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The Rosario Resort on Orcas Island.
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Orcas island, 80 miles north of Seattle in Washington State’s San Juan Islands, is home to Moran State Park and the traditionally elegant Rosario Resort. This seaside playground occupies eight acres of hillside on Cascade Bay and was originally the 54-room private residence of ship-building magnate Robert Moran.
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Rosario Resort was the private residence
of ship-building magnate Robert Moran.
(Photo courtesy of Richmond Public Relations.)
Completed in 1909, the Moran Mansion is the centerpiece of Rosario Resort. Surrounding buildings house guest rooms and meeting conference space. The mansion houses lobby, offices, Museum & Music Room, dining rooms, spa and lounge. A concierge desk arranges golf, whale watching trips, kayaking, bicycling, boat charters, and tours of the island’s potters’ and artisans’ studios.
No visit here would be complete without a whale-watching experience, so after check in we’re off to discover whales. Our adventure begins at the Rosario Marina, where we board the Pelagic, the newest vessel with Deer Harbor Charters. Pelagic, built in Maine, is a 36-foot vessel licensed for 20 passengers. Its lobster boat design—stable, fast, and roomy—has been used by commercial operators for over 75 years. Its modern diesel engine meets the latest EPA standards; this is the first company in the Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest to use bio diesel in their boats.
No one knows why whales breach.
(Photo courtesy of Richmond Public Relations.)
Onboard naturalist James provides an educational, informative and witty presentation on the history, distribution and habits of whales and other wildlife. But first, the required disclaimer: “The big rule here is no running, no swimming, and hang on,” James says. “Lawyers must remain seated.”
We learn that Mt. Baker is an active volcano and this area has the highest density of resident bald eagles per square mile in the lower 48. We learn that some nests in the San Juans have been used continually by eagles for 75 years. Snacks and drinks are available onboard for sale, and we learn that “Film is $7.50 and goes up to $500.00 as soon as we reach the whales.”
Paddle amongst the jpod.
Pelagic slows for an eagle sighting. Cameras click, and a few minutes later James asks, “Everybody see the eagle? I stapled it to the branch.” James points out nearby islands—Lopez, Shaw, a private island and one owned by a nature conservancy. “San Juan Island is the most populated island in the San Juans,” he says, “though Orcas is larger.” Orcas Island’s name has nothing to do with orca whales; it’s named after a patron of Spanish exploration, Don Juan Vincente de Guemes Pacheco Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo Conde de Revilla Gigedo.
Pelagic heads north through Boundary Pass. “1,600 porpoises live in these waters,” James says, adding that porpoises have a rounder nose than dolphins. Now we’re officially into Canadian waters. James says, “Ok, now I gotta find whales for you.” Orcas, on the endangered species list, are at the top of the food chain; they have no predators—except man—and some whales even eat great white sharks. They’re matrilineal (“You spend your entire life with your mother, like Italians”) and their social structure is closer to elephants.
Rosario Resort is in the heart of the
San Juan Islands, and NATURE.
(Photo courtesy of the resort.)
Cameras raise for our first sighting! “We must stay 100 yards from the whales,” James says, “especially when they breach.” No one knows for sure why whales breach, but it’s believed to be “a turnaround signal.” It’s been observed that females breach more than males and young ones more than adults.
Three Orca pods, called J, K, and L, live year-round in these waters. “We have the same 89 whales we started the year with,” James says. This is good, as whales suffer from damming, logging, the fishing industry, drugs and refuse polluting the waters, decreasing quantities of salmon, and the infamous “Sea World captures”, where baby whales were taken to start breeding programs.
We come upon J pod, and James points out “Granny”—95-years-old—and her latest offspring, Ruffles. Naturalists have observed and photographed the whales of all three pods, identifying them by the arrangement of black and white on their dorsal fin. These resident orcas eat just one thing—salmon.
Moran's vault now keeps spa towels.
Avanyu Spa at Rosario Resort.
(Photo courtesy of the resort.)
