Shelburne Inn & China Beach Retreat

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.

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, (opened in late 2006) 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.

The nationally-acclaimed Shoalwater Restaurant onsite features gourmet dinners of fresh, locally harvested foods. Their wine cellar offers over 400 wines and has received many awards, including the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

For lighter fare, the more casual Heron & beaver Pub is a "mini-Cheers" offering over 40 beers/ciders plus over 20 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.

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.

After years of wonderful stays in the main inn, we tried the China Beach and are now hooked on the water-front cabin and main house. From there we walked the Lewis & Clark trail to the new monument placed at the end of their journey to the sea.