Why you should stay at Friday Harbor House on San Juan Island

As you arrive by ferry in Friday Harbor, you’ll see the iconic Friday Harbor House Hotel on the hill, ready to welcome guests. The hotel offers beautiful views of the harbor and is within walking distance to virtually everything to do in Friday Harbor. A cool connection I have to this hotel is that I actually grew up hearing about this hotel from my Nana because my grandparents loved to stay here while visiting the San Juan Islands, so being able to stay here too was really special. Friday Harbor House has become a staple for those who visit San Juan Island, whether it’s to stay or to grab a meal at The Restaurant at Friday Harbor House.

What are the rooms like at Friday Harbor House?

We stayed in a Harbor View room, and the views were stunning. I already knew we were going to have great views because of where the hotel is located, but our jaws dropped when we walked in and saw the windows overlooking the harbor with all the fall leaves changing. The Harbor View rooms are 440 square feet and are located on the second and third floors, blending generous comfort with sweeping views of the marina, ferry landing, and the San Juan Islands beyond. Each room features one king bed, a gas fireplace, a walk-in shower, and a deep soaker tub for a truly relaxing stay. We loved cozying up in the chairs by the fireplace and reading or just watching the boats and ferries drift through the harbor. Mine and Andrew’s favorite thing to do when we travel is to stay in nice hotels and take advantage of ALL the amenities, cozy up, and read. It sounds so simple, but we hadn’t actually done that in a while when traveling, and it’s been a great way to really get to know the hotel and just slow down and relax a bit. I feel like sometimes we just use the hotel we stay in as just a place to sleep, but when you slow down and really experience the hotel, it can be quite lovely.

The beds and pillows were extremely comfortable! I fell right to sleep on one of their fluffy and squishy pillows, which is kind of a big deal for me because I’m usually so particular about my pillow that I bring my own with me when I travel. To make your stay even comfier, Friday Harbor House provides soft robes for their guests to use, as well as branded sleep masks. These little details help to really create a cozy and luxurious experience because who wants to put on real clothes in the morning? I loved being able to put a robe on over my pajamas and walk down the hall to grab some coffee and a sparkling water.

When we stay in hotels, we look through everything to see how much space we are provided with. The Harbor View room had a big closet with shelves, which I appreciate for things I don’t end up hanging up but still want near my hanging items. In the closet, there was an ironing board, iron, yoga mat, hair dryer, extra toilet paper, and extra hangers. The only thing I wished they had were slippers and a full-body mirror on the door or in the hallway when you walk into the room. I feel like that’s an absolute must for me when traveling because I’m fairly short and can’t see most of my body in the bathroom mirrors in hotels. In addition, the room had an area with a decent amount of counter space to make coffee or tea, along with a fridge underneath to store your leftovers or complimentary sparkling water.

What are the bathrooms like at Friday Harbor House?

The bathrooms were very spacious, with a ton of counter space, which is greatly appreciated for all my skincare, makeup, haircare, etc. Plus, it’s great when you travel with multiple people and actually have room on the counter. So already, I was impressed by the counters, but then I saw they have L’Occitane en Provence spa amenities and was sold. The tubs in the bathrooms are huge and perfect for a relaxing bubble bath after a lovely day of exploring the island, or if baths aren’t your thing, they have a nice walk-in shower. Overall, it was a great bathroom. Again, I wish there was a full-body mirror, but if that’s the only complaint, then that’s pretty impressive.

Does Friday Harbor House have on-site dining?

The Restaurant at Friday Harbor House is a MUST while visiting San Juan Island or staying at Friday Harbor House because of its overall vibe, views, drinks, and, of course, the food. Reservations are highly recommended, especially during the non-summer seasons when the patio is closed due to temperature or weather, because there are only about 15 to 20 tables in the dining room. However, you should definitely make reservations during the summer too, as that is San Juan Island’s high season, and the patio views from Friday Harbor are lovely. We had reservations at 5:45 pm so we could be in the restaurant for the sunset at 6:30 pm, which was gorgeous, by the way.

To start, we ordered drinks. I had one of the best amaretto sours of my life, which is a big statement because I order this drink often and have had some great ones, but this one was absolutely perfect. Andrew ordered a drink from their cocktail menu that was basically a drink version of a key lime pie, and it was INCREDIBLE. It wasn’t too sweet or too sour, and just the perfect amount of tart. Ugh, I will be dreaming of that cocktail; I just know it! We love starting with drinks and appetizers, and per usual, I memorized the menu days before even arriving on the island, so I knew we would be getting the Yangnyeom Cauliflower and Bread Board. The Yangnyeom Cauliflower is tempura-fried cauliflower tossed in sweet and spicy gochujang sauce, and it was very good and very spicy, so be warned. I love a good spicy asian dish, and this one did not disappoint. I would order this dish again in a heartbeat. Andrew and I are such suckers for a basic bread board! This board included a warm baguette, garlic confit, and herbed butter, and for only $6? It was an absolute yes!