We're traveling parallel to the direction of the pod. Here it's 500 feet deep. James tells us whales never sleep and they're voluntary breathers. "A full-grown male can hold his breath for half an hour." Whales definitely talk to each other, and stop talking when a giant container ship goes by. James frowns and says, “Sort of like you’d stop talking if a jet went right overhead.” Coastal Salish legend believes whales bring salmon and your reward for being a good and moral person could be to come back as a “blackfish.” James says, “Whales have the best gig on the planet—hang out, have sex, eat salmon. You got that sixties free love salmon barbecue thing goin’ on.”
Originally from New Hampshire, James has been an Orcas Island resident for ten years. He’s working on a degree in environmental science from Johns Hopkins. He had a corporate job till he “met the girl of my dreams on a glacier in Alaska.” They visited Orcas Island for a week-end—and stayed. “It’s an unbelievable area,” he says. “Did I mention that I love my job? Beats working—oh wait, I am working.” Then he adds, “I spend more time with the whales than I do with my wife.”
The Moran Music Room and library.
A working 1,972-pipe Aeolian organ.
We return to the mansion and catch a concert in Moran's Music Room. A Tiffany chandelier overlooks plush red velvet theater chairs and a Belgian stained glass window depicting the harbor of Antwerp. We're hearing a working 1,972-pipe Aeolian organ, in 1913 the largest to be installed in a private home in the U.S. The musician is local composer and curator of the Moran Mansion, Christopher Peacock.
Guests are entertained with a slide show of archival photos and stories about the mansion and the history of the area. Christopher says, “Imagine you’re a guest in 1925.” He has edited the original Lon Chaney black and white film, Phantom of the Opera, to 8 minutes of highlights, projected while he plays a rousing accompaniment of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Phantom music. Christopher's concerts in the Music Room have been described by the New York Times as “A special treat.”
The rest of the second floor is the Moran Museum, eight rooms of herringbone parquet, teak and Honduran mahogany, period décor and family memorabilia. Many photos displayed here were taken by Moran himself, an avid photographer. “The whole influence of the period was arts and crafts, a revolt to the Industrial Revolution.," says Christopher. "The symbol was the fireplace in the home, so here you’ll find a fireplace in every room.”
Rosario's Dining Room,
formerly a veranda.
Dine overlooking East Sound.
The Dining Room overlooks the outdoor swimming pool and Cascade Bay, an inlet of Eastsound, where yachts moor and seaplanes regularly land and depart. This dining room was originally part of a veranda surrounded the mansion; in the restoration, its arches became arched windows. “It was a challenge to turn a home into a hotel,” says Christoper. Acoustic music from a 1900 Steinway Grand piano accompanies dinner.
Our charming Russian waitress, Tamar, is part of a hotel-student exchange program. She says in a charming accent, "The soup of the day is Tomato Basil."
We begin with appetizers: Dungeness Crab Cake Fennel, Apple & Bacon Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette; and Antipasti of Olives, Salami, Gorgonzola Cheese, Marinated Artichokes, and Prosciutto. To pace ourselves gastronomically, we share a salad or Organic Field Greens with Dried Fruit, Bleu Cheese, Candied Walnuts and Red Wine Vinaigrette. Signature cuisine entrées include Cedar Plank Salmon with Citrus Butter and Toasted Capers, accompanied by a Shellfish Risotto, and Fresh Alaskan Halibut Pan Seared with Lemon Beurre Blanc and Coconut Jasmine Rice. My husband orders the Grilled Flat Iron Steak with House Rub Spices and Bordelaise Sauce accompanied by Horseradish Mashed Potatoes. For dessert we sample a Trio of Sorbets served in a Tuilie Magnolia cup drizzled with Raspberry sauce, and the Marionberry Crisp, baked and served hot with Vanilla Ice Cream.
The mansion lounge.
After dinner drinks are in the Moran Lounge, with its original bar, chairs, and fireplace mantle fashioned in Seattle Shipyards. Light pours in through marbled stain glass, a feature of the Arts & Crafts Period. From the Moran Lounge, wood-framed glass pocket doors lead to the former veranda.
To appreciate the elegant lifestyle represented here, one must hear the Horatio Alger story of Robert Moran. Arriving in Seattle from New York at 17 with pennies in his pocket, Moran found brief jobs as logging camp cook and steamboat seaman. A skilled machinist, he soon set up his own shop in Seattle. Moran went on to wealth and prominence, building the battleship U.S.S. Nebraska and serving two terms as mayor of Seattle. Friend John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, influenced a lifelong interest in the sea and naturalist causes.
