We've been coming Orcas for several decades and hadn't ever frequented the Orcas Hotel. That changed in February when the new owners upgraded the food and beverage service dramatically. Now it's our go-to spot as its south-facing outdoor deck overlooking the ferry dock can't be beat during these times where indoor dining is banned/discouraged. (And for winter, they have added wind protection and propane heaters). Our favorite is the New Mexican breakfast burrito (with bacon added). Big enough to split two ways. Also, make a great cup of coffee and always served with a smile (currently behind a mask, but you can tell!). We've also sampled some of their take-out dinner specials and have been impressed. This week's black cod was especially memorable. read more

THE HONEST TRUTH!! Starting with the online experience navigating their website was difficult, obviously they need a better Tech Guy. The descriptions of the room we're not accurate nor did they depict pictures that will show you how well the room is kept. Pictures on the website are how dated just like every brochure and coupon that comes with the room. When calling the orcas Hotel you can either get a friendly greeting from Doug who claims to be the owner or Elayta the nice girl who works the front desk every now and then and I say every now and then because she was not at the front desk for the majority of time that we stayed she was either helping out and they Cafe or in the kitchen. So after trying to maneuver through their horrible website I ended up calling because I figured it's worth a shot if you're going to be staying in a Historic Hotel close to the ferry terminal it's worth giving them a ring. When calling I got to speak with the person who claims to be the owner Doug and he gave me a description of the rooms after I explained I was unable to see the descriptions on their website After hearing the descriptions of the rooms I was pretty convinced that he sold me on the blind Bay room as he said it was one of his favorites. Soon as he charge me for the deposit on the rooms he quadruple charged me to the point where my bank locked my debit card because I thought there was someone making fraudulent attempts to use it. After I brought up the situation to Doug he was not available and because he lives close to the hotel the workers who answered the phone said he frequently goes home on his break I understand that but if there is shoes with payments or charges on a customer debit or credit card the owner who he claims to be should be available to handle that. I did not hear from Doug the owner until the next following day telling me that he "apologizes but he could not see why my bank was saying that he was trying to charge my debit card multiple times because his batch on his system did not show the transactions going through multiple times It only showed the transactions going through twice so he agreed to refund me from one of the transactions but then later on called me back and said yes " it was his fault he did something in the system which me the system charge my card multiple times for the room deposit. So please check your online banking or call your bank after booking any hotel just so you can make sure the hotel is not charging you correctly! So after Doug agreed to give me my refund for the extra charges he also offered to buy me and my guest dinner for a night. He also offered free breakfast every morning for me and my guest. Of course I told him he did not have to do that the only thing I was looking forward to getting my refund for the extra charges and that was that but he insisted and went ahead and granted me the coupon for dinner as well as the breakfast coupons for the four days we were staying there. So as I mentioned before Doug said the room that we were staying in the Blind Bay had a bathroom, he never explained that the room has a half bathroom with just a toilet and a clogged sink. The shower for the guest who stay in that room is located separately in the hallway and is shared with other guests who do not have a shower. The bathroom with a shower that is shared does not have an accessible shower it has a locker room shower for a single person who may be a child size to fit in and slip right out. Which makes it uncomfortable for anyone who uses an assistive device in a shower after being specifically told that they would be able to use it in their shower. Another thing that I have to say about that bathroom is that it has a chewed out rat hole right underneath the shower which made it uncomfortable and very gross for anyone to even want to shower in there regardless of if the bathroom was clean or not it's just very unsightly and it should have been maintenanced. So three out of the four days that we were staying there we had to go over to Friday Harbor to a family member's home to use their shower because the shower that we paid for obviously was not accessible at all. The room was very beautiful with an open view of the market area gift shop and ferry terminal and Waterfront. Waking up to the beautiful scene for three days it was absolutely lovely. Well we stayed in the room we did have to request for extra towels as well as a request for someone to fix our clogged sink in the bathroom the request was never fulfilled, the sink stayed clogged until we checked out of the room as well as the cable not working while we were there and constantly saying that it has no signal on the television or the television just not working at all. After dealing with these constant issues that were not being addressed I did decide to call Doug who did not return any of my phone calls Checking us in was abrey with Alita at the front desk checking us in. read more

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A seriously delightful spot to take in gorgeous views, enjoy a beverage, indulge in next-level treats (the donut holes are unreal), and it's a stone's throw away from the ferry. We were praying there would be a place to hangout after we missed our first ferry, and we were enjoying ourselves so much here that the next ferry came too soon! Bonus points: the staff members were so charming and funny. A perfect end to a perfect day. read more

