Bird Rock Hotel

Beautiful and serene hotel on San Juan Island. We can’t recommend it enough! We had a studio for the weekend and it was perfect! Great amenities and very charming. Friendly staff. Very clean and peaceful.

On a last minute trip to Friday Harbor I was able to get a room at the Bird Rock and was very pleased with my room, the service, amenities, and location. Even though I had one of the rooms with shared bathrooms, I think I had to wait only once for a few minutes to use a bathroom. I had access to a shared balcony with a semi-​private seating area for my room, which was very nice. The room was small, but comfy and cozy. Breakfast is included (which I always appreciate). Parking was easy (I snagged a 4 or 5 hour spot, which worked perfectly with my schedule). Service was great. I decided to extend my stay one night, but they didn’t have availability and helped me book a room at their sister property Earthbox. I also had a problem operating the TV late at night and the clerk promptly resolved the problem. BTW — I preferred Bird Rock — less expensive, free breakfast, and better cable.

Loved the Bird Rock!
My husband and I needed to recharge our batteries and get away from the city for at least 24hrs. The San Juan room at the hotel gave us that opportunity.
The room was cute and cozy, I loved the aerated tub and it was great to have the mini-​kitchen in the room as well as the private deck with a great view of the harbor.
Our only issue was the height of the beam in the room and the height of the shower heads in the walk-​in shower. My hubby is 6’10″ and bumped his head a few times on the beam and he had to pretty much kneel in the shower.
We’ll stay here again in the future.

The hotel is so cute and in a great location! Right in the middle of town, so it’s perfect even if you don’t bring a car over on the ferry. My boyfriend and I stayed in a small room with a balcony and it was so pretty in the mornings with all the sunlight streaming in. We loved the comfy bed, big tv for watching movies, and the cozy robes they provide for you. The bathrooms are down the hall (except for a few rooms that have their own), but they are so nice. Heated floors, high-​quality soaps, shampoos, etc provided for you in the shower, and not to mention an amazing view of the harbor out one of the bathroom’s shower windows.
The breakfast was amazing — simple but really delicious. The service and staff are great as well, very friendly and happy to help (even with a weird request such as «can you keep our leftovers in the fridge» — they were happy to oblige).
The only downside to the hotel is that it can be loud on weekend nights. We had a group of people who had come from the bars stand outside our window and yell for about an hour at 2 am. The hotel provides ear plugs but it was still pretty annoying. Of course this isn’t their fault, just something to be aware of if you’re a light sleeper or have a baby. You could ask to stay in a room off the street, as only one side is facing the street.
There isn’t off-​street parking right near the hotel (you can park at their sister hotel a few blocks away). But we parked in the street parking right across the street and had no problems.
Our weekend at the Bird Rock was great! The San Juans are beautiful, the harbor is cute, and the Bird Rock is the perfect, charming place to call home while you’re visiting.

Solid 3.5. I have it a 4 b/​c the negative is not something that the hotel can really control, but thought I would point it out for other visitors.
This hotel is cute and clean and the staff was friendly and helpful. Here’s the problem with this place though… its LOUD. And not just noise from the street from people walking home from the bar… the room we stayed at was right above the service area for the grocery store next door. And beginning around oh…5am or even earlier, we could hear EVERY aspect of the morning delivery. The trucks, the unloading, the delivery men (I could tell you their entire conversation). Closing the window is not an option as there is no air conditioning. My friend didn’t have much of a problem with this… he woke up, heard the noise and went right back to sleep. I on the other hand was wide awake even with the earplugs. So the few days I was there, I was sleep deprived. If you’re a light sleeper, be SURE to specifically request the rooms that do not overlook the delivery area of the grocery store, and you should be fine.

We felt the suite was a overpriced. The carpet was stained and there is no A/​C in the rooms, so hope for cooler weather when visiting the San Juan Island. It’s also right off the street and can be noisy at night hence the complimentary ear plugs in your room. The breakfast could definitely provide more variety. We stayed there 3 days and the 3 breakfast choices were exactly the same: hard boiled eggs, cranberry scones, toast, fruit and some very plain cereals. One of the most disappointing breakfast options of the inns we’ve stayed in. I read all the other breakfast reviews before posting this one and can only assume the guests who posted them must have not stayed in many inns that include breakfast.

Highly recommended. The staff was very helpful and kind. Our room did not have an attached bathroom which we thought might be a little weird but it was no problem at all.

