This was a great spot for me and my friend to stay while we visited the island for a wedding! We both love animals, gardening, and nature, so this was right up our alley. We loved that the kitchen and bathroom and living space were cozy and well-appointed, plus when it got hot in the upper barn, the AC was ready to help. The two beds were perfect for each of us, and the wifi was fast since there's spotty cell service. We didn't use their TV, but there was streaming options via Roku. We also enjoyed a short tour of the property, included for those staying on property. We didn't mind the geese honks at all hours, and the occasional pig grumbles, but keep it in mind (or bring ear plugs) for sleeping. The Writer's Loft (our unit) is a converted upper barn, so the stairs are a bit steep to access the room but was okay for our ability level. I would recommend having a bag that is easy to carry by hand (not roll) for a short walk from the parking area. I managed okay with my big checked suitcase, but next time I'll be more strategic. Overall, gorgeous location and lots of love put into taking care of the animals and historic land. P.S. I think things have improved in the last decade: there was shampoo/conditioner/body wash in the bathroom, nice cozy decor and soft bedding, and more than enough dish-ware and cooking tools. Plus, an AC unit and a Roku-powered TV. read more

See all

Don't think I would come again. Farm tours were ran by very nice people but it extremely overpriced and we were charged for people in the party who could not partake. read more

I stayed here on a weekend to attend a wedding on Orcas Island. I stayed at the Carriage Loft at the Farms. One queen bed, one single bed, and one day bed. It was around $180 dollars for 3 people. Verizon and AT&T reception was good! Pros: This place is gorgeous! They have alpacas! There are chickens, geese, and ducks! One of the greatest perks of being able to stay on this farm is that the owner has farm tours where she tells you the happenings around the farm. She's a very sweet lady who will talk your ear off if you're really interested. She's got information on farms and farming for days! Not that there are any really ugly parts to Orcas Island, but one of the other perks of staying at this farm was the surrounding area. In the morning, I would do runs around the farm area and the place is surrounded by woods and is close to a trail! The residential properties were very spread out, giving the surrounding area a really back country, small town feel. You were definitely not in Seattle. Potential Cons: The accommodations are very bare bones. There's a sleeping area, a kitchen, and a bathroom. We didn't bother to cook so I can't comment much on the durability of the kitchenware, but at least there is kitchenware for those who want to cook! The shower is standard, and the sink and toilet are clean. Make sure to bring your own toiletries and basically anything you want to use for hygiene, etc. on your trip if you stay here. When I said bare bones, I mean they literally give you a space, provide you with blankets and send you off. I came in with those expectations, so there were no surprises for me. They were very hands off when it came to checking in about how our accommodations were going, but that was completely fine with me. They didn't check up on us at all the entire weekend, but I felt like if I did have any sort of issue with our accommodations, I could knock next door and she would be responsive (the owners live on the property). Wireless was spotty. If you're looking to do some heavy internet browsing on your trip, you might not want to stay at these accommodations. I would say the wireless connection is comparable to a 56k modem. I used it mainly to check my email. I did not count this as much of a negative because if you're in Orcas Island, you shouldn't be doing much work ;) This place received 4 stars for me because I was very much a fan of the farm by the end of my stay. I liked how the owner was hands off, but receptive to our needs if we had any (e.g., she was very good with making payment arrangements prior to the trip). The place was beautiful and the farm gave me something fun and extra to do! What a great experience! This is place is family owned. I wouldn't expect a Four Seasons experience. read more

See all

In my opinion, it's pricey for what you get. I will admit that I'd never stayed on Orcas before, though, and would consider this place in the future after checking out other options first. Having a dog, we are limited with options so I appreciate that we had this one. Didn't get AT&T reception here, but they do offer a slow wi-fi connection. Pros: Beautiful farm. Clean and quiet. Comfortable bed. Lots of towels. Unique decor. You definitely feel that you are staying at a VRBO rather than a hotel or B&B with the hands-off experience and that was 100% fine with me! Downsides include thin enough walls that we heard the family above us due to their tired and crying children.That's not on the owner(s); Just important to note. Also, we paid a cleaning fee and dog fee, but were still asked to remove our own garbage and recycling and sweep the floors before we left. That was quick and easy for us, but a bit annoying. It rained most of our 3-day stay and we saw chickens, ducks, horses and goats. I was really hoping to spend time with alpacas, but I never saw any. Not a reason to opt out of this place, but others might care to know. All in all, an okay experience. read more