Ate three meals with the family over three days and all were fantastic. Good efficient service each time. Tried 9 different dishes. The fish and chips are truly stellar, better than any I have had in Seattle. Fresh thick hand cut pieces with an incredible crunchy batterwith good tartar sauce. The chicken tikka burrito was smokey, flavorful and perfectly balanced with chiles. Monday night whole fried vietnamese style fish was excellent. Summer bowl with quinoa, brussel sprouts and squash was perfectly charred and rich in salt and flavor. Oatmeal raisin cookie was fruit and chocolate filled and perfectly chewy. Generous portions and great value. This is really good eating! read more

I only had the pleasure of breakfast both days of my stay, but would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a quick and tasty breakfast! The sausage croissants are delicious and HUGE! Also enjoyed a raspberry white mocha and regular white mocha. read more

Amazing view and we had quick service for a big group! We were lucky enough to beat the long line before the lunch rush. Great place for a bite to eat when you're waiting for your ferry! I ordered the salmon sandwich which came with a very dry Caesar salad. The salmon was DELICIOUS though, definitely recommend! We ordered a few coffees which were exactly what we wanted and tasted great. A few of us ordered fish and chips which they all enjoyed, there were no leftovers! read more

Orcas Hotel - Salmon sandwich - Hotels Near Me - Orcas, Washington

Amazing fish and chips and grilled cheese with tomato soup. We ordered for pick-up because of COVID and the staff was very friendly, they even gave us an extra large soup at no charge with a friendly note on top :) will be coming back here on our next visit to Orcas read more

When you get past the building is 100 years old, you find friendly people on every level. The food was exceptional. From the clam chowder to the salads to the smoked brisket. There was island made ice cream to boot! I was going to give 4 stars just because there was construction above our room during the day, but after mentioning the noise to the staff I'm an email, just an hour later the sent up a fabulous dinner. Which we ate on our deck overlooking the harbor. Even if you don't stay at the hotel, drop in for a meal. The food is prepared with perfection. read more

Wife sat down there to have a tea and some waffle fries and had the gall to have a bag next to her from another restaurant that had left over soup in it. Owner came by and screamed at her for daring to sneak food in from another restaurant and that he ought to call the police on her for taking space up in his cafe. Mind you, she wasn't eating the soup; she was eating the waffle fries and tea she bought at the cafe. The soup was just on the corner of her table and she was there just for a few minutes before he came over to scream at her. This is a place to avoid, at all costs. Go to just about anywhere else on the island. This place is the worst with a racist owner/staff that has absolutely no respect for customers. read more

This place is out of this world amazing!!!! The food knocked our socks off the patio overlooking the ferry and Shaw Island is wonderful. The food though, wow wow wow, it's just incredible. read more

I like this place, and I like rustic out of the way places that are friendly, unusual and interesting. The warm fireplace in the restaurant side, with a drink in hand and a soft place on the old old couch is just perfect for me. read more

We ordered online and the food was ready for pickup in 20 minutes. Really impressed by their Mexican options, the chicken burrito was our favorite! They recently upgraded their outdoor seating area since indoor dining is closed due to covid. You get a nice view of the ferries coming in and out. Really happy with the friendly service too- you get in an out quick. read more

Nice enough service for a cafe. Amazing view. But we ordered the fish and chips and that batter has got to be the saltiest batter for fish and chips I have EVER had. But the batter was nice and crisp and you could tell they were cooked in clean (not overused) oil. read more

The new owners are offering takeout and I was very happy with my Orcas burger today. Happy!

Friendly staff, beautiful view, & a great variety of high quality food! The new owners/staff of the hotel & cafe are doing a wonderful job of restoring and renewing this historic hotel. We enjoyed our Taco Tuesday meal and drinks so much we had to come back and try the donuts the next morning - so good!! A must stop when visiting Orcas island. read more

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We tried a lot of their breakfast menu including breakfast burrito, beignets, fish and chips and hot chocolate. We also had catering which was amazing. One of our new favorite spots! Highly recommend!!! read more

Not bad! A little pricey for basic Americana, but the food was all good. The girls working the counter were very sweet and friendly. We actually ate here twice in a day, cause we were hungry again after sailing, and it was just as good. Combined we all had, the burger, salmon filet sandwich, coconut prawns, fish and chips, and chowder. All of it was good! read more