If you want to cut some corners and save a little money, without loosing the quality, this is the place to stay! We stayed in one of the rooms with a shared bathroom so it was a little cheaper, but the rooms were very nice. The place has bikes you can use for free, and when we brought our own on a rainy day, they offered to put ours under the same tarp as their bikes. Everyone was very, very nice!
The breakfast was awesome. They had a huge bowl of fresh berries and melons, and the fresh baked scones were delicious. The only bummer is that our DirectTV wasn’t working. By the time it was fixed it was time to go to sleep, but that’s okay since we wouldn’t have watched it much anyway.
Some people in their Unilocal reviews said that they heard noise from the street. We didn’t notice, but then again we live in Seattle so probably wouldn’t notice. The hotel provides complimentary ear plugs in each room, probably as a response to some of the comments from others, but really, Friday Harbor is not a very noisy place.
This place was fabulous, I would definitely stay here again!

I must give this hotel 5 starts.
Let me start of my review by saying that I can’t remember the last time I slept so good (minus the morning noise, which whatever). We arrived Sunday in the late afternoon, I laid down to take a short «nap» and woke up the next morning at 7ish. That was a 12+ hour nap, best nap ever. The pillows were comfortable, the bed, the blanket, everything.
When we arrived we were given a tour and it was then that I realized that we didn’t have our own bathrooms! WHAT! I initially thought this would be a problem but it honestly wasn’t. We stayed in the Matia room, and for low price we got, it was well worth sharing the bathrooms with other guests.
I love the free bikes and I love that the hotel was in the center of everything. Our favorite thing to do while at the hotel was to sit outside on the patio and watch the sunset. I loved this place.
TIP — for a great restaurant walk on over to Mikes, which is literally 2 minutes away walking distance. Great food.

I am currently in my room here, and I never want to leave. We are considering «missing» our ferry tomorrow and staying an extra night. It feels like a mini, cozy apartment that is letting us escape from reality. The robes are plush and so comfortable. The staff was over the top helpful, and I am so looking forward to breakfast in the morning. We are going to make this a regular trip, and definitely a regular stay. I AM IN LOVE.
Update: I’ve now gotten back to Spokane from my trip, and I’m longing for the bird rock. The breakfast was worth the wait — absolutely the best continental breakfast I’ve ever had. Gluten free options, and delicious scones. The front desk lady — I wish I knew her name — was so helpful and sweet and made even the check out a good experience.
I miss you bird rock, I can’t wait to come back this summer.

The Bird Rock Hotel is hands down the best place to stay in Friday Harbor. The attention to detail they give it unsurpassed. The staff greeted us upon our arrival and knew who we were and had us relax and have lemonade. Our room was chic yet comfortable. The bed was huge and had perfect linens. I sunk in and didn’t want to get out of bed! The location is perfect. It’s directly adjacent to the harbor (easy walk to the ferry) and to shops and restaurants. Breakfast is included and features fresh juice, coffee, eggs, toast, yogurt, cereal and home made scones. You can’t go wrong staying here!

This is my most favorite hotel I have ever stayed in, and it felt so much like a home that I had no problem taking it upon myself to go down to the free breakfast both mornings in my robe with no shoes. Just when I was completely charmed, I stepped out of my room in the afternoon only to find the entire place smelled like cookies and there were warm cookies and lemonade on the counter (in addition to the all day spread of coffee and tea).
The beds are amazingly comfortable. There are bikes you can take for a stroll that are complimentary. The staff was welcoming and friendly, and they proivded ear plugs because «the town can get a little noisy», but considering I sleep in Lower Queen Anne every night, I had no problems with the noise.
Will definintely return!

Really liked it.
Cozy — cute– classy.
Read the reviews about noise… So it didn’t bother me when we had a little.
It was still great.
Great customer service.
Great brunch. Perfect amount of choices. Fruit was fresh .
Coffee was delicious .
It was just so cute.
I would stay here again.

My husband and I stayed here for our anniversary. We loved it!!!
It’s very quaint and lovely. We stayed in the Orcas suite and were very pleased! The building is very old and historic. But the interior is totally updated and beautifully decorated! It was so comfortable and had such a «homey» feel which we found very refreshing!
The hotel provides earplugs, which I had actually read about in other reviews. Sleeping with the windows open during the summer in the middle of town, there was a little noise. It definitely wasn’t a big deal though! We would most definitely stay there again and would highly recommend it!

