I absolutely enjoyed our stay and loved Mary's cottage. My boyfriend and I stayed for a romantic getaway and this place definitely didn't disappoint. The cottage is exactly as seen in the photos, but what the photos don't relay is the charm of the cottage, rural location, or the host. The cottage is full of character and I could definitely sense Mary's artistic touch in every corner. Mary and her husband were very kind and helped show us around the first day.
Part of the uniqueness of the property were the owners horses, dogs and cats. All were super friendly and curious. Dorie the "puppy" was quite entertaining in particular. Another aspect not to be missed is the rock outcropping at the bottom of their property. The owners encouraged us to go to the rock and look for whales using the binoculars they provided. One day we noticed a bunch of boats out in the strait and so we went to look. Sure enough, the L Pod (Resident orca whales) were there and we were able to first see them through binoculars, then our own eyes and could even hear when they blew. AMAZING!
We were able to find everything we needed in the kitchen to cook and/or barbque our meals and there was plenty of room for two in the rest of the cottage. I loved waking up everyday and looking out at the amazing view while drinking coffee. The cottage also has a jacuzzi (that is private and decorated with strings of lights) that was perfect way to end the day after hiking and/or exploring the island.
Even though the cottage is more rural and located in the southwest side of the island, it doesn't take very long to get anywhere on the island by car and we got to the ferry within 15 minutes for an 8 am ferry. The owners put together a booklet of things to do on the island which was really helpful. I recommend doing the ~3 mile hike at Mount Grant, exploring American Camp and the nearby beaches, Lime Kiln Lighthouse (or Whale Watch Park) and tidepools at low tide, the nearby lavendar farm, lunch at Roche Harbor, farmers market on Saturdays, and music in the park by the ferry landing on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons. And of course, a whale watching cruise. A friend recommended Maya Legacy Whale Watching and they were awesome!
Overall, loved the cottage and highly recommend it!