Prepared by innkeeper and chef Stephen Nogel while guests look on and learn, meals at the Inn at Langley are a sort of mini-gourmet cooking class as well. Since the inn is built into a bluff overlooking Saratoga Passage on Whidbey Island, water is central to Langley's relaxing atmosphere. Each guest room offers a 180-degree waterway view. A private porch provides the perfect opportunity to sit and watch the sunrise over the Cascade Mountains, cup of coffee in hand and awe in check. The Inn at Ludlow Bay sits on the eastern shores of Olympic National Park and is designed to bring the coastal estates of Maine to mind with its weathered cedar shingles, clapboard siding and wraparound porch with rocking chairs.
Meals are exceptional here, and are augmented by a cozy fireside bar and wine-tasting room.
Basically, it's tops. Plan to stay awhile. I used to be self-employed so it always felt so hard to really get away. But that's what you do there. Cheryl Murfin Bond is a Seattle-based freelance writer.