Alderbrook Resort & Spa

Service is great! Food is good! The view is what is amazing!
I would suggest the crab melt. It was very good. The drinks were ok. Not in love with the Old Fashion I had. The Bloody Mary was in my top 5 bloody Mary’s!
What really made it was the service. I went there for HH and breakfast twice. Everyone is super friendly and the environment is lovely.

Super comfy resort, with PNW cabin feel on beautiful Hood Canal. We were back for our annual work retreat, and had the best one yet! Service is super responsive, we ran out of wood, mentioned this to our bartender, he immediately got on his walkie-​talkie and quickly a guy drove right up to us with more wood on the beach. We were in room 316 this time, just outside the beautiful waterfall. The pool open til midnight is also a great bonus.
Had my first stone massage from Ann Marie at the spa and was the BEST relaxing massage I’ve ever had!
Would also highly recommend their Dungeness eggs benedict!
Will definitely be back!

For the last two years I’ve made the trek to Alderbrook for a very specific purpose, the annual Christmas tree lighting and arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus. This review is for two twenty-​four hour stays on the Friday following Thanksgiving in 2014 and 2015.
Entering the main building, one is immediate transported into the holiday season. Friendly employees are there to open the door for you, a large brick fireplace keeps the lobby toasty, an oversized wood rocking horse can easily accommodate six foot tall teens, a train set chug chug chugs along on an infinite loop and a display of gingerbread homes — I assume created by talented locals — creates a winter wonderland albeit on a miniature scale.
To be sure, this is a lodge, so it’s got that rural feeling to it. Well that rural feeling that comes with what had to be a many million dollar construction budget. Still, people are friendly, happy to be there and full of anticipation of the evening celebration, which gets underway at 5PM.
Of course, simply having Santa and Mrs. Claus show up and light the tree wouldn’t be much fun. The team at Alderbrook knows that and builds the entire evening around a high energy joyful celebration. The celebration begins with the appearance of Seattle’s Roosevelt High School drumline. It’s the presence of the drumline that provides much of the energy of the evening — so fun and so very talented.
Starting in the courtyard, the drumline marches along a windy 50-​yard path towards the dock. Upon reaching the dock, the drumline stops but the music doesn’t as a local choir performs an energetic set of singing and dancing under a canopy. Once they are finished, the fireworks begin — and when I write fireworks, I mean FIREWORKS — for a good 15 minutes.
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at the dock by boat. As they arrive, the drumline again starts playing and for the next 15 – 20 minutes they act as an honor guard for Santa and Mrs. Claus, carefully matching their pace as the dignitaries work the crowd. Finally, upon reaching the lodge the drumline lines both sides of the walkway to make a pathway for Santa and Mrs. Clause to enter the building, only to appear moments later on stage with the choir who are again singing. Finally, with great fanfare, the tree is lit and the air is filled with oohs and aahs. It is really a very well done event.
As for the hotel… the rooms are comfortable, but not quite luxurious, despite the addition of items designed to imply luxury (e.g. wool blanket, bathrobe, slippers.) In 2014 I stayed in a 200 level room — to the right when entering the lodge. In 2015, I stayed in room 431. The bathrooms were clean, but small. They nightstands lacked outlets or USB ports. The tv channel assortment was reasonable and broadcast in HD. For a simple overnight it was perfectly adequate.
There is one restaurant on site, cleverly named, The Restaurant at Alderbrook. Again, I would say that the food itself really wants to be luxurious but falls a bit short. There is also a notable lack of non-​seafood vegetarian options. I mean, really, how difficult is it to have a simple veggie burger option? At the end of the day, I was hungry and sensing that I needed some protein, so I deviated from my preferred vegetarian diet ordering the New York Steak & Fries ($ 25) along with a glass of Canoe Ridge Expedition Cabernet ($ 9). For dessert I ordered the Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee. Everything was good, just not exceptional.
Pro-​tip: Alderbrook has a number of waterfront cabins which I am guessing predate the resort. While the cabins have a modest kitchen, they are minimally stocked and the equipment that is present is really inadequate for anything but the most basic needs. If you plan on doing any significant food prep, I strongly recommend packing your own cooking supplies.
Pro-​tip: Parking can be a bear the night of the tree lighting. If you’re not arriving by 3:30 or so, expect the parking lots to be full. Spill over parking winds down the road and up the hill.
Pro-​tip: From Seattle, there’s a couple of ways to get to Alderbrook, via the Bremerton ferry or driving via Tacoma, across the Narrows Bridge and northeast through Purdy. Depending on the time of day, weather and number of inhabitants in your car, one option may be more appealing than the other. I prefer the ferry, but we warned, a round trip ferry ride with four in the vehicle will run you a good $ 40.

