Hillside House Bed and Breakfast, Friday Harbor

I have never had such a nightmarish experience with a B&B before. I had made reservations for three nights in August four months ahead of time and when we arrived ten minutes before check in with my confirmation in hand, Greg, the owner, informed us that his computer had "crashed" and he had no record of us. He was booked for those days and made no effort to accomodate us even though we explained that we had paid for a kayak trip and whale watch trip which would not be refunded to us if we had to leave the Island. Since this was a peak season weekend the only accomodations we could find was Orca Inn which I would not recommend to anyone. Greg exhibited minimal concern about our situation and copies of my confirmation for his B&B made no difference to him. My husband still thinks that he booked others at a higher rate in our place and the experience certainly tainted our stay at Friday Harbor. I would caution anyone booking into this B&B to have a backup plan because you are going to need it!

1. I called 3 times before they actually retained my information and made a reservation for the dates of my travel to San Juan- rather than apoligizing for their errors of not booking properly it was not even recognized by them. 2. The walls of the rooms are paper thin,you can hear every move of the people in the neighboring rooms, especially snoring. 3. ***WARNING***Don't take one of their mugs off the premises!! They will make an unauthorized transaction on your credit card to replace it!! Very impersonal, we felt we were intruding. Not a positive B and B experience.

For our anniversary, my husband and I stayed at the, what I now call the "Lightside House". There was no comparison to the other Bed & Breakfasts we have stayed. The Parisian room was ok, however, the goose feathered down mattress that was indicated on the website was not the mattress we slept on. In the bathroom was a long letter requesting that guests be conservative with the water usage. We thought this was an eco-friendly effort to conserve water on the small island, until we went upstairs the next morning for breakfast and realized the owner was extremely concerned about his profit margin. Expecting a quality and standard sized breakfast, we were served delicious and unique pancakes with a grocery bought turkey sausage and an orange slice. This was all great, but in our opinion was missing key breakfast elements- eggs, breakfast meat, potato item, and fresh fruit with the "choice" of pancakes, waffles, etc. When my husband asked if there were eggs to order, they replied eggs are only served every other day. This disappointing breakfast set a bitter tone for the rest of our stay on the island. We did enjoy the pancakes, but the best aspect of our stay was the recommendation to eat at Downriggers, where we enjoyed a real and delicious breakfast with eggs and potatoes.

RE: My visit to Hillside House. Greg, the owner, is not a people person. His wife, Naoni, is very charming and ought to be running the business end of things. We booked our reservation more than a month in advance in order to reserve a nice room. We did not receive any written confirmation nor any information with regard to their cancellation policy. We phoned several days prior to our arrival to cancel the third night of our stay. Greg was not happy about it. When we paid the bill he started to charge us at a higher rate than was quoted and he had to be corrected on that. He also told us he must have been too busy to tell us about their cancellation policy when we called to cancel it. Apparently, a full week's advance notice was required - not five days. This was upsetting and made my experience unpleasant. The bed and room were very comfortable although the room was cluttered with memorabilia. The breakfast was less than satisfying and nothing special.

Absolutely Amazing! We staying in the Ventana room, which is on the ground floor, with a full view of the harbor and Mt. Baker. Quite a sight to see in the morning sunshine. The room was very comfortable with queen featherbed, fireplace, private entrance, sitting area, windowseat, and of course the private bath. The breakfasts were wonderfully filling and delicious; we loved the Cinnamon-Pecan Baked French Toast. So good! The innkeepers, Greg & Naoni, were very helpful with travel plans and sightseeing ideas and were very gracious hosts. We peaked in a couple of other guest rooms before we checked out and we would love to come again and stay in every single one! Great B&B, fantastic hosts, excellent food, and amazing view. See for yourself and you won't be disappointed.

The hillside house is way out of town in the industrial section. The house is an oversized surban villa with no charm. It did not provide an Isalnd experience.