See all

As the other reviewer mentioned, you need to know what you are getting when you stay here. It is bare bones. I thought we were staying at a bed and breakfast. Turns out, it is just a bed, no breakfast (thank goodness for Mia's in Eastsound - great breakfast!). At first I was a little irritated. There is really not anyplace to put your luggage (they need luggage stands in the room we stayed in) and the rooms are small. BUT The room was adorably decorated, clean and the bed was comfortable. No luxury (or even matching) linens, but very comfy. Hosts are almost too hands-off, but they are working the farm, and having had a farmette of our own, I get that. They were about enough that the one issue I had was taken care of immediately. NOTE: You are expected to remove your own garbage or else pay a hefty fee. I found this to be ridiculous, but it wasn't difficult to do, just annoying. If they would have at least had a recycling bin, we'd have had almost nothing to remove. Yes, there are horses, alpacas, ducks, chickens, guinea hens, geese and goats. If you are from the city and want to see animals, this is a great place. We're used to these animals, so weren't looking for them specifically, but it was nice to have them around. It is good and quiet out there at night - great for sleeping! We were out each day all day, so it wa a good place for us to stay. I'd have liked a bit more service though. Another positive - they had a lovely bowl of fruit from the farm for us to nibble on in our room :) read more

My aunt and I had an incredible farm tour today. We hadn't booked anything in advance and Shawna was nice enough to agree to give us a tour with little notice. She obviously cares deeply for her work and has really accomplished a lot on land that has been farmed for over a century. We got fresh fruit which we enjoyed on the ferry on the way back to Friday Harbor. I'm day dreaming about making my way back in the future for a longer stay--in the spring so I can see the other end of the season on SUCH a gorgeous property. read more

After our attempt to see any horses failed, I told my boyfriend I wanted to see alpacas on our weekend getaway so off to Once in a Blue Moon Farm we went. Good thing the farm is...blue because otherwise we wouldn't have found it. When we got there, we wandered around wondering if it was open. We finally found a fence. 20 minutes before the tour started according to our book, this lady YELLED across the field to us that she didn't feel like giving the tour today. She said she already gave one earlier and didn't want to give another one because she would have to stop what she was doing. Um, then why do you offer a mid-day tour?! She told us to just walk around and look at the chickens and alpacas on our own. She also told us we should stay here next time. The place seemed a little messy...ok, maybe more than a little. The garden looked a little chaotic. It turned out we had to walk around and look at the alpacas from OUTSIDE the farm too. So um...why did I even come to this place?! Look: the staff was nice to us, but unwilling to give the tour. Maybe that's normal there?, but where I come from, its a very bizarre way to run a business. I'd have to say that this was the one low-point of our Orcas Island stay. read more

This location has atrocious customer service and should be avoided at all costs. We stayed here as a group of friends and paid for 3 rooms but only received 2 rooms from the owner, Shana. She made no effort to tell us of this in advance and we were stuck on her property without any other options for lodging as a large group from out of town. At our request for a refund or credit, Shana lost her temper and called our request 'comical'. After several irate emails and a phone call in which she yelled at us, our only option for a partial refund came at a cost - we would have to cancel future reservations that were made on a separate contract. Blackmail. The management is rude and unfriendly. The property has some appeal but this is not a welcoming place for guests. read more

Wonderful hospitality and amazing and thoughtful room. Would definitely stay here again.