Bird Rock is a lovely place to stay. The rooms are modern and nice, with great towels and sheets, and amazing, large jacuzzi tubs. Most of the staff were quite friendly, though a couple were surly. We stayed on a Thursday and Friday night in the Lopez Suite at the end of July in 2013. I was afraid it would be extremely loud since it’s right off the main street in town, but we found we slept well with earplugs (which, I must add, we are used to do at home, living in the city).
The hotel claims to be eco-​friendly, but I didn’t see much of an effort, and it was disappointing. There’s no recycling in the rooms, and no common-​area recycling anywhere in sight (though the front desk will take recyclables from you if you ask).
The breakfast claims to be «gourmet’ but is far from it. The orange juice was frozen from concentrate in a can (I remember the flavor well from my childhood), and the nicest thing about the breakfast was the fresh baked scones, which were ruined by white chocolate chips. There were fresh berries, and Yami yogurt in single-​serve containers (with no way to recycle the plastic), and boiled eggs, cereal and toast as promised. But, there’s nothing about this breakfast that qualifies it as «gourmet continental».
It’d be nice if the hotel had a couple of newspapers to share in the morning.
We paid over $ 250/​night for our room, and I wouldn’t do it again anytime soon. I’d try another place in Friday Harbor first. That choice is mostly because of the price — the place is great overall.

Loved the fresh scones and cookies. Rooms and bathroom is very boutique. Claw foot tub! Wish the hot tub was on site. Great stay!

My husband I visited Bird Rock Hotel to celebrate our first anniversary. I had read rave reviews on Unilocal and other Seattleite blogs, and the hype did not disappoint. We drove happened to drive, but you could easily walk to the hotel which is a quick jaunt over from the ferry terminal.
The décor is warm and inviting, dark mahogany floors with soft grey and white walls and modernish furniture. We stayed in the ground floor Lopez room, spacious albeit an unusual floor plan, we had plenty of space for our weekend getaway and an incredibly comfortable bed. Previous Unilocal reviews I read had mentioned to «beware of the ground floor,» due to loud upstairs patrons, but we hardly heard a peep minus some action on the stairs which was above our bathroom — but it was only the bathroom where we heard noise, so not too bothersome.
The hotel is close to everything in town, although we never ate out for breakfast because the continental breakfast was BOMB! Homemade scones with fruit jam, hard boiled eggs, a selection of cereals, and plenty of fresh fruit. The second day we arrived to late and the scones were gone (so sad!) so get there on the early side!
Overall, a great stay, I’d definitely recommend to a friend.

What a lovely place to get away and rest awhile. My husband and I spent several days at the Bird Rock Hotel and enjoyed every second of it.
The highs:
1. The afternoon cookies!
2. The breakfast scones!
3. The view from our bedroom!
4. The double shower heads in our bathroom!
5. The tub in our bathroom!
6. The décor!
7. The cute little containers for the earplugs!
The lows:
1. Well… let’s just say they should purchase Charmin instead of Kirkland Signature toilet paper! ;-)
2. Having to use the earplugs (but they own up to this!)
We loved it! We will return! Amazing stay in the San Juan Room!

It was my first time on the San Juan Islands, hence, my first time in Friday Harbor. I stayed here on two separate nights, but on the same weekend (one night before and after a seakayaking/​camping trip)! Don’t think I could have picked a better place to stay! Upon arrival on Friday afternoon, I was greeted by Tory, who was an extremely friendly and nice guy! He gave me great recommendations on where to eat for lunch/​dinner and places to drink.
My highlights:
— Just a couple of blocks away from the ferry.
— Within walking distance from the grocery store, bank, restaurants and shopping
— WiFi and breakfast is included (they have dairy-​free AND gluten free yogurt!!! Dee-​lish!)
— They also have afternoon snacks that consists of delicious homemade strawberry lemonade and homemade cookies!
— There’s a bar right across the street so Friday night was pretty busy with a lot of folks out drinking but it was extremely quiet in my room (Skipjack)… go down the hall and poke your head out the window and you hear all the noise!
— Comfy bed and pillows! However, I did get a couple of bruises from the darned corners of the bed.
— Clean bathrooms
— They have bicycles you could use to get around, if you wanted to.
Overall, a very, very lovely and homey establishment AND it’s affordable. I will definitely be back to stay here when I return to the islands!

I have stayed at the Bird Rock Hotel twice and would do so again in a heart beat. This old hotel that has been updated through the years is such a pleasant place that I have recommended it to all of my friends.
The first time I stayed here we stayed at the Bainbridge suite with my parents and my boyfriend. It was absolutely fantastic. The price was perfect. The location was great. I could have stayed in the extra large aerated tub all weekend long! I had no problems with noise while we were there, and it was super cute, super quaint. We stayed in June and had a fantastic time.
Then we went back in March and stayed in their Salt Spring room. It was super cute, and super quaint with its own outdoor area which would have been super nice if it was warmer. I noticed the noise much more since we shared a hall with another room as well as another door that wasn’t labeled. But, at the same time, it was perfectly tolerable.
The Bird Rock Hotel is wonderfully located in Friday Harbor. The staff is pleasant and warm. The décor is comfortable and welcoming. I am absolutely thrilled with this place.