Orcas Hotel - Coconut prawns! - Hotels Near Me - Orcas, Washington

The view from the Killebrew room was nice...but that would be the only thing nice about this hotel. The rooms are old, dated, and in poor condition. Chairs with lumpy cushions, sticky doors, place is dirty and dusty. Our toilet paper was just sitting on the window sill...I had to fix the toilet paper holder. Mirror was coated with a layer of black dust for the dresser in the room. We had a jacuzzi tub in our bathroom but the knobs to control the jets are broken off. We had 3 rooms total and one the smoke detectors was missing the cover... The check in staff was nice, but then around 9pm we got a strange phone call from the staff asking if we were authorized to be in the room since they did not have a record of it. Um....you handed us the key and we paid so yes...maybe better book keeping would prevent these rude phone calls. Then in the morning, I asked about the walk on ferry to Friday Harbor and got a smart ass response from the overweight guy at the desk. Yes, I'm aware there's no escalator to the ferry.... I was asking where to walk on since the area to get on with cars is behind the hotel. Orcas Hotel needs to work on hospitality. I understand there's history to the hotel...but history shouldn't be equated to this place being run down and neglected. Stay somewhere else if you can....this was our only option unfortunately since we had a group of 9. I guess there's a reason why they were the only place left with vacancies.... read more

We order "take-out" from the Orcas Hotel Cafe several times a month and have never been disappointed. Their weekly specials are very creative and every meal has been so good. Our favorite entrees are the beef barbacoa quesadilla, orcas cheeseburger (with avocado and bacon), and fish and chips. On Sundays we look forward to the best chicken pot pie ever. Their daily specials are creative and always good. I'm really surprised to see some of the poor reviews here because our experiences have been consistently excellent. I highly recommend the Orcas Hotel Cafe. read more

I just got the most spicey hot chicken burrito - at the cafe. Egads. My mouth is burning. I can't eat it. I am originally from Texas, I know how a burrito should taste. This isn't it. Beware. read more

This is truly like staying in an 1880s boarding house, with all the charm of a Jacob Riis photo of NYC cold water tenements with eight immigrants per bunk. First impression: the entry hall and stairway carpets were not just dirty, they were filthy, as is perhaps 10 years of heavy traffic and never been cleaned dirty. Bedroom carpet looked like 8 years of sloppy guest wear and tear. Room 9 had a private bath, with the toilet raised on a platform 12" above the rest of the V shaped closet. This actually gets tricky in the middle of the night if you don't turn on the lights. Shower down the hall. They ran out of individual shampoo bottles, so they offered each guest 2 conditioners. Pillows standard issue single block of hard foam. Mattress made with real, internal springs that you could feel as you lay down. The mattress wasn't bad, it just was so old school that we laughed about it. From the looks of the counters and customer tables general filth, I wouldn't go near the dinning service for breakfast nor dinner. You read a lot of these reviews and you realize quickly that the author is a germaphobe or has some other pet peeve. You need to trust me when I say, that's not me. I have never used the word "filth" before in a review, but it was warranted here. This place was just dirty and bad with a desultory staff. read more

Have you ever had a grilled cheese where the cheese wasn't melted and the bread wasn't toasted? If you're into that sort of thing this is the spot for you. I didn't know it was possible to mess up a grilled cheese but they managed to do it...and for $10+ at that. Tip: If you're early to the ferry and hungry, save your money...the cafeteria food on the ferry will be better;) read more

LOVED this small, intimate & cozy hotel! You have to stay here when visiting Orcas Island! First of all the staff are all SUPER nice & helpful and are so attentive to what you want or may need. They tell you everything you may need to know (breakfast times, locations, where to find anything you may need, etc). We loved it here, sure it's small and the walls are thin and it's not a resort but the perks are WAY bigger: the view is 100% AMAZING, the food in their restaurant downstairs "Octavios" is 5 star, the breakfast is SO much better than a resort that gives you Costco meals, and the staff are available anytime to make your stay on just at the hotel but o the island so much better! I'm glad we stayed here, and will be back many more times! Most of the rooms you have to share a bathroom, or you can ask for a room with your own bathroom. If you stay in rooms 14 or 15 you get a jacuzzi and balcony and in the summers this is a super great idea to book! Don't know if there is wifi here, we weren't really concerned about that as we used our data plans. Parking is conveniently outside and the hotel is situated 2 steps away from the ferry! read more

Hit or miss. Burgers and fish and chips were good. Rainbow trout special, not so much. And everything is just so expensive now.