Definitely worth the splurge. My husband and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary here and it was perfect! Came on a clear day and saw the most stunning scenery. The hotel even brought us a free bottle of champagne when they learned it was our anniversary. The staff has been so kind, and I can’t say enough about the beauty of the location and grounds.

Just wanted to say that we had another visit here and found that it was better than ever. The staff was outstanding, from the restaurant personnel to the front desk, to the management team. Everyone went out of their way to make our stay so special (every year now for 7 years!) and it was truly a treat to spend another Christmas here. And… it snowed. It was just so beautiful. Every year we wonder if it would be fun to go somewhere different, just to mix it up a bit, but I realize now more than ever why we keep going back — there are more great memories yet to come!

I took a little vacation there with my fiancé and two of our couple friends and stayed there for three days from the 21−23^rd of December in 2015.
Overall the atmosphere and location was excellent. The lack of cellular service was made up for free wifi throughout the resort. When we first checked in, we scanned the room and noticed that there was a dirty towel that was left behind and the ice bucket had what looked like pubic hairs in it. This was definitely not acceptable. Our friends also noted some discrepancies with their hotel rooms — smelly bathroom that should’ve been taken care of and another had a needle in their bathroom. Again, this was definitely not acceptable.
For room service they were generous to give us a dozen oysters when we ordered only a half dozen and that was kind on their part. Our friends however ordered the same and a duck yet they forgot the duck. They took care of the issue and gave them a discount so that was good on them.
We took a day to eat at the restaurant and the food we received was delicious by far. That place is definitely worth eating as you also get to order food from the lounge. My fiancé ordered the chicken and waffles and we don’t recommend that though, the first time it came through, the chicken was bleeding and had to be taken back. The second time we got the chicken, it was noticeably dry along with the waffle and there was a piece of hair in the chicken. The staff took care of the issue and remedied the issue.
The service in general from any location though is definitely deserving of a 4 star resort. The place gets a 2 star mainly due to the unclean rooms before we entered the place and specifically the hair in the ice bucket which unfortunately was disgusting and disappointing. Do take this review with a grain of salt as I don’t expect every room to be the same as ours, this was our personal experience.

My husband and I spent a weekend here last October and despite the extreme storm that rolled through with us, we had a fantastic time. This place is stunningly beautiful — the grounds are so well kept and its just beyond gorgeous.
I especially loved the lobby cats, «Alder», and «Brook». They were adorable and we had fun saying hi to them each time we went in and out of the lobby.
We cannot wait to go back.

My wife and I have been to this area before and love coming back. We will likely buy property at some point. Alderbrook is gorgeous and all the staff is great. The property looks as if it was renovated last week even though it’s been 10 years. The relaxation we were looking for was found.
My wife and I, of one year, are young and active but enjoy the finer things in life. We didn’t want a city place, average hotel experience, or a place with kids all over. This had everything we needed. The pricing here is exactly as it should be as it is par for course. We are totally satisfied and will be coming back!

This is the quintessential Washington resort experience. The scenery around the resort is beautiful and creates an instant sense of relaxation as you arrive. Even the drive up is a nice drive along the 101.
The property is beautiful and cozy. Rooms are clean and simple like you’d expect at a resort. In between the rooms is a charming courtyard that has a zen like charm to it. On property they have a shop with both souvenirs and a few essentials. My favorite touch was the cat that roams the property. I enjoyed seeing it sleeping in the gift shop. The restaurant on site is fantastic and we enjoyed two awesome meals there during our stay. Definitely a highlight of the property.
The best part of Alderbook is actually the backyard. We loved walking the docks and the yard to view the scenery around us. You just can’t beat it. This is a great spot for locals to relax or for visitors from other areas to see what Washington is really about.

