Lummi Island: The Willows Inn (August 2014)

My spouse and I stayed at the Willows Inn on Lummi Island on a Friday night in early August 2014. We reserved our room and made our dinner reservation on-line using their website. Shortly thereafter, we received an e-mail that confirmed our lodging and dining reservations. At the time of booking, we remitted a 30% deposit of the total cost for the accommodations and the meal.

Because we booked about nine months in advance, we had our choice of rooms. We splurged on the room called Haven, because it sounded more spacious (both indoors and out) than other rooms. We also wanted to stay on-site at the Willows Inn, not at one of their ancillary properties elsewhere on the island. The Willows Inn website explains every room and its features and location, whether on-site or off-site.

Haven has a large two-level deck from which guests can view the water. The lower level of deck contains a wrought-iron table and four chairs with cushions. If the Inn added two reclining lounge chairs, the deck would be even more special. From our deck, we watched the staff enjoy their evening family meal at an outdoor picnic table. We also observed Chef Wetzel and his sous chefs using the smokehouse and the grill. Later in the evening, we saw a driver nearly run over a sign in the parking lot as she tried to extricate her car from the tiny and crowded parking lot.

Inside, one side of the room fit a king-size bed, two nightstands, and a free-standing wardrobe cabinet. The opposite side featured two armchairs positioned in front of a gas fireplace insert with a brick surround and hearth, and a small refrigerator (larger than a dorm-size cube) and a coffee maker. The Inn provides ice if you ask for it, but no self-service machine is accessible to guests, nor is any type of vending machine present. Rooms do not contain a television or telephone, although they contain a clock radio (but it does not include an iPod dock). To contact the office to ask a question, we telephoned from our cell phone.

No air-conditioning exists at the Willows Inn, neither in the guest rooms nor in the public areas (dining room, lobby lounge, or bar). For airflow and light, our room contained four screened windows (three in the bedroom and one in the bathroom). A shade covers the single glass French entry door to the room, but it did not contain a screen. The door handle opened strangely! Instead of pressing the door handle down as you normally would, you instead lifted the handle up. Even though the front desk warned us about the counter-intuitive way to open the door, we had trouble with it each time. The bedroom area contained an oscillating fan, which cooled the room. It also had a ceiling fan, but its position was not directly over the bed, and its speed was too slow to have any real cooling potential. The bedding was comfortable, and the Inn provides bathrobes for each guest. (Each of the armchairs in front of the fireplace contains one folded bathrobe.)

The bathroom was large, and it contained an oval-shaped free-standing bathtub and double-sized shower. The bathtub, while not Jacuzzi style, was modern and stylish. The oversize tile shower featured a built-in bench and glass door. The Inn supplies full-size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel, along with a tiny bar of soap and a tiny bottle of body lotion. We needed more than one bar of soap, however, with a sink, bathtub, and shower. A wicker basket beneath the pedestal sink contained the hair dryer and an extra roll of toilet paper. The property was a little stingy with towels (considering the room rate of several hundred dollars per night); it provided only two bath towels. However, the Inn thoughtfully provided a wrought-iron quilt rack in the bathroom to dry (and reuse) the towels.

A spa is located on-site, along with a hot tub, gift shop, bar (called Tafts), and café (Taproot). The small gift shop sells locally crafted items. The hillside Jacuzzi / hot tub holds at least six people, but its water was lukewarm, not hot. A tiny changing cubicle is located near the hot tub. The Willows Inn loans bikes to guests; however, do not to borrow one of the “electric” bikes, because the Inn no longer maintains batteries for them. Therefore, you carry the weight of the unusable equipment. On specific mornings, guests can participate in a walking tour of privately owned neighboring Loganita Farm, which supplies produce to the Inn. Be prepared to climb some steps to reach several of the rooms in this hotel. (Although Haven is located on the second floor, it is near the main building that contains the restaurant.)

Sunset Beach (one of the few public beaches on Lummi Island) is located catty-corner from the Willows Inn. To access the water, you must walk cross the street and traverse down a steep incline path. The beach is rocky with dark sand and lots of driftwood. The flowers around the property are gorgeous in the summertime!

When we booked our reservation, the prix-fixe dinner cost $150 per person; however, when the server presented our bill after we dined, the price rose to $165. (The Inn automatically charges the credit card that you used to provide your deposit.) We think that the Inn should have honored the old price. However, we did not inquire about a refund because the Inn already granted us a “suite” deal (more on that later!). When we booked our reservation, breakfast was included with the room rate; however, when we received our re-confirmation e-mail prior to arrival, it mentioned that breakfast was $25 per person. In prior years, guests received vouchers for breakfast at the nearby Beach Store Cafe, but now, you can purchase your own breakfast at the Beach Store Cafe, or you eat on-site at the Willows for $25 per person. No one inquires ahead of time if you would like to dine for breakfast, nor at what time, so we are not sure how the Inn adequate staffs the restaurant for breakfast (which is available from 8:30 am to 10:30 am).

Dinner seating begins at 6:30 pm, although most guests gather on the deck before to enjoy the scenery and have a drink (which is not included with your tasting menu fee). On the night that we dined, a guitarist played on the deck for about two hours prior to dining. As we enjoyed the music and some cocktails, staff delivered two amuse-bouches to each table. One of the tastes was the best, plumpest, most well cleaned oyster that we ever ate! The local Samish Bay oyster sat atop a bed of frosty rocks encased in a tiny wooden box. We also received a small wooden board with three grilled items, including a miniature carrot.

The wait staff seats the patrons of each table individually, and the food delivery begins shortly thereafter. The method to the seating remains a mystery. Although the server seated us last, we received one of the best tables in the restaurant, located at the front corner of the dining room in front of the windows that provided a view of the second-most amazing sunset that we have seen! (Perhaps the earlier that you reserve, the better your assigned table?) Honestly, the dining room contains only favorable tables. Even the tables at the rear of the room open onto the kitchen, which provides its own show if you like to watch the chefs at work. All staff members work together, so many different people wait on you throughout the evening. A staff member delivers a dish to each table individually, and he thoroughly describes what he offers. Sometimes the servers vary the order of the dishes that they deliver based on the table.

The food served at the Willows Inn supports island traditions and locally sourced ingredients in the farm-to-table style, such as fish caught nearby, seaweed gathered from the beach, and berries picked from a neighboring field. Our prix-fixe blind tasting dinner was phenomenal, although the ingredients and the presentation may not appeal to everyone. To accompany our food, we ordered one juice pairing and one wine pairing. The staff was generous when they served the wine. They used one bottle per table, and they allowed the bottle to remain on the table in case guests wanted another taste. The juices were amazing, with flavors such as sorrel, Juneberry, and elderflower.

Chef Blaine Wetzel grew up in Washington state, and he began working in a professional kitchen at the age of 14. His most notable training occurred at Rene Redzepi’s Noma in Copenhagen. (Experts claim that Noma is the best restaurant in the world.) Chef has garnered many awards for the Willows Inn over the past few years. In 2011, the New York Times declared the Willows Inn to be one of ten restaurants in the world that are worth a plane ride. In 2012, “Food & Wine” magazine listed Chef Wetzel as the best new chef of the year. In 2013, Chef became a James Beard Award finalist, and in 2014, he won the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year.

Our stay and our meal at the Willows Inn was fantastic! We have wanted to visit Lummi Island since we first read about the Inn, so we built our entire trip to the Pacific Northwest around our meal and stay at the Willows. It was as amazing as we dreamed!