Guests reach the
Place at Cayou Cove on
Orcas Island, Washington - the largest and most diverse of the
enchanting San Juan Islands of Puget Sound - by ferry, yacht or
plane. The planes remind innkeeper Charles Binford of Fantasy
Island, the popular 70s and 80s television sitcom. He, along with
his wife and co-innkeeper Valerie, may not fulfill every visitor’s
fantasy, but in many respects they come close. The numerous repeat
clients that revisit the inn attest to this fact.
For starters, the proprietors’
restoration of the guest cottages as well as of their own home,
leaves a definitive statement that conveys their style par
excellence. Their extensive experience as international travelers
has brought The Place at Cayou Cove to a superior level of
sophistication.
About 90 miles northwest from Seattle,
four cottages (one, the Allen Cottage, is a stand-alone facility
that the Binfords manage for the owners/neighbors) at the island’s
southwest tip are nestled on the shore of Deer Harbor. Guests are
wooed with panoramic views of the snow capped Olympic Mountain
Range. Plus, 500 feet of private shoreline brim with treasures like
driftwood, starfish, shells, clams and oysters to harvest in season.
The Binford’s cottages themselves
(“right out of Architectural Digest,” one guest was quoted as
saying) will leave the connoisseur wanting no more. The spacious
facilities greet travelers with king or queen Eurodown beds, down
pillows and comforters and Italian linens. Other amenities in each
cottage include a private hot tub, fireplace, satellite TV/DVD/CD,
wireless internet access, kitchens and large, well-appointed baths,
not to mention maid service, fruit baskets, local confections,
Egyptian cotton robes, slippers and Pelindaba Lavender Farm
Toiletries made here on Pacific Northwest’s San Juan Islands.
The property’s history begins back in
the mid-1800s with Louis Cayou who homesteaded the land. A
generation later, Louis’s oldest son, Henri, built the main house in
1913. After numerous incarnations, its present history started in
1996 with the Binfords.
Charles explains, “We decided to take
some of the outbuildings and convert them into cottages. The
Carriage House, for example, used to be a hay barn and the Gardner’s
Cottage used to be a three-sided machine shed. We rented rooms in
the house and the cottages, but now we’ve gone back to just the
cottages; so we can concentrate on them and take them up into the
really high-end luxury line.”
Although the guests at The Place at
Cayou Cove are mostly couples, families are also welcome.
Celebrations and special events like honeymoons and intimate
weddings also commence on premises.
The main house and cottages are located
on approximately four acres. “A little more than that, depending on
whether the tide is in or out,” Charles says. The grounds are
expertly manicured; a refuge, like the other San Juan Islands, for
deer, eagles, blue herons, whales, seals, sea lions and an
assortment of birds.
The kitchen garden is one of the most
communal spots. Some of the organic fruits and vegetables grown are
lettuce, squash, radishes, beans, peas, onions, garlic, corn, figs,
raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. Guests are invited to
graze or pick their own produce for eating fresh (or grilling on the
firepit/barbecue) later.
For enthusiastic explorers, the San
Juan Islands are well-known for the whale watching, kayaking, fresh
water fishing, hiking, pottery making and other activities. Biplane
rides and first-class restaurants are also on hand.
Although high season runs from Memorial
Day to Labor Day, The Place at Cayou Cove is a four-season
enterprise. “Wintertime, it is a magnificent place to relax. It’s
quiet. It’s not real cold. We rarely ever get freezing weather; it’s
known as the Banana Belt of the San Juan Islands because of the warm
ocean currents,” Charles says, adding that spring is also a
delightful experience for travelers, “because of the flowers and
because of the long-growing season, is just magnificent and then
again in the fall when the leaves are turning.”
Recently, the inn was designated by
Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report as Bed and Breakfast of the Year,
USA. Although the Binfords never knew who the judges were, the
anonymous guests surely experienced the gourmet breakfast. (Charles
does the cooking; Valerie serves as the inn’s hostess.) "This
morning, for example, we delivered papaya with raspberries sprinkled
with white sugar and then for breakfast we had a small piece of pork
loin and potatoes Provencal, and a Havarti cheese omelet topped with
fresh avocado slices.”
Probably the best fantasy experienced
at The Place is one of solace—one in which you can go incognito,
without the daily demands of real life. “People of note come
here….We are very private. We don’t have a sign on the
place….Valerie and I traveled a lot before we bought this place and
one of the things that we liked was privacy…because we were both in
public life. So people can come in here almost anonymously and get
out without ever anybody knowing they’re here.”
Now, that’s a getaway where you can
really get away and let yourself go as far as your fantasy will
reach.
