I'm looking for a nice place, preferably a lodge, house, cottage in the Sequim/Port Angeles area that could accommodate 12 people,need 9 beds.

Some folks want to visit lavendar farms in Sequim, some want to go to Hurricane Ridge for hiking and some may want to go to Lake Crescent area and Marymere Falls. Lake Crescent Lodge is already booked for our dates.

Would prefer not to stay right in Port Angeles, but more in the country.

I know Fort Worden isn't country, but has anyone stayed there? Your comments. Thanks.

Greetings Louise,

We stayed at the Red Lion -- very nice BestWestern -- golf course behind hotel. This lodging would be in the middle of the lavender farms and hurricane ridge. Our visit was 3rd week of June 06 -- you could do both quite easily. The lavender farms were just about 1 week away from "prime" time. The lavender festival is scheduled for the best time of viewing before harvest. Most of the farms would be open for visitors at that time -- some were closed the morning I went. I have some photos of the farm we visited. The gift shop is topnotch - my daughter loved the lavender lip gloss in a can and everyone loved the lavender sachets I brought back (they came on a roll and simply cut and disperse to family and friends). Even the tiny tin of Lavender mints were refreshing. I hope you enjoy your visit there as much as I did.

Re: Hurricane Ridge, when you visit, you must buy a pass which is good for 7 days -- we went up after dinner at Jasons (Mexican-very good] in P.A. and it was cloudy as we drove up. We ask about visibility at the top and the ranger said it looked liked it was clearing. We went up and drove right through the clouds and when we reached the top -- it was magnificant -- we were above the clouds -- the air was clean and crisp. We filled our digital camera up -- came back the next morning with the film camera and the ridge was calm, clear and sunny. They have a restaurant on top and we purchased some very nice souvenirs there as well. I am wearing the Hurrican Ridge purple fleece vest a I type.

If you stay in P.A. you may want to consider a day trip to Victoria -- and stunning Butchart Gardens. We took the Victoria Express -- about 1 hour boat ride from P.A.

http://www.camsoft.us/personal2/Gard...gton/index.htm

http://www.jardindusoleil.com/

http://www.lavendergrowers.org/

You might want to do a search on Sequim. I recall a trip report earlier this year where a couple stayed at what sounded like a very lovely bread and breakfast near Sequim. If I weren't so lazy I'd do the search for you.

Check vrbo.com. There is a house on there that sleeps at least 12 people and may fit the bill. We stayed at Lost Mountain Lodge when we were there but there are only three rooms so definitely not nine beds.

Good luck!

A couple of possibilities:

Juan de Fuca Cottages in the Dungeness area of Sequim (you'd need to take 5 or 6 cottages--I don't know if they'd let you do this but maybe you could take the whole place for your group).

The owner of Groveland Cottage B&B also in Dungeness has a vacation rental management company so you might try that.

We stayed at the Juan de Fuca cottages several years ago and liked them.

Thanks for your comments everyone.

Miss Maple, where is the Red Lion Best Western. BTW your garden photos are lovely.

NWWanderer, can you comment on the Juan deFuca Cottages? I looked at the website, but couldn't tell a lot from it.

We stayed at a small B&B in Sequim 2 years ago, so are somewhat familiar with the area. It's just that we have a BIG group with us this time. Perhaps I should change my name to Elvira!

Any other suggestions?

Clousie,
I am not sure now about the Red Lion -- but we did stay at this Best Western is in a very good location to do a variety of activities and the rooms were immaculate.
http://www.portangeleshotelmotel.com/

I am glad you enjoyed the photos -- the lavender in my garden has never looked as good as in those farms. I also spotted some lavender "escapees" along the roadside in Sequim -- wished I took a picture of that.

I'm not sure what you mean by "comment on". What additional information are you looking for?

There is also the Log Cabin Resort on Lake Crescent:

http://www.logcabinresort.net/

Also, as NWWanderer suggested, Simone at Groveland Cottages manages vacation rental homes around Sequim, and could find something for you.

http://www.sequimvalley.com/groveland.mv

As for Fort Worden, I haven't stayed there, but I have rented the officers' houses at Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island for a group stay. They have two that would be perfect for your size group, sleeping 12 people in 9 beds. The site is outstanding, on a bluff overlooking the Sound from Mt. Baker to Mt. Rainier. But it's pretty bare-bones, and the location may not be right for your planned activities.

I think Juan de Fuca Cottages is the best suggestion so far.

I just wanted to add that I think their website is a pretty accurate representation of the property from having stayed there--it's a cute, homey collection of cottages with nice views of the spit and the strait.

NWWanderer: I was just wondering about the cleanliness and condition of the cabins. We've been to some wonderful cabins, and some that were far from it.

Ok...I'm not sure why you think I or anyone would recommend a place that wasn't clean (that's pretty much a basic necessity in my eyes ;-)). But in any event, I would say the cottages are more in the homey category than luxurious and upscale, as I think the photos on the website show. It's not the Ritz, but it's a nice, comfortable place in a good central location for what you want to see.