The first time I go they made my Burger raw and the next time I went I said try not to make it raw and they charred the burger and bun don't get the burger read more

This place is great! The rooms are really cute and some have amazing views. The cafe and the restaurant Octavia's were both delicious! The staff is really friendly as well. The only complaint I have is that our room was above the cafe. And on Sundays they serve breakfast as early as 6-7am so it was hard to sleep in! But their free breakfast (offered with a room) totally made up for it. I look forward to planning another trip to this destination. read more

This review is for the Orcas Hotel Cafe, which we mistakenly thought was Octavia's even though it clearly says Orcas Hotel Cafe on the door. Octavia's, I found out later while searching for the restroom, is on the opposite side of the hotel. The cafe is counter service only and seems to serve similar food as Octavia's though in a more casual setting. Chris had the Orcas burger with waffle fries, and he said it was very good though I thought the fries could have been hotter. I had the salmon cake on a bed of greens, which was really good. Just a note without going into too much detail, if you have stomach issues with restaurant salad greens, skip the salad here. Enough said. We got a cranberry oatmeal cookie to go and, to be kind, it was very healthy tasting. Kinda like sugared sawdust, but in a good way. One of the few places in Orcas Landing to grab food before/after the ferry and well worth the stop. read more

A very nice place to have a decent coffee or breakfast/lunch before going off to watch the whales or take the ferry. We specially liked the two ladies that we're serving us both days. Making a nice chat and making you feel really welcome. (Note: I'm not a native speaker. Please excuse all grammar and spelling mistakes). read more

My husband and I stayed here for one night. We splurged and reserved the Killebrew Lake room for the jacuzzi tub and balcony. The website doesn't mention that the balcony is not private. There is a public access point to the side. After we checked in, we observed several children running around directly in front of our room on the balcony. Not cool. The deck furniture were also dirty. The carpet/furnishings in the room were more worn and dirty looking than online pictures suggest. The room came with TV but we could only access religious/home shopping channels and some infomercial for the Carol Burnett Show box set. Totally weird. What's the point of having a TV? No one wants to watch that crap. Ferry noise wasn't an issue because the ferries don't run late at night. Overall, I thought the room was overpriced. Definitely not a "splurge experience" for what I consider to be a lot of money for a hotel room. I wouldn't stay here again. read more

The Good: The location of the hotel is right across from the ferry terminal which is very convenient. At night it is very quiet. You can hear a pin drop. Their coffee stand downstairs is great. I enjoyed my iced vanilla latte very much. And driving into the main town isn't too far away. The Bad: My friends and I booked the top floor of this hotel through Airbnb. It is listed as: "The Orcas Hotel built in 1904, has four rooms on the third floor, two with full baths, one with a toilet and sink and one with the bath across the hall. Rent all four rooms, four queen beds and two twin beds." We had several issues with this place. First off, it was a warm day and the rooms were really stuffy. Some of the windows had screens and lots did not. With mosquitoes and bees flying around it would have been nice if all the windows had screens. I also see from other guests that there were fans. It would have been nice if the fans were offered or put in the room. We would have asked someone but by the time we got back from dinner, we couldn't find anyone downstairs to ask. Second was that since it was stuffy and cause we thought we had the entire floor, we had our doors left opened. But, we had a couple of people running through what was supposed to be a private floor. A random stranger from the second floor came up looking at movies and books. He just sat down in a chair and started reading. We had to go ask about it if we had read it wrong. She said no and they ended up putting a chair with a sign on it. Even after the chair and sign was put up, A couple of guys came through and one came from the outside and down the stairs. We think they were staff but we're not sure. Good thing we had closed and locked each of our doors. Overall, I think if you rent out saying it's the entire floor then there shouldn't be any staff or other guests going through. And if the staff needed they should have mentioned that when we checked in so we had a heads up. The hotel does needs some updates and for the price I think there are better places. I would not have paid this much for the experience I got even for the "entire" floor. read more

Ordered 4 breakfast sandwiches 25 mins prior to the 8:50 ferry. At 8:45 I asked the servers where my meals were and they acted clueless as to what we had ordered. We left as we did not want to miss the ferry. I called to request a refund of the $40 that I spent on the meals and there was no apology for taking so long and no offer to refund my money. If this business is going to cater to people who are obviously on a time schedule, the model that they currently use does not meet the needs of their customers. Also, we reported to the servers that there was a large water spill on the floor and they did nothing to clean it up. I would think that customer safety would be especially important to the proprietor - perhaps his staff needs some "Nordstrom-type" training. We won't be back. read more

