Retreat Packages

Team Building Retreats

"You can discover more about a person in one hour of play than in a year of conversation" Plato

 

Chefs in Raingear

This program is for chefs and others in the food world who want to experience a genuine fishing experience, and then coming to the inn and cooking together, all in natural settings that can only be described as spectacular. For photos, including high resolution photos that can be downloaded with permission, click here on Chefs in Raingear.

Day Retreats

A basic fee of $15 per person includes coffee and tea service, with a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack. Lunch and dinner prices will vary depending on your choice of menu. For more information or to book your retreat, e-mail Judy or Donna or phone 360-758-2620.

Overnight Business Retreats

We encourage holding overnight retreats on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, for groups of 8. A common schedule is to arrive in the early afternoon on Monday, and leave after lunch on Wednesday. You will have command of the entire Inn, visitors are welcome to come for meals, and our chef can tailor the menus to suit individual tastes.

"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! we enjoy our time at the Willows every year. Your hospitality is next to none! 5 star! See you next year." The Wood Stone Sales Team

"We wanted a place close enough to Seattle to keep the travel time short, but far enough away so that no one could go home for the night. We chose the perfect spot with the Willows Inn."

"Our planning meetings were so productive that we exceeded our goals. The excellent organic meals you provided will keep us coming back." Jim Ashby, Bellingham Food Co-op

" We have had retreats all over the region, but we have finally found the place we want to return to again and again." Bellingham Cold Storage

" We asked the staff where they want to hold next year's Christmas party, and the Willows Inn was the unanimous vote. This is the perfect place for us." Jeff McClure, RMC Architects

" The Willows Inn is just ideal for a working retreat such as we held the past 3 days. We were able to work hard, relax, and be well cared-for, all the while surrounded by beautiful scenery." Cheryl Kinsley, Vital Choice

Retreats, weddings, special birthdays and anniversaries

The Willows Inn is the perfect place to hold your company retreats, strategic planning meetings, office parties, banquets, anniversaries, family reunions or any other special event you have in mind. We can accommodate up to 19 people for overnights at the Inn, and groups of 70 or more for meals and gatherings.

There are a number of options when choosing where to hold your gathering: The living room and the dining room can each hold large groups and our patios and covered front deck make a great alternative when the weather is warm. The Guest House is ideal for groups of 12-15, and as it is equipped with a wet bar, fireplace and kitchen, it works well for meetings that may continue on into the night. In the summer, groups can gather in our beautiful gardens, or small groups can meet at the Taproot Pub’s outdoor patio. As an alternative, our beach is only a few steps from the Inn, providing a place to discuss issues privately, or simply get some fresh air and relaxation.

Delicious gourmet snacks and meals are prepared with organic ingredients in our kitchen, and you will dine surrounded by unsurpassed views of the San Juan Islands. For breaks or celebrations meet downstairs at the Taproot Pub and Espresso Bar for a snack and a beverage.

Imagine your office coworkers having a relaxing, shared experience away from the office. One that helps build strong relationships, takes you far outside your normal environment, but does not break the bank or use up precious time in travel. The Willows Inn on Lummi Island provides such an experience. We feature outstanding fresh organic fine dining, spectacular views of Rosario Strait, fresh marine air, and peace and quiet. Come simply for a luncheon, or for a dinner, or for the whole weekend!

  Just the drive alone becomes a shared experience: The 5 minute ferry ride, the rural roads, pristine views. You breathe deeply a sigh of relief. Quaint reefnet boats on the water or on the beach, marine boat traffic just yards away from the road. When you arrive you pause and stretch as you take in the salt air with Sucia Island in the distance. Approaching the stunning front deck, you notice a bronze sculpture by noted local sculptor Ann Morris. From the deck, at the front door, you turn to check one last time to see if the Orca whales are making a trip south along the shore, or is that just a seal madly splashing in the water, stunning small fish for another meal? If it is July or August, you may be seeing salmon jumping like popcorn on their way to the Fraser River.

You gather in the great room of the lodge, with comfortable furnishings and a curated art show featuring a single northwest artist. Suddenly you are all together as a single group. If you are staying the night, we take a tour of the property, showing each member his room. If you are here for a meal, the waitress shows you in to the waiting table where the chef may greet you with a description of the menu and its preparation. All around you is beauty: 180 degrees of San Juan Islands, and 180 degrees of fine art. Wine is poured, and the conversation flows. Soon work is forgotten, and you are relating to each other as friends.

  If you are staying, the inn becomes a hive of activity, and the Guest House becomes a clubhouse, where everyone can be together in a safe, relaxed environment, with a fire and a wet bar. The beach is nearby for a quiet walk, and the rural road is perfect for a long walk or a 7 mile run over flat terrain. Good air, absence of urban noises, plethora of wildlife all around, all invigorate and free the mind and body. You awake after a sound sleep in our luxurious beds, cradled in the deep silence broken only by the sound of waves lapping at the beach, and birds going about their musical lives. Breakfast is served in the main dining room, where excellent French press Caffe Vita coffee is enjoyed while staring out over the marine scene. Perhaps it is windy, and whitecaps splash over the bow of a passing freighter, or the Alaska Ferry if it is Tuesday or Friday. Perhaps it is calm, and the rising sun illuminates tiny Puffin island just in front of Matia, an island you never knew existed until just that moment. The breakfast of fresh organic eggs, perhaps polenta, Hempler's bacon, fresh baked scones or breakfast cake, fresh Odwalla orange juice, and plenty of rich coffee nudges you out of your reverie. This promises to be a good day.

  When you are leaving, the shared experience is not over, as there is the pleasant drive to the ferry, and the 5 minute ride across Hales Passage. You pay special attention now to the reefnet boats along Legoe Bay, having learned about the fishery from your innkeepers. Twenty minutes later you are back in Bellingham, where everything is as it was, but you are different.