Colettes
339 Finn Hall Road
Port Angeles, WA 98362
877-457-9777
Colette's Web Page

July 2001

Welcome to www.weloveourlife.com. This is our page dedicated to our experiences while staying at Colette's in Port Angeles, Washington.

Accommodations

We stayed in the Spruce Suite. This is definitely one of the nicest rooms we have stayed in. It was spotless, with exquisite wood floors, trim, and doors. The furniture was massive and not frou-frou. There was a small refrigerator. The electronics were state-of-the-art, with a TV/VCR/DVD combination mounted in the corner. There was a sound system in a custom-built unit that houses a CD juke box stocked with many different CDs, mostly instrumental (classical, jazz, etc.). What was even more amazing were the ceiling speakers in both the bedroom and bathroom. We could turn up the speakers in the bathroom and turn them down in the bedroom so we could listen to music in the Jacuzzi and not bother our nextdoor neighbors. The bathroom vanity was Corian, and there was a separate stall shower. The fixtures were all brushed metal. The Jacuzzi had a window overlooking the water. There were extra thirsty towels. The huge windows were all spotless, which was a feat in itself. There was a corner gas fireplace.

Early in the evening, we had a drink and sat outside in adirondack chairs watching the sunset over the water, which was stunning. It was quiet and all we could hear was the chirping of the birds. When it got darker, we went inside and put some jazz on in the bathroom while we soaked in the Jacuzzi. The king-size bed was very comfortable. There was a door that led out to a private patio with adirondack chairs and a beautiful view over the water and towards Victoria.

Inn Amenities

This is a basic bed and breakfast and the amenities are the rooms themselves. There is a great room that is beautiful and overlooks the water. The dining room is located just off the great room and there is a guest refrigerator stocked with soft drinks. The gardens are meticulous and beautiful and it is peaceful to stroll through them and sit on a well-placed bench.

Inn Food

What we will remember most about Colette's is cheese. When we arrived, our room was not ready and we had to wait awhile, so the innkeeper served us cheese and crackers. The following morning, the first course of breakfast was the same cheese and small pieces of bread. The second course was fruit. We couldn't stay for the third course (crepes) because the first two courses had taken 45 minutes already (breakfast started 15 minutes late) and if we didn't leave, we would miss our ferry.

Inn Bar/Lounge

The inn does not have a bar. We supplied our own drinks. Ice is available in the main part of the inn.

Inn People/Service

This part is tough to write. The inn is beautiful and its innkeepers obviously take very good care of it. As we said above, our room was one of the nicest we have ever stayed in, and the settings and grounds were beautiful. But I takes a little more than that to make a truly memorable experience. Check-in time was 4 p.m. We arrived at 3:45 and expected to wait a few minutes. A few minutes turned into nearly an hour. Since check-out was at 11 a.m., we did feel that we should have been able to check-in promptly at 4, but that was not the case. We had done a lot of driving that day (about 250 miles) and in the late afternoon, all we wanted to do was get to our room and relax, but apparently the room was not ready. Although the innkeeper tried to keep us occupied by serving us cheese and giving us books of the area to look at, it was difficult to hold a conversation with her, and we gave audible sighs of relief when all of a sudde she said, "Well, it looks like your room is ready." We were told that breakfast would be served promptly at 8:30. It didn't start until 8:45 and drug on interminably until - at 9:30 - we begged off the main course and checked out, as we had a schedule to follow that day. The hosts seemed like perhaps they were new at this and not as adept at keeping the conversation going among guests as we have experienced at other bed and breakfasts. The breakfast itself was advertised as "gourmet" on the website, but we often make much more gourmet fare ourselves at home on the weekends. The inn was great, but we found the people to be just a little...different.

Area/Attractions

Although Colette's address is Port Angeles, it is really 7 miles east of Port Angeles, closer to the town of Sequim. It is in a rural area. There are plenty of things to see nearby, but it was really just a stopping-off point for us...a place to crash for the evening before we began our ferry experience to the San Juan islands the next day. We checked in very late in the afternoon and were out in the morning, so we really didn't get a chance to sample the local sites.

Dining

Depuis Restaurant - Highway 101, Port Angeles
The hostess showed us to a table in a rear dining room, explaining that it was the table Barbra Streisand and James Brolin had shared on a recent visit. We chose a local Washington white wine. Keith had a big salad full of fresh vegetables. Lori happily chose the chowder. Keith had filet mignon as his entree, and Lori had seafood coronado, which was shrimp and crab with a cheese sauce. Both were accompanied by Potatoes Depuis. The restaurant looks unassuming on the outside but is nice inside and the food was quite good.

Nightlife

The area is quite rural, and there is no nightlife to speak of.

Weather

The weather while we were there (mid-July, which is mid-summer) was beautiful. It was sunny during the day, high in the low 70s, and in the 50s at night. Make sure you have a light jacket.

Tips/Suggestions

There definitely are places of interest to see - we just didn't have a chance to visit any of them. It can get rural pretty quickly, so make sure you have maps and directions, or our new navigation method of choice - the navigation system available in rental cars.