and not savvy to modern technology this could be difficult. The room was perfect for the price. It had a window on the street and a balcony door which kept the room nice and bright. The pillows and bed were marvelous. They only had one luggage rack but we requested another and they made it available. I also loved the housekeeper who spoke Spanish and no to very little English. It gave me opportunity to practice my Spanish. The room and bathroom were very clean and odor free. It did not have a closet but had 2 two robes on the back of the door with 2 extra hangers. The room was modern and not fussy. I also looked at a 2 bed 1 bath accommodation on the first floor near the lobby and it felt a bit dark. Each of those rooms had a window and there may have been a fireplace. Again, it looked comfortable, modern and clean. So I would stay again. We got by okay not having an en-suite bathroom because we didn’t have to share it with anyone else and it was a 4 second walk from the room. BTW the place was very quiet inside and on Saturday night very loud on the street until about 1 a.m. It was just some ignoramuses on the street but we got a feeling it may be an ongoing problem. Then Monday at 5:30 a.m. there was a diesel Food semi next door idling for an hour. Hey it happens. Times are changing. Small boutique Inns may not be manned in the future and it can be...