The Orca Inn

I was in Friday Harbor for just one night and the Orca Inn fit the bill perfectly. It’s not far from the ferry dock, so it works well if you have a car or if you’re on foot.
Their micro-​rooms are just as advertised. Smaller rooms with just enough space for the bed, tv and microwave. The bed was quite comfortable.
If you want a spacious room to lounge in, look elsewhere, but if you just need a place to lay your head for the night, this is it. I enjoyed my stay and will be back.

This was the best priced place around. I didn’t expect much going into it and maybe that’s why I graciously give it so many stars. We got in late and checked out early. We just needed a place to rest our head for the night– literally.
I emphasize the shortness of the stay because of we had stayed any longer I would have had a terrible experience due to how small the rooms are. The bed takes up most of the space and it is very cramped.
The place has a small shower with its own water heater so you have to take a quick shower but wait 20 minutes or so and the next person can shower. The fan turns on with the light so being quiet at night is very difficult.
The bed is hard. The sheets are rough. The shower is to small if you weigh more than 175 lbs or taller than 6 foot. The walls are thin so you can hear everything outside your room. The tv is old. There isn’t a coffee pot in your room. The rooms don’t have enough plug ins for your cell phone.
I cannot stress this enough, if you are staying longer than a few hours, this is not the place for you unless you live in a cave. If you only want to stay a few hours it’s so much better than paying such crazy high process at other locations. We came in, took showers, went to bed, woke up and checked out and it was better than sleeping in the car that’s for sure.

Front desk clerk was rude and wouldn’t recommend anything local — off putting and cavalier attitude… maid unlocked our door and came in after we checked in for no apparent reason and didn’t knock first. Too bad they don’t have a better sense of how to treat tourists who are there to spend money.

We lucked into getting a double room even though we were looking for reservations late in the summer. We stayed on a Mon-​Tues-​Wed. Our room had 2 queen beds and since it appeared to be 2 rooms opened into one we had 2 bathrooms/​showers and 2 closets. The beds were very comfortable, and the room and bathrooms were clean. Despite disclaimers about finicky showers and spotty wifi, we had no problems at all. The fans (A/​C?) worked well to cool the rooms, and we had 2 hot days. We had some heavy luggage, not sure I would have wanted to walk from the ferry with the luggage, but definitely could walk into town. Staff was friendly, check in easy.
We’ll be back!

I knew going in from other reviews what to expect from the Orca Inn. It is no-​frills at a budget price. I had no problems with the room. It was clean and about right what I had anticipated about room space (it’s not huge, but you CAN move around). However, the shower doors did not close all the way; there are magnets on each side that are supposed to keep the shower door closed, but they failed miserably. Also, the bathroom door handle was barely attached. One minor quibble; one day I had put out the «Do Not Disturb» sign, hoping not to have the beds made, but they were anyway. The second (and third) day was fine, as they left my room alone.
It is less than a ten-​minute walk to town so you don’t really need your car to get around. I did not have an opportunity to meet the owners but the staff at the main desk were very friendly.
It was my first visit to Friday Harbor but definitely not my last. It is an interesting and charming seaside town and I enjoyed the restaurants and shops and I believe I could sit at the harbor for hours and be content!
Anyway, if you’re looking to not spend too much on a motel in town and don’t care about amenities, including room space, you’d be hard-​pressed to find a better value than the Orca Inn.

When we booked the room I knew it would be small, but when we arrived it was the smallest room I had ever booked. However, it was efficiency laid out and had everything we needed. The room wad clean and well kept. The staff was very pleasant and location was great. Very good choice to stay on the island without breaking the bank.

We stayed in a double room. It wasn’t too small at all! Clean, smelled nice. The two bathrooms were great. We were very satisfied!