OMG what a place, it’s so nice here and in the middle of know where in the Washington woods, if your still thinking about this place don’t think get a reservation, it’s nicely priced the pool is a saltwater pool a plus in my opinion their selection of draft beer is so good, they offer a lot I suggest looking over their web sight
PS if you do decide to book a reservation also make sure you reserve for diner as well for ever dinner you order, we did not and the only negative about this place I can think of is their room service, of the 5 of us 2 went to the bar and 3 of us got room service, it was cold and not worth eating but I ate what I could cause I was hungry
Note I had my drone with me this day and even it crashed I was still able to get 3 good pics I have posted one of them

We were sight seeing in the Olympic National Forest. Being such a gorgeous day, we ended up on Alderbrook’s deck for lunch and «hydration». You could not ask for a more beautiful location in Western Washington than this resort’s on Hood Canal.
Add that to a great server, a glass wine, some nice salads and it was a perfect place and way to put the period on summer 2015.

We come here for breakfast and dinner almost ten times each summer. Their new chef is doing great things! Our most recent anniversary dinner was the best we have ever had at Alderbrook. Inventive flavors– lamb sausage deconstructed with North African flair, perfectly cooked scallops, special duck salami salad with grilled octopus… we were delighted! Good variety of wine by the bottle.
Alderbrook, if you are listening– please please give us bigger coffee cups? They are tiny and just not refilled frequently enough.

Truly a very special place. Lovely buildings and grounds. Stayed for two nights and would love to return. We rented kayaks and paddleboards at the waterfront, and the protected little bay was a perfect place for kids to practice. We also enjoyed swimming there and jumping off the floating dock. We hiked a few of their trails on the hill above the resort which were fun, although could be a bit better maintained. Really enjoyed brunch and breakfast in the restaurant; for dinner we ate out on the patio which was also delicious. You can sit on the deck, or on one of several other patios around fire pits, and they will serve you there. Service throughout was truly top-​notch. Every single employee we interacted with was friendly, courteous, and helpful.
We stayed in a courtyard room the first night and a waterfront room the second night. We actually preferred the courtyard room — it had high ceilings and was very spacious. Nice patio right on the grounds. Waterfront room did have that gorgeous view from the deck, but the room itself was a bit smaller and the bathroom in particular was cramped.
I have just two complaints about this place. 1) Put some decently comfortable chairs on the decks and patio, would you! The plastic faux-​folding chairs they have are ridiculous. 2) Weddings abound here. Ruined the peace and solitude we were looking for on the first night when the loud thumping music from the wedding party could be heard in our room; couldn’t sit out and enjoy the patio and the night sky at all.
Still, we would definitely return. Maybe at a quieter time of the year.

I brought my wife here for her 65^th birthday. I wanted her to have a special time for such a benchmark birthday, and from what I had heard this would be the perfect place.
Our room was wonderful. Great views, nicely appointed, and a king size bed that my wife claimed was more comfortable than our own at home. An especially classy touch was that Alderbrook offers complimentary DVD’s for the in-​room DVD players. So all was well until I turned on the in room air conditioner when we went to bed. The longer the unit was on the louder it got. I like it to be cool when I sleep, but I’m a light sleeper, so everytime the unit cycled on or off, I was awakened… it was a very long night!
I was planning to take my wife to a nice dinner at the restaurant there at the hotel, but I never quite figured out the menus. The in-​room guest guide has a room service menu (but not a regular menu from the restaurant). According to the room service menu there are a couple of steak dinners offered, but when I went down to the restaurant and asked to see a dinner menu there wasn’t one steak dinner offered. Nonetheless, after paying $ 380 for our room for one night, I was was a little stunned at the prices for food. Suggestion: how about offering your paying hotel guests a small discount of maybe 10 or 15% at the restaurant, it might help reduce the sticker shock. We went down the road a short distance to 2 Margaritas and had a wonderful dinner with great service.

