The Resort at Port Ludlow

The Resort at Port Ludlow sits on the Hood Canal side of the Olympic Peninsula, a thirty-seven-room independent on a wooded hillside above a working marina. It's the quiet alternative to the National Park lodges (Lake Quinault, Lake Crescent) and the Port Townsend B&Bs — closer to Seattle, on the saltwater rather than a lake or a town main street, and with a layout that splits between marina-view rooms and a small ranch-style cluster behind.

Port Ludlow itself is a small unincorporated community at the head of Ludlow Bay, with a marina, a 27-hole golf course, and not much else. The resort is the only hotel in the immediate area, which has a useful clarifying effect on the experience.

The setting

On the Hood Canal side of the Olympic Peninsula, an hour's drive from Bainbridge Island ferry terminal (and so two hours total from downtown Seattle including the ferry). The resort sits above Ludlow Bay's marina, with the Cascade range visible across the water on clear days. Olympic National Park's eastern entrances at Hurricane Ridge and the Hoh are within an hour and a half.

The drive in goes through Kingston or via the Hood Canal Bridge depending on ferry routing. Either way, you'll feel the mainland fall away.

The building

A campus of refined-Americana lodge-style buildings on a wooded slope above the marina, with the main lodge containing the dining room and lobby and several smaller buildings holding the room product. Clapboard and white trim, peaked roofs, decks oriented toward the water where possible. Public spaces include the dining room, a fireside lounge, and the deck overlooking the bay.

The aesthetic is restrained-coastal, deferential to the Hood Canal landscape rather than competing with it.

The rooms

Thirty-seven rooms across the lodge buildings. Categories climb from compact rooms (around $295) up through suites with marina views, fireplaces, and private balconies. Beds are queens and kings, linens are good, bathrooms are functional and updated. Marina-view rooms are the ones to ask for; rear rooms face the woods and are quieter.

Food & drink

The Fireside on-site restaurant runs a Pacific Northwest menu — regional seafood (Hood Canal oysters, salmon), regional vegetables, a wine list weighted toward Washington bottles. Open to non-guests by reservation. The bar runs through the evening.

On the property

A small resort with the right amenities for the setting.

• Heated outdoor pool (seasonal)
• Two tennis courts
• Marina with kayak and paddleboard rentals
• 27-hole golf course nearby (separate operation, open to non-guests)
• The Fireside restaurant and bar
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Travelers using the Hood Canal as a quieter alternative to Olympic Peninsula tourist routes
• Couples doing a long weekend who want a saltwater base
• Boaters and kayakers — the marina is at the property
• Repeat Olympic visitors who've cycled through the National Park lodges

Who it's not for

• Travelers who want walking distance to a town
• Anyone seeking a large resort with multiple bars and a serious pool deck
• Travelers who'd prefer the rugged Pacific coast over the calmer Hood Canal

Nearby

Port Townsend — the Victorian seaport with the 19th-century downtown — is twenty-five minutes north. Olympic National Park's eastern entrances are within an hour: Hurricane Ridge for the views, the Dosewallips and Staircase trailheads for hiking. The Hama Hama oyster farm and saloon down the canal is a thirty-minute drive south for a long lunch. Hood Canal's tides — among the most extreme on the Pacific coast — make for serious tide-pooling at low water. Drive longer for the Hoh Rainforest, Lake Crescent, and Olympic's western entrances.