Waterfront Restaurant

My wife and I have our anniversary there, the Ocean view is awesome and is well worth the money, it is furnished with high end luxury and homey furniture, the view is just amazing. The facility is also awesome, jacuzzi and indoor swimming pool is fun and has plenty of towel for you to dry yourself. Food in the restaurant is great, make sure you bring your own marshmallow to roast by the firepit after dinner. Plenty of water activity and for our anniversary, we picked the "sweet heart cruise" and had a 1 hour cruise on the hood canal waters, with wine and cheese, the caption and crew are very friendly nice. we will definitely go back again! Best of all, they accept Passport discount! more

My husband and I just spent two nights at the Alderbrook resort, celebrating my 25th birthday. Our room was beautiful, the grounds were stunning, but there seemed to be something lacking. Maybe it's just the little touches I hoped to see. Little things, like the fact that housekeeping didn't replace the teabags I had used the previous day, so by the last day there were none left. Or the fact that there was no turn down service, room service ends at 10pm, etc. The staff was also really unremarkable. Our check-in experience could have been much better. The woman who checked us in was very ho-hum about the whole thing, and we expected a bit more after just sitting in traffic for 3 hours. I noticed also that we could walk by the front desk multiple times without even being acknowledged. I may be spoiled by some other resorts I've stayed at, but I like it when the staff at least says hello. Now don't get me wrong, we would definitely go back, but I wasn't knocked off my feet like I hoped to be. One of the upsides was the giant hot tub, the steam room and sauna available to all resort guests, and the outdoor fireplace where we enjoyed a bottle of wine one evening. more

We spent Memorial Day weekend at this resort and I would have to say it meets practically ALL of your criteria (except maybe for shopping nearby). Located on Hood Canal, only about 2.5 hours from Seattle, and very scenic. The resort is right on the water and has a great spa, indoor pool (housed in a glass-enclosed structure on the shores of the canal, so it feels like you're outside), nice restaurant & lounge, boat dock & boat rentals, and beautiful grounds for strolling and relaxing. The lrooms in the lodge are very comfortable; we stayed in a 2-bedroom cabin and just loved it for the great location, full kitchen, fireplace, and small patio. My only hesitation in suggesting this place is that I don't want too many people to find out about it. :) Website address is www.alderbrookresort.com. Not cheap, but the value is outstanding (especially for the cottages). more

The Alderbrook Inn is about 1 1/2 hours away, on Hood Canal, between Belfair and Shelton. It has been open for about a year after a complete renovation/rebuilding. It is beautiful and provides an assortment of amenities, including a spa (except on Mondays and Tuesdays). Very reasonable web specials. Check out the website. As an alternative to the in-house restaurant, the only other (and maybe preferred) choice close by is the funky little Robin Hood just down the road: great food, and jazz on the first and third Sundays of the month. more