My friends recommended Alderbrook as a relaxing weekend trip with my family. I was so excited! I arrived and all was great. Valet parking at arrival and check-​in was pleasant. Here’s where it took a turn.
1. Don’t bother coming early. Your room will NOT be ready until 4pm check-​in time. So you can hang out until that time.
2. I made reservations to dine at the Alderbrook restaurant for my birthday dinner. It’s considered «fine dining». They seated us right away and brought over water… That’s where it stops. Apparently, they are short of staff and forgot we were there. We waited approximately 20 minutes and no server came by our table. Service was unacceptable and my husband and 2 children were so hungry we decided to get up and leave and go back to our room to order room service. Right when we got up, 2 staff rushed over to apologize. If it wasn’t for my 2 children who at that time was starving, I would have left. I was so irritated it ruin my whole afternoon. I dine and spent a fortune but my experience from a 5 turned out to be a 3.
3. It didn’t stop there, when we woke up, my husband noticed the air conditioner was broken in the middle of the night causing our whole family to sweat in the 85 degree weather of summer.
There are so many places to see so I have to rethink whether I would return to Alderbrook. I so much want to bring my family back to this Resort for a mini trip every year but the experience leave a sour taste.
Side note: indoor pool is salt water for those with little kids who prefer fresh water pool.

We absolutely love this place! Friends of ours got married here a few years ago and we decided to go again recently for a babymoon. The property is amazingly well cared for with beautiful lawns, fire pits (both fire and wood-​burning), pool/​large hot tub, and a dock that looks practically brand new.
Since it’s pet friendly, we brought our dog and I swear she enjoyed the indulgence just as much as we did — there was a huge fluffy dog bed and food/​water bowls for her in our room upon arrival. She curled up right in the middle of the bed and looked so happy, we could barely coax her out of it!
We really like being able to kayak and standup paddle right from the property and the equipment was actually in great shape. The folks running the dock rentals are really nice too. They even helped us load the dog into the kayak. :)
Oh and my personal favorite part is the spa. Honestly, I had pretty low expectations for my maternity massage, considering you can’t lay on your stomach at all. Wow, was I wrong! Laurie gave one of the best, most blissful massages I’ve ever had (not just while pregnant!) and had amazing technical skills. My husband had Linda and said she was also fantastic. We’d go back just for massages if we lived closer!
The only negative is that the food on property was only ok. Some items were good, depending on what you ordered. The patio was our favorite spot for sure. The burger with candied bacon is amazing, but neither of us enjoyed our breakfast in the dining room (he had an omelette that was too oily and I had French toast which was burned). After the first morning, we decided to just get coffee and muffins at a local market and have our own breakfast on the patio, which turned out to be a great solution. I think it’s unfair to rate the resort poorly just due to the food, so I maintain my 5-​star rating for the rest of the experience for sure!

This location is fantastic. Can’t beat it.
Service was outstanding, however it does seem like much energy is wasted… hard to explain, but it seems like either the technology or organization is lacking. Specifically, while eating at the outside burger area we witnessed waitstaff running back and forth to the main building with receipts and other small items. It’s a small thing, but it contributed to a higher anxiety environment.
The rooms are perfect. I love the person who wrote the review that said the lodge rooms needed bigger TV’s. They don’t. Anyone that pays the stay here should not be spending their time watching movies on a big screen.
There are only 2 small criticisms with regard to the room. Even though it was nice to have our own coffee maker (think it was a Kuerig) the water reservoir smelled like mold. As a former health regulator for Kittitas County, I encourage the staff to rethink how you can satisfy us coffee snobs without «over conveniencing». The pod/​kcup machines are a great thought but fails to provide the level of service you’re looking for. Try a high end instant coffee retailer (Peet’s) and a decent coffee maker.
The other small thing was regarding the lovely water feature. The white noise was amazing. However, hearing the entire service teams communications via landscapers walkie talkie was a killer. The communications echo in the courtyard as well and ruins the atomosphere you work so hard to create. Is there better two-​way ear pieces out there?

Had a great time here. Drove by it one day and decided to check them out. I travel all over the world to resorts and this one didn’t dissapoint. Great food and great service throughout the resort. Had chocolate and wine tasting and art classes going on. Spa is on point as well. Will return.

Great weekend retreat for Valentine’s Day. Their spectacular views are clearly the best part. The indoor pool and hot tub are unique and large enough to accomodate a lot of people. The restaurant had decent food and drinks — I recommend going to the lounge for happy hour. And the grounds are beautiful to walk around.
Overall a great expierence.

Excellent place with spectacular values from every corner.
The rooms have outside entrances so if you’re staying in the winter then it’s a little chilly to get to your room. You’ll have to go outside to get to the fitness center and restaurant. Also, there are no restaurants or stores near the resort so expect to eat at their restaurant. I guess that’s the idea of a resort! Overall, I would recommend this place if you want a nice weekend getaway. It has all the amenities you need for a comfortable stay.