Shelburne Inn and China Beach Retreat
January 3rd, 2009 | By: Fred Nystrom
If your romantic getaway includes walks on the beach, waves breaking over jetties and a lighthouse to add drama to your pictures, you’ll find the Shelburne Inn to be the ultimate coastal experience.
The Inn is a comfortable three-hour drive from the eastside. We especially like to visit during these winter months with Pacific storms blowing in to add to the beach walking adventure.
Located on the gateway to the Long Beach Peninsula in Seaview (just three blocks from the sand dunes), the Shelburne Inn is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Washington. Established in 1896 (with additions made in 1911, 1983 and 1986), it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Innkeepers and hosts David Campiche and Laurie Anderson have owned the inn since 1977.
The pair fell in love with the old building and have retained its historical charm while updating it and adding excellent food to the mix. With 30 years in the hospitality field, they are professional innkeepers who delight their guests with an attentive level of service while never intruding on their privacy.
If you’re looking for something even more secluded, try their sister property China Beach Retreat. A Craftsman cottage nestled in a small cove at the mouth of the Columbia River in Ilwaco, it offers tideland views and puts you up close to the shorebirds navigating the tide flats. The Lewis and Clark expedition actually walked through the land on which China Beach now sits.
A Relaxing Retreat
The Shelburne Inn houses 15 guest rooms furnished with Victorian and Edwardian antiques. All have private bath and most offer a private deck. There are another two guest rooms and a suite at China Beach, plus the Audubon Cottage that offers an upstairs bedroom, 42” flat screen TV, two-person hydrotherapy tub plus an exterior deck downstairs with two-person soaking tub.
With freshly baked cookies upon your arrival, fresh flowers in the room, coffee and tea service all day, plus a computer for guests’ use, you will feel pampered at every turn.
Award Winning Food and Drink
The innkeepers’ award-winning breakfast is a command performance of traditional Pacific Northwest offerings (salmon, berries, wild mushrooms and edible greens) influenced with Scandinavian and Asian tastes. In particular, I especially enjoy David’s omelets and Mardi looks forward to starting her day with Laurie’s sourdough pancakes.
You need not go searching for wonderful dinners as the Shelburne provides an elegant dining room and stained glass lounge as the perfect atmosphere for either a couple desiring a romantic setting or a group out to enjoy each other’s company. A honeymoon, anniversary, birthday or just a quiet get-away is all the excuse you need to book your next sojourn to the Long Beach Peninsula. Treat yourself to a sumptuous dinner and wine tasting experience, and the ease of strolling back to your room after dessert.
For lighter fare, the more casual Pub is a “mini-Cheers” offering local micro-brewed beers/ciders and wines by the glass. The Art Nouveau stained glass enclosing the restaurant and pub areas casts a beautiful light in the room, creating the perfect ambiance. Accessible from the pub is a deck overlooking the beautiful Victorian gardens of the Shelburne. A favorite spot of Mardi’s, it’s where we usually enjoy our dinner under one of the festive umbrellas. The restaurant and pub menus change seasonally to make use of what is fresh and in season.
Before leaving the inn, we make it a ritual to visit the gift shop. In addition to being innkeepers, David is a potter and Laurie is a weaver and their selection of cookbooks, imported baskets, jewelry, antiques, textiles, small carvings and pottery (thrown by David himself) is an adventure all its own.
