Outlook Inn — Hotel in Orcas Island

My husband and I got married here in June 2021 (original date 2020) and we could not have asked for a better venue! Outlook Inn on Orcas Island was everything we had hoped and dreamed of for our wedding day and with 2 years of waiting, I dreamed a lot with my unexpected extra time!

I dreamed of a destination where our families could comfortably gather for a weekend and take a moment to actually relax, slow down, explore and spend quality time together. Both my husband and I are originally from a small MN town and thus wanted to have a smaller more intimate wedding (~30 to 40 people). I didn’t want to make our family travel all the way from MN to just see us for the duration of the wedding. There is no better way to achieve this than by sticking everyone on an island for the weekend that you can only reach by ferry, a fun experience in itself!

I also hoped to find a venue that could do it all to reduce the amount of coordinating on my end, a venue where I could get married outside but also have a beautiful backup option for unexpected weather, and a venue where we could get married and celebrate without having to travel too far between ceremony to the reception site to where would crash for the night. I searched for months looking at venue after venue but nothing jumped out at me until I stumbled upon the Outlook Inn in Eastsound, WA.

The Outlook Inn checked all our boxes. First, it is located in the heart of Orcas Island, surrounded by cute local shops and beautiful views. With all the small town vibes, it was so fun bumping into friends and family as we all leisurely explored the downtown area before and after the wedding. Something that probably wouldn’t happen if we got married on the mainland in a big hectic loud city.

At Outlook Inn, they have a beautiful private garden, called Sara’s Garden, behind the hotel that is perfect for an outdoor wedding ceremony. So beautiful and peaceful there is really no need to waste extra money or time with extra distracting decorations. Instead, enjoy the natural flowers, birds, bunnies, and frogs that inhabit the space. If the weather doesn’t cooperate the day of, have peace of mind that there is a beautiful chapel inside the garden. We had a very hard time deciding between getting married outside or in the Chapel because they both offer such beautiful settings. A win-win for whatever the weather has in store for you.

After the ceremony, take a very short stroll with your guests to the beautiful Victorian Room and enjoy the best service and wedding food you and your guests will ever have! Outlook Inn provides all the food, drinks, tables, chairs, linens, silverware, glassware, and servers to make your day as stress-free as possible. Our wine glasses were never empty and our stomachs were full! You can bring your own decorations but just like the garden, you don’t need much. They also have very nice speakers inside if you want to be your own DJ, which is what we did. It was perfect for background music and for dancing.

As for the food, I was a little worried to pick chicken as our main dish without ever having tried the New Leaf Café or really completely understanding what kind of chicken dish it was but wow were we all blown away! There was absolutely nothing to worry about. All of the sides dishes we picked out were amazing too! I really appreciated they had a kid-friendly menu as well and reduced pricing for kids since we had about 13 kids attending our wedding ranging in age from 1 to 14.

Thank you so much to Sara for sharing such a beautiful space for a wedding and thank you Rich and all the Staff at Outlook Inn who made our day so special and memorable. It was a pleasure working with all of you as we all navigated through the new challenges of planning a wedding during the Covid-19 pandemic. I smile every day thinking of our wedding and how lucky we were to have found the Outlook Inn on...

We are staying at the Outlook Inn in EastSound on Orcas Island which is part of the San Juan Islands. This cute boutique Inn has a good website which features outbuildings with more modern rooms. We opted, however, to stay in the Historic Hotel part which is funky chic and very cute. The queen bed in room 8 is not great but doable, and did have very nice down pillows. There is an en-suite bathroom but I understand there are shared baths in this historical part, too. We lucked into a corner room with a private balcony overlooking the bay. The view is over the top. There is a small fridge, a microwave and fan. There are two bathrobes but no hangers for extra clothes. The best part is the off season price. I called the hotel and booked directly. Like most off season boutique hotels in the San Juan Islands, they are manned during the day and not at night so we have a back entrance after 6 p.m. We ate brunch at the excellent New Leaf Cafe restaurant which closed that very day, on Nov 29, for the season but there are a few other places within walking distance to get lunch and dinner. Not sure about breakfast. They do have a guide of the eateries on the desk in our room. Next, There is a cute downtown area which is small but has very interesting shops. All the shops are so close that anyone with a cane or knee problem will be able to participate in the town’s offerings. I like Eastsound much better than the busy area of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. And I will stay here at Outlook Inn again, no doubt. I am adding out building photos from the Outlook Inn, which include a nice stone events center building right on the Bay, across the street from the Inn. There is a nice garden and outside seating area. I am showing the parking lots and condo type accommodations on property behind the Inn, too. This is a whole different ball game in season. I would like to end by saying I think the bed was a tired and should be replaced. A nice white sheer swag on the canopy would be nice and would not obstruct the tv. Perhaps getting rid of the rusty TP holder in the bathroom and putting up some art would help this room feel more complete. This is all room 8 in the historical section which I am sure is not near as elegant as the suites and condo units in the other...

Great location to stay at because the town is walkable from this hotel. The main hotel has a beautiful view of the water. We wished we had been offered an upgrade in the main hotel. We were placed in a room in a building adjacent to the hotel (no view). We recently visited mid October 2024 (Mon-Wed) and the hotel was not full.The standard room does not have a microwave, refrigerator or safe). Most communication with the staff is by text.There was no one at the desk when we checked out. Just had to text that we had vacated the room. Funny thing is the hotel specifically asked why we were coming and I explained we wanted to experience a stay there so we could tell others about it.

The one thing we were very unhappy about is we were charged a destination fee of $25/day without it being included in our confirmation total and the total on our bill via e-mail. No explanation or anything. We didn't know it until we saw our charge on our American Express bill. I called several times and finally left a message, two different times, with the manager (Katie Whitley) requesting a call back. I did not receive a call back. The associate who answered one of my calls (before being transferred to the manager) didn't know anything about the charge but thought it might be due to the voucher we received for the cafe in the hotel. We thought the voucher was complimentary. Why would they charge you for a complimentary voucher? I just want to know why we weren't told about the destination charge and why it wasn't included in our confirmation total. Being a person who has dealt with customer service all my life find this poor customer service and not acceptable. My husband and I travel quite a bit and have never had this happen. We have always been informed about the additional taxes and...