For entrées, I HAD to have the bourbon peach pork chop, which is a 12 oz Duroc bone-in chop, grilled with a maple bourbon glaze, grilled peaches, broccolini, and Yukon gold mashed potatoes. The pork chop was delicious with the peach and maple glaze. I almost wished it had more of that on it. The potatoes were perfect and creamy. I would order this dish again for sure, but substitute the broccolini with something else because it was just fine. It didn’t have any flavor at all, but truly that was the only thing I wasn’t a fan of. Andrew had the Waygu Burger, which is a 6 oz patty, rosemary aioli, bacon, aged cheddar, fried shallot, lettuce, tomato, onion, on a brioche bun, served with duck fat fries and a pickle. He really enjoyed the burger and said he would definitely order it again. For dessert, we ordered the brown butter brownie with white chocolate and oh my gosh this dessert was incredible and I am not a brownie for dessert at a restaurant person. I just think they’re never worth it or even comparable to the other dessert options, but this brownie just spoke to me, and I’m so glad we ordered it because it was WORTH IT! Overall, we had a lovely time and will most definitely be back for dinner or even breakfast. We didn’t get to experience breakfast this time, but we heard great things about their breakfast and brunch.

What amenities does Friday Harbor House offer?

Every room includes Island Sunrise blend pour-over coffee grounds, plus various sugars, some half-and-half cream packs, and different teas if you prefer something other than coffee in the morning. We woke up to watch the sunrise from our bed and then slowly got up to make some coffee and watch the boats come in and out of the harbor. The coffee tasted great, and drinking it from this cute Friday Harbor House mug made it taste even better.

On every floor, Friday Harbor House offers guests free snacks and sparkling water during the day, and in the morning they replace the snacks with freshly brewed coffee. For me, this is a biggie because not many hotels offer guests complimentary snacks these days. There’s typically some complimentary water in most hotels, but little snacks and sparkling water like this make guests feel special because hotels are not cheap. It’s truly something so small, but it makes all the difference.

There is free on-site parking for all guests, which was great because we parked at the hotel when we arrived on the ferry at 10:00 am, and then could walk around and explore the area until our check-in time at 4:00 pm. The hotel is within walking distance of pretty much everywhere in Friday Harbor, making it a great spot to guarantee parking. Sometimes parking in that area can be a little tricky, especially when it’s high season or special events are going on, so having this option to park at the hotel as a guest is awesome. Because of this, we walked to all the stores and restaurants we visited in Friday Harbor. It was great to see shops and areas I hadn’t seen before because we had driven in the past.

In addition to these amenities, Friday Harbor House offers a discounted day pass to The Rec to use their state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor pool, and more. We didn’t use this amenity while visiting this time, but we might try it out next time we stay.

What is there to do near Friday Harbor House?

Enjoy some incredible views at Overlook Park

Overlook Park is quite literally next to Friday Harbor House and a must because of its beautiful views. They have little benches to sit and stay a while reading a book, chatting, or just enjoying nature. We even used this standing binocular tower to check out some of the boats in the harbor and people-watch!

Walk next door to the incredible Whale Museum

While on San Juan Island, the Whale Museum is a must, especially while staying at Friday Harbor House because it is also next door. The Whale Museum opened to the public in 1979 as the first museum in the country devoted to a species living in the wild. The museum offers visitors of all ages an engaging introduction to the whales of the Pacific Northwest and the importance of protecting the ecosystem they call home. You can learn more about the Whale Museum’s mission and history here. Overall, I highly recommend checking out the museum and then perusing the gift shop for some unique gifts. I’m such a sucker for a curated museum gift shop, and this one is great!

Stroll through this iconic San Juan bookstore

Griffin Bay Bookstore is a small independent bookstore and cafe in Friday Harbor, and one you absolutely should take a walk through. You can definitely get lost in this bookstore, which is honestly my favorite thing. As you wind your way through Griffin Bay, you’ll find a pretty large kids’ book area, and then, finally, an in-store cafe in the back. There’s a large space where you can sit and enjoy espresso-based drinks made with beans from Caffe Umbria. We picked up some new books to take back to the hotel to read a little before dinner. We love checking out bookstores when we travel and purchasing a new book. Typically, they give you a bookmark with the bookstore's name on it, and we’ll leave it in the book to remember where we purchased it. I feel like it’s such a cute little thing we do when we travel and it also supports local indie bookstores.

Grab a cute souvenir from the Island Collection

The Island Collection is a wonderful shop to visit for souvenir sweatshirts, hats, stickers, and more. What I really love about this store is that the sweatshirts and hats have minimal designs on high-quality products. They incorporate a lot of embroidery, which I’m a big fan of. Andrew even purchased an embroidered orca beanie that’s super cute, and I purchased a really nice Friday Harbor sweatshirt featured below. I feel like a lot of travel merchandise or places that sell sweatshirts and hats these days have designs that are the same in every city, are tacky, or are on horrible quality material. So, finding the Island Collection was awesome, and I will recommend it to everyone!