My daughter and I were visiting family in the San Juan Islands and did a day trip to visit Once In A Blue Moon Farm. Sarah was our tour guide and it was amazing. The over 100 year old farm is magical. My daughter is 2 1/2 and enjoyed feeding the goats, chickens, ducks and alpacas. It was a perfect morning tour for little ones right before lunch and nap. read more

From the first email during booking to the most kind email after we left, Shana and Once in a Blue Moon Farm were amazing! My wife, two daughters (ages 5 and 3), and I were looking for a few day getaway in the San Juan Islands. I stumbled upon this farm looking at Google Maps and immediately read reviews. I was surprised to read the low reviews here, but found a breadth of other reviews elsewhere and decided to book a place based on what I thought our experience would be like. The experience was more than we could have ever expected. We arrived to the farm and Shana showed us where we would be staying - the Rock Rose Suite. It was a perfect setup for my family and situated right next to all of the goats. My kids love all animals and were thrilled to be next to the goats. We also ended up having a visitor to the farm stay close by too - a beautiful peacock. The suite was immaculate and there was even a wonderful chalkboard message welcoming each of us by name. Shana made us feel like family from the very beginning and she even welcomed us into her home when it was time to say goodbye. When we weren't exploring around Orcas Island, we were exploring around the farm. Shana showed us around a couple of times and we were also able to explore around ourselves whenever we wanted - always being respectful to the animals and the land. One evening, another family came to see the animals and Shana let the kids from both families feed the goats, chickens, and alpaca. The kids had so much fun and learned a lot. Like any good vacation, it was too short. We were sad to say goodbye to the suite, the beautiful sunsets from the porch, the animals, the land, and to Shana. Luckily, as we went looking for her to say goodbye, she welcomed us into her home and we got to meet her mother. We learned more of the history of the land and the animals. The farm is very special to them for many reasons and it shows everyday in the hard work they put into it - Shana and one of her sons run the entire farm with occasional help from friends when they can get it. After leaving, we came home to find the most kind email waiting for us from Shana. Just as we felt like part of the farm family from the beginning, she also felt like part of our family from the time we shared together. Thank you Shana for taking us in with open arms and letting us experience the magic that is Once in a Blue Moon Farm. It was an experience the four of us will remember forever! read more

This place should be avoided at all costs. Was hoping to spend 2 nights for a special weekend in the alpaca suite. The room was changed without my consent upon arrival. The suite we were put in instead had no curtains and privacy, no wifi or satellite tv as advertised and was horribly decorated and unclean. The people on the farm were very inhospitable and went out of there way to reprimand us about our dog in the suite (who we paid to have there and did no damage whatsoever) with a note taped on our door for us to find when we returned from our anniversary dinner (as well as a passive aggressive email I got to read when I finally had internet again). The entire trip, including the follow-up with them trying to come to an agreement about our dissatisfaction, has been rude, awful and not only did they ruin our anniversary, but our whole outlook on orcas island as it was our first time visiting. read more

After a frustrating search for a single night accommodation I found Blue Moon and the owner was willing to rent for one night. It took a few email exchanges to secure the room. Even afterwards, however, the owner upped the price from the web listing, told us use of the extra bed would be even more, and finally changed the room from the Garden studio to the Carriage loft to accommodate another customer. The loft is accessed by a VERY steep and narrow stairwell which would be impossible for anyone with knee or balance issues. Even though this had an additional bed it was so broken down no one of adult weight could use it. My daughter and I shared the queen bed and it was fine. The décor isn't usually very important to me but the room was outfitted with thrift store finds and lacked any thematic coherency. At this price I expected much better - at least shabby chic. There was a TV and media player which we didn't use. The bathroom was attractive and well stocked. Although the loft is well lit and had some nice views over the farm yard, only one window opened and after a hot summer day only placing the fan in the window made the room comfortable. There is a full kitchen with a small refrigerator (not large enough for a family for several days) but the cookware is hand me down and there are no staples provided. We made it work but we packed assuming we wouldn't have a kitchen. It would be awful to drag boxes or coolers up those stairs. We were also told if we didn't take our garbage with us there would be an additional fee. My daughter and I enjoyed walking around the farm, visiting with the animals, and sat for a pleasant time by the pond. Google maps brought us right to the farm which might have been tricky to find at all after dark. We were given permission to park near the house but most parking is a good walk away from the buildings. I think this could be a wonderful place to stay if the owners put some effort into making it a destination rather than an add-on to their farm business. The owners are friendly but aloof and a little conversation would go a long way to enriching the experience. Coming from CA I'm used to resorts charging a lot for accommodation but this was only worth the $200 a night because there was nothing else available a week before the Orcas trip. I now know to plan much further in advance. read more