The resort is decked out
with fine hardwoods.
(Photo courtesy of the resort.)
All guest rooms have
down duvet comforters.
In 1904, at 46 and stressed out by his active business life, Moran was diagnosed with only a few years to live. He gave the business to his brothers, purchased 7,000 acres on Orcas Island and built his retirement home, calling it “Rosario.” In this luxurious and quiet environment, he recovered, dying at home at age 86.
Robert Moran built his mansion with the same attention to detail that helped build his successful business. The foundation is cut 16 feet into solid rock. Concrete walls are twelve inches thick. paneled with mahogany. There are 6,000 square feet of teak parquet flooring. Some Honduran Mahogany doors were so heavy he invented a huge cone-shaped Butterfly hinge to hold them. All windows that open up as part of the original house are 7/8” porthole glass. Six tons of copper sheeting cover the roof. Christopher says, “I call the building ‘nautical arts and crafts.’”
Cost in 1905 dollars: $2.5 million.
A sumptuous good-morning buffet.
The mansion's "quiet" pool.
Aerobics on the lawn.
In the morning a sumptuous Breakfast Buffet is served in the Mansion Dining Room. Afterwards we explore the lower level of the mansion, discovering an indoor lap pool (originally salt water), mosaic floors and The Avanyu Spa. From the Tewa Native American Indian name for a mythical water serpent, Avanyu is a natural wellness center offering massage and spa treatments, including herbal aromatherapy wraps and facials. Classes at the spa—yoga, water aerobics, step aerobics, strength and conditioning, Pilates—are included in the resort fee. There are also a Fitness room, Jacuzzi and changing rooms.
Part of this area was originally a two-lane full-size bowling alley and game room with pool tables. “The bowling alley was badly deteriorated," Christopher says, "so it’s now two massage rooms.” The Spa waiting area was the original vault. “Not sure what he kept in here or how much but we keep towels in here now,” Christopher says.
A hallway leading to the exercise and wet rooms, Mansion Deck pool and Bar and Grill is lined with black and white photos of the Moran family. This pool is a “Quiet pool” for ages 16 plus—a polite way of saying, no noisy kids. The Family Pool is down by the marina.
Rosario’s grassy grounds provide gracious outdoor venues for weddings, banquets, and outdoor seminars. The Discovery Conference Center, with on-site parking, has 5,000-plus square feet of flexible meeting and banquet facilities for up to 300 people. Rosario Marina has 34 yacht slips and 25 day-use mooring buoys.
The indoor lap pool.
After breakfast we drive to nearby Mount Constitution, the highest peak in the San Juan Islands. From the stone tower at its summit we can see islands, straits and the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. The tower is 52 feet high, patterned after the 12th-century watchtowers of the Caucasus Mountains, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Rosario Resort offers 116 guest rooms with balcony or patio, water and island views, terry robes and down duvet comforters. The Mansion is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a member of the National Trust Historic Hotels of America.
A hotel shuttle goes two times a day to the island town of Eastsound. Or you can take a more frequent public island shuttle ($10 flat fee for hotel guests), getting on and off all day.
Getting to Orcas Island and Rosario Resort:
Guest rooms have balconies or patios.
Transportation options include:
* Washington State Ferry from Anacortes; for guests a shuttle service from the ferry to the resort for a nominal fee.
* Kenmore Air seaplane service from downtown Seattle’s Lake Union to the Rosario Marina.
* San Juan Airlines plane service from Seattle’s Boeing Field to Eastsound Airport on Orcas Island.
*Private and chartered helicopter onto the lawns of the resort or into Eastsound Airport.
*Private and chartered boats may moor at the hotel’s private marina, where rental cars are also available.
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Feature and photos by Carolyn Proctor, Jetsetters Magazine Adventure Editor.
Rosario Resort
1400 Rosario Road
Eastsound, WA 98245
Room Reservations 800-562-8820
360-376-2222
Fax 360-376-2289
www.rosarioresort.com
Whale Watching:
Deer Harbor Charters
Orcas Island
Deer Harbor, Washington
1-800-544-5758
360-376-5989
chartert@rockisland.com
www.deerharborcharters.com