3.5 stars. A friendly welcome with a cookie upon arrival after our ferry ride and short walk up to the inn.
My family of three had to get two rooms because the micro rooms were so small. The king suit was actually a decent size and we probably could had all stayed there with a portable bed but it was nice having my own room and space.
The rooms were clean and well kept. Some features were dated but functional, like the TV but I didn’t mind. There was a good selection of channels to choose from. The king suite had a full bath, DVD player and coffee maker. Both rooms had a TV, refrigerator and air conditioning.
Convenient, well stocked grocery store next door as well as a bakery, food co-​op, drive through coffee stand and café within a 2 minute walking distance if you don’t want to walk the 10 minute distance to downtown.
Lots of parking if you brought a car but it’s all pretty walk-​able or bus-​able (FH Transit Shuttle) on the island.
Two main cons: 1. the pillows were awful, they offered little support and were lumpy. 2. the walls were super thin, I could hear everything, my neighbors said or were doing.
I would return to this inn if all of my first choices were taken or too pricey. You get what you pay for and I was thankful for how clean the establishment was.

Rooms were very small but very clean and well worth what we paid for the night stay 60 $. Fridge, TV, and AC in room. Exactly what was expected.

Great place to stay. You get what you pay for, which isn’t a fancy hotel, but a clean, simple room. As a bonus, when I was there the front desk lady gave me homemade cookies!

It was interesting to see the sequence of events that unfolded when we went to check in on our prepaid reservation, which was in my name.
My wife, armed with our reservation number and my name, was not allowed to check in. She offered to go outside to get my ID, but was told that I would need to come in and «show my face». All of this created a needless and unwelcoming feeling at 10 PM.
Were they assuming that she had somehow guessed at the correct name and reservation number?
When I came in, I overheard the front desk staff state that «it has just been that kind of day with the guests» and that they were expecting problems from the guests in room 601. All of this came across as management that see their customers as inconveniences rather than guests. Maybe rather than blaming the guests, you could consider looking in the mirror at how you treat them?
The hotel itself is old and funky but not bad, until you consider the attitude of the management. If you read other reviews, you’ll notice a sarcastic and crass tone from the management, simultaneously being defensive and not making any attempt to acknowledge or improve on their failures while also attacking/​discrediting their paying customers.
I do not recommend this hotel and will not be back. If these front desk folks are the owners, you should consider another job. If not, I hope the owners help you better represent their fiduciary interests and business reputation.
If you’d like to review or discuss your side of the story, please contact me and I’d be happy to do so.

5 stars for friendliness, price, and convenience. We recently took a trip to Friday Harbor and got a later start than previously planned… so we looked into staying. Imagine my surprise to find The Orca Inn, priced around $ 60 – 70 in a town where a hotel will cost you $ 150 – 250 easily.
It’s about a 10 minute walk from the ferry. When we checked in, the hosts were incredibly friendly and gave us all kinds of tips on restaurants, which ones had live music that night, the best place to rent scooters, whale-​watch, you name it. They also have whale shaped sugar cookies for you when you check in/​out.
The rooms are nothing fancy, but all we needed was a comfy bed to lay our heads. If you’re looking for a swanky or romantic place to stay for the weekend, this probably won’t be your place. If you’re looking for a no-​frills, cheap place to crash for the night, end your search here.
**The $ 5 Unilocal deal offer is no longer valid and they’ve been trying to remove it for 2 years with no luck.

My husband and I stayed here for my birthday weekend and had a great experience. the rooms were nice and clean as well as the bathroom. The price was great and the staff was extremely friendly! Knowing it was my birthday weekend, they had balloons, treats and a card for me in my room, so nice!!! I highly recommend staying here.

Honestly, I don’t know why anyone would complain about this place. In a town where all the other accommodations are $ 100+ this was a GREAT find! Close enough to downtown if you are not afraid to walk and admire all the cute houses on the way. Less than a mile to the ferry, I would say. The room was small. So what, we wanted to unwind and watch some TV and go to sleep there. It was very clean (I have worked in a hotel, I know what to look for). The room had TV, WiFi, refrigerator, microwave, small desk and chair, comfortable bed and a bathroom. The window opened for fresh air. The woman at the front desk was really nice. There was fresh coffee at 8am. Thanks for a nice stay! We will be back.

Honestly, staying in your car and using the park facilities is better than staying here… my company paid 3 weeks for me to stay there, so it was not one off experience… and I got the best room… please do not stay here… donot be fooled by others, suggesting the price should tempt you or you are going to be out most of the day… if that’s the case, buy a tent and camp… if I have to point out every thing, I got to type 20 pages… just imagine everything you donot want in a hotel it’s here… by the was some regulatory agency should take away the name as, hotel, motel,…it’s not even a rest stop… it’s wooden trailer, your arm can reach both side of room, mattress is blocking the bath room door!
The handicap bathroom in bellagio casino in Vegas is bigger, brighter, cleaner, cooler, quitter, securer and you donot get rash from bed bug or giggers for weeks later… My blood pressure is rising now… just donot stay here, value your time in this island, across the street best western or even your car.

