The Coachman Inn, See Why It Has Been Voted "Best of Whidbey"

It was freezing cold, dark, foggy and pouring rain. We were supposed to have arrived before 5:00 pm so that we could put our dogs in the kennel and get checked in to our hotel, The Coachman Inn. But, because we'd spent several hours at the Ford dealership in Oregon that morning getting the truck fixed, it was well past 5:00 pm (the time the kennel closed) when we finally made it to Oak Harbor, our new town and where The Coachman Inn is located.

Although the Coachman Inn allowed dogs, the suite we had reserved did not (which was why we had planned to arrive before 5:00).

When we finally arrived I told the desk clerk that we had our two big dogs with us and asked if they could come in to the suite. As expected, the answer was no... Not expected however was the fact that the Coachman Inn offered to put us in a different room for our first night, a room that did allow dogs! I had been so worried that the dogs were going to have to sleep in the truck and it was so cold outside.

After a very rough day on the road these folks were so incredibly welcoming. We knew we weren't in California any longer!

They gave us the room keys for our new room and off we headed through the parking lot.

Our room was absolutely gorgeous! Two beds plus a couch that turned into a bed, and plenty of floor space for our dogs and their beds. Plus a kitchenette with dishes, glasses, silverware, refrigerator and microwave. The Coachman Inn certainly knows what guests want and need for a pleasant stay.

We got ourselves and the dogs comfortably ensconced in the room and then called the front desk asking for bedding for the couchbed and did they have room service. They had the bedding to us lickety-split but no they did not have room service however, the restaurant located right there in the same parking lot (the Islander's Restaurant) would deliver to our room, at no extra charge! This was getting better and better.

Our food arrived, we ate, watched a bit of TV and then settled down for the night.

The next morning we took our dogs over to the kennel and then went back to the Coachman Inn and swapped rooms, so that now we were in our two bedroom suite. I wouldn't have believed that our suite could have been any more beautiful than the room we had the night before but I was wrong. We had a full kitchen, full living room with a couch that turned into a bed, our own private balcony, two private bedrooms, two full baths (one with a jacuzzi bathtub) and a laundry room with a full-size washer and dryer. Oh yes, there was also a sitting room or foyer (in addition to the full-size living room), and a full-size dining table!

Each bedroom had its own heater as did the living room, and each bedroom had its own TV as did the living room! We were in HEAVEN! There were a few light bulbs out, but no sooner had we hung up the phone asking for bulb replacements was the Coachman Inn manager at the door with bulbs in hand. :)

We even had our own parking space, no one else was allowed to park there! And right next to our suite was an alcove with vending machines and ice (but there was NO noise, these walls were VERY well insulated :).

There was a continental breakfast every morning, although I have to admit that if there was anything disappointing about The Coachman Inn it was the continental breakfast. Fortunately there was that restaurant right there and the food was good so we ate breakfast there every morning. :)

We ended up having to extend our stay longer than we had originally planned at the Coachman Inn because our house wasn't ready for us yet and unfortunately the suite we were staying in had been booked by someone else for the night after we were supposed to originally leave. So we had to move to a set of connecting rooms for one night. Again, beautiful rooms, kitchenette, refrigerator, microwave, etc.

Unfortunately someone had smoked in there the night before and I have asthma and soon was beginning to suffer an attack. We notified the front desk and right away they were there with a smoke-eater/air cleaner. We kept it plugged in and running all night and it did the trick. :)

Next afternoon we got to move back to our suite but the front desk warned us, the people who had stayed in there the night before had cooked fish for breakfast and it stunk like you wouldn't believe. What made it even worse for us is we don't eat fish, can't stand the smell of fish, ick! We opened all the windows, and the front desk brought us the smoke-eater/air cleaner along with a couple bottles of Febreze and we were happy campers. :)

We lived in our suite at the Coachman Inn for a little over a week. We enrolled the kids in school and there was ample space for breakfast every morning and plenty of room for the kids backpacks, books, computers, homework space, etc.

Although we were excited to be able to move into our house once it was ready, I was very sad to leave the Coachman Inn. The employees were the nicest hotel folk we'd met through our entire trip (we stayed in 4 different hotels for our trip), they assured us that the kennel would take good care of our doggies, and they whole-heartedly welcomed us to town.

Although we didn't use them, there are three pools, one indoor and one outdoor, along with a separate jacuzzi outdoor. The place is decorated with lights through the trees and it was just a fantastical start to our new life here in Oak Harbor.

We do plan on spending a night or two in the other hotels here on the island so that we can give our input on how they are but so far I'd have to say that The Coachman Inn is THE place to stay when in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island Washington. :)

And if you need internet access no problem, they have wireless in every room. :) We were able to tend to our internet business and our kids were able to do their thing online. Everyone was happy (which doesn't happen very often ;)!