Service was the worst I've ever experienced. After 45mins, checked in to see if we could get it boxed up because the ferry was due. They proceeded to tell us that we were the next in line for the next 30 minutes (ferry was running late)and call out orders for people who walked in only 15minutes prior. The fish and chips were good but I'd ordered a salad instead of fries and it seemed par for the course they'd messed up the order along with the burger order for my son (they did replace that but not before requesting that we scrape off the mayo we asked them not to put on it). Will NEVER go here again. read more

The stuff are very friendly. They took my reservation right in the same day of my arrival. I lived on the top floor. A black woman helped me to clean my room from the previous guest. And she adviced me how to use the key and the shared bathroom:) read more

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So I stayed here with my SO for two nights... In the middle of winter. I LOVE coasting trips in winter, the only way they could get better is when I have my own tops'l schooner and can do them right proper coastwise sailing. But anyway--this hotel is beautiful and romantic and exceptionally cheap in winter, with complimentary breakfasts which are actually quite filling and involve real food. And a free latte of any size--go quad shots! Downside was an unsecured creaking door which kept me awake (I'm hypersensitive to noise), but I just jammed it shut with a lawn chair and nobody cared, it was to a balcony nobody would be using during a winter storm anyway. It's mostly European Style so without bathrooms/showers in the rooms, but that was comfortable enough and never got overcrowded in the showers or bathroom... in winter. I'd want a room with both inside of it in summer though when the island is packed. They're very responsive, though, turned the heat down for us when we asked and then let a portable heater in the room so we could control it ourselves as it overheated otherwise, and it's charmingly romantic and in tune with the sailings of the ferries. What more could you want in the San Juans? read more

Service was friendly but the food wasn't that good and way over priced and the menu was small. The room itself was very outdated and we were afraid to sit on the furniture due to the fact it was falling apart. There were an unbeilavable amount of flies in our room many of which were dead an scattered on the floor. The walls were paper thin and it was hard to sleep. We could hear everyone's conversations. Our bed was very old with metal springs that were too loud. I would not recommend this hotel to any of my friends. 200 dollars on a room that should have been 60 per night. read more

With COVID the dining room is closed, but there is plenty of space to sit on their patio picnic tables or there are a number of 2-person tables wrapped around the hotel. My husband's fish and chips were as good as they get, large chunks of fish in a beautiful batter! Perfectly cooked. We tried a couple other places on the island for fish and chips (even the fish/oyster market) and this was leaps and bounds better. My Farmer's salad was simple but with extremely fresh and beautiful ingredients. Our coffees - an Americano and Latte - were perfect. Coffee in the north west has proved pretty bitter requiring a great deal of cream and milk - we were SO surprised how good the coffee was here with very little. An extremely pleasant surprise! Highly recommend before or after you get on the ferry. read more

This place has been under new ownership for several months and the changes they have made are incredible. Food is delicious and staff is very friendly. I have tried many items (veggie harvest bowl, burrito, fish and chips, salad, specials) everything has been so good that I have a hard time deciding what to order when I visit. read more

Once more, I found myself stuck waiting around for a ferry on a Sunday , with the Orcas Hotel Café as my only practical choice for dinner. On this visit, I found things to be much improved. The service was still grudging, but the food was noticeably better. The baked goods were particularly good; my daughter had a raspberry scone that was really tasty. My wife's sandwich came with a surprisingly good house made blackberry BBQ sauce. The evil clam chowder from my previous visit was nowhere to be seen. read more

We stopped by midday Wednesday for lunch and were pleasantly surprised with the food. We had a burger and fish & chips. Both were delicious. Service was great! read more

Just returned from Orcas hotel. Please take the time to visit and stay. Our visit was like being in a story book. Seeing the hotel as we arrived from the ferry, then being greeted by the friendly staff, made us feel immediately welcome. Our room was cozy and comfortable. We had a room on the front of the hotel so we had amazing views. We ate often in the cafe and had dinner in the dining room a couple of nights and, folks, let me tell you, it was incredible. I like to think my husband and I are foodies and are tummies were completely satisfied with the choices and the food/wine/cocktails that were served. Wait, those cocktails!!! Kyle is the MASTER. Let me tell you, you will not be disappointed if you choose to stay the Orcas Hotel. You will leave and wonder, "when can we come back?" Thank you to John, Quinn, Kyle, Jacob, Man, and all the other beautiful people that make up Orcas Hotel. read more