The price cant be best. You have ac, fridge, microwave, wifi… the workers are friendly. The rooms are older and smaller but for the price, the inn is great!

You cannot beat the price you will pay and the accommodations you get. Yes, the inn is older, so expect a «rustic» feel. If you’re looking for fancy or high class then suck it up and pay the $ 200 plus of the other hotels on the island. But the room is clean, you have wifi, you have a comfy bed, and you have ac. On top of all that, the people are very friendly.

It’s a great hotel especially for the price. It was around $ 85 a night. I do recommend you go for the larger room and not the smaller one ($ 65 a night). The smaller room is significantly smaller — enough room for the queen bed and maybe your luggage. It is centrally located — about 4 – 5 blocks (¾ miles) from the ferry. Its significantly cheaper than other hotels in the area and you really can’t beat the location. I gave if four stars because their WIFI is awful. Very bad. It is a great hotel and I typically wouldn’t take off one-​whole star for wifi except it advertises that it has wifi. shoo know? Ooh I feel baaaad.

Friendly staff, honest advertising and the cheapest accommodations in town. With the money you save you’ll be able to go on a whale watching excursion and get a nice dinner for two. Well worth it!

I don’t need to watch Gordon Ramsay’s «Hotel Hell.»
Sure, with this attitude, I’ll probably miss him calling someone a «donkey» or some other hotel related insult («Semen Bed?»). But it’s really unnecessary for me to watch. I don’t need to see this, because I’ve already lived through Hotel Hell.
While staying on San Juan Island, we decided it would be best to stay at the cheapest hotel on the entire island, The Orca Inn.
And that is where I completely overlap with Hotel Hell. I can guarantee you that just about every single hotel featured on the show will be the cheapest one in the area. I’m not even including like a Motel 6 in that equation, because even that is more expensive than what I endured.
When we checked in, the adequately friendly clerk was on the phone telling a former patron that even though they left early, they were still in the room for a while and therefore they were being charged for it. On the surface I thought this was just a situation where they stayed past check out time. In hindsight I now realize they checked in, saw the room and immediately left. But since they probably stepped in, the hotel management deemed it occupation and set the meter running.
I’m also assuming that there was an hourly meter, because well, this is a Hotel Hell sort of establishment like that.
When I first walked in the room, the only response I could muster was «Oh my.» The door opened and I looked into literally the smallest room I had ever seen. It did have a full size bed in it, but that compromised the majority of the room. My 5’11″ frame could nearly reach from one end of the room to the other.
Welcome to, welcome to hotel… HELL!!!
Thoughts immediately went to wondering if this place is mainly used by prostitutes, but I really didn’t know how active the prostitution community was on the island. What I did know was I needed to take drastic measures if I planned on getting through the night.
I couldn’t merely set fire to everything or go around in a «The Shining”-esque fashion, because that would be too expected of me. I just let out a brief sob and got out of there. At this point we cursed ourselves for not bringing our own sheets, blanket, bed and entire hotel room.
Welcome to, welcome to hotel… HELL!!!
Lumpy bed, limited internet connection (as in you could only access it if you stood in the smoking area), hard pillow, werewolves, this place had it all. Even a microwave. And I suppose that, combined with its relatively cheap price would qualify it as a two star establishment. But I still knew where I was.
Welcome to, welcome to hotel… HELL!!!
The one bit of solace I could take from the whole experience is that although it was totally a Bates Motel sort of setup, I knew we couldn’t be murdered to death in the shower, because there just wasn’t enough room for that to happen. The shower was one of those submarine showers that could only fit one person and a bucketful of STDs. Just try and Norman Bates me in there, it’s not going to happen.
Welcome to, welcome to hotel… HELL!!!
So Gordon Ramsay, I stayed in that room. I stayed in that Hotel Hell. If you encounter anything like what I went through, you are guaranteed to not make it through to your next FOX series.
Two stars for being cheap.