Looking for an Inn or B&B on the West Coast with great views, surrounded by natural scenery and lakes or water, with a mild climate--70s-80s. A place that has a small village atmosphere, unique restaurants for fine dining and drinks on an outdoor patio to watch the sunset and small shops or boutiques. Activities would include a stroll along the water or listening to music in the evening. It is relaxing and serene, but draws a mostly adult crowd. So, where is this place? ..thinking of Anniversary plans..

Time of year dictates weather and crowds. Let us know when and you'll have a bigger/better selection.

Sound slike Carmel (by the sea!)

Or Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach, OR (but go in summer for weather in 80s).

x: Late Summertime! San Juan Islands? Coronado Island? Anyplace like this up by Washington state? Thanks for the help!!

How about the Inn at Langley in Washington? You'll have the views, weather (if you go during the summer), four-star dining, small town shopping/antiquing, it's a lovely spot. Plus you can take a ferry to Langley so getting there is half the fun.

Anthony & Heres -- Went to the Inn at Langley and Stephanie Inn website and both look promising.

What closest major airport serves these areas?

And, can you tell me a little bit more about each place if you've been there?

The short and maybe a little cynical-sounding answer is let us know when you find it.

Some thoughts south to north:
California: La Jolla, Balboa/Lido Isle, Montecito/Santa Barbara - (none of these are "villages" by a long shot); Carmel, Mendocino (probably comes closest to your aims in Calif.)
Oregon: Ashland (inland, warmer, but still nice); the Oregon coast has plenty of nice places but the towns are pretty ordinary at best, hellish srip malls at worst, Bandon and Cannon Beach the best but still not that hot IMO; a couple of places on the Columbia - Hood River (good shopping, beautiful country, maybe not that "adult" a crowd) - consider the Columbia Gorge Hotel, Skamania Lodge (in WA) or, funky, fun, more downmarket, McMenamin's Edgefield in Troutdale;
Washington: One or two nice inns and a couple of fab restaurants on the Long Beach peninsula; Langley and Coupeville on Whidbey Island; LaConner on Puget Sound (near Anacortes); Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula; Roche Harbor, Friday Harbor or Rosario in the San Juans (pricey and full o' folks).
BC: Inland, check out Nelson (in the beautiful Kootenay district), and in the west, Whistler for surprisingly good non-ski-season attractions and accommodations.

Of this list I would probably go for Mendocino - very lovely place, very serene, and good touring opportunities along the north coast.

Good luck!

The closest airport to Cannon Beach is Portland. You'd have to pick up a rental car and drive--but that's not so bad--you could have lunch in Portland and do some shopping on NW 23rd or the Pearl District.
The rooms at Stephanie Inn are very comfortable and the views are beautiful, but we haven't been there in a few years (we moved to Europe in 1999). I do like Cannon Beach a lot...you will find some shopping and restaurants. It's not at all a strip mall atmosphere.
I would also recommend Port Townsend--it's our favorite place in the Pacific NW. Some really outstanding restaurants, lots of cultural activities, and great for walking around. But I can't comment on the B & Bs; I worked in PT and lived in Sequim for a while. There is supposed to be an excellent B & B in Sequim, I think it's the Grey Wolfe, something like that. I'll check it out. But Port Townsend is a more interesting town than Sequim.

Don't know if you'll get the weather you're interested in at Cannon Beach. It's pretty windy there and usually kinda chilly, not the kind of beach you lounge on. It is beautiful there no doubt. Let's see how much fine dining would you do in Cannon Beach, let's see.... oh I know, none.

In Sept we usually go to Lake Tahoe for our anniversary. Nice weather and slow pace that time year make it a great vacation. Black Bear Inn is nice and is in South Shore where there are some mighty good restuarants. Many beaches on the south and west shores. Lots of places to drink on patios with great lake scenery. West side has a little slower pace. Chaney House is nice lakeside B & B. Tahoe City is interesting for browsing. Deck drinks at Sunnyside Resort. Don't know if late summer is after Labor day or not but crowds pretty much die out at Tahoe after that.

Good luck with your choice.

Well, all of you have given me some much appreciated ideas and I guess I have some homework to do to make a decision.

Thanks!!

THe Seven Gables or the Green Gables---old Victorian B&B across from the water in Pacific Grove, CA. From there easy access to Carmel or Monterey but Pacific Grove itself is quiet and mostly adults.

Wow Kam that looks great! Saw where it was voted one of the 10 most romantic inns in 1998 and 2000. FYI http://www.bnbinns.com/past10rom.htm

Capitola ia a cute place on the ocean and has a really great B & B called Inn at Depot Hill. Very, very nice place here's the web site http://www.innatdepothill.com/depot.html Capitola is near Aptos and Santa Cruz. I love the little town.

Kam: Boo-hoo. Pacific Grove is where we're headed for Father's Day, but didn't know about the Gables Inn like you and Suzie pointed out. Oh, well -- I'm sure we'll enjoy the area anyway!!

The Inn that Charlie Chaplin built! The Montecito Inn just south of Santa Barbara.

The Harbor View Inn in Santa Barbara is also nice for an anniversary weekend.