Pacific NW Travel Review – Adrift Hotel and Pickled Fish Restaurant, Long Beach, Washington
One of my favorite things to do is review places to travel and stay because I believe travel and exploration is one of the best investments of our money, time and energy. Not only have we shared a lot of local getaways in the Pacific Northwest, but we also shared reviews and stories from our nationwide travels in the Airstream. Memories are made when you get out of the comfort zone of your own home and get outside, hit the road, hop a plane or just go for a quick overnight trip. I look forward to bringing back more travel posts as we ease back into being able to travel again.
Today I’m sharing about our latest trip to the Adrift Hotel in Long Beach, Washington. You may have recalled, I shared about the Adrift before (back in 2014) but things have been seriously updated around there – so I wanted to show you around and share our latest experience.
Our first night’s reservation was a Friday night. . . after a long week of school and work I am grateful Long Beach, Washington is only a 2 hr 15 min drive getting us there around 6:30 p.m. Our room had two queen beds and a partial ocean view. Queen beds are perfect for our family – we have a 14-yr-old boy and a 11-year-old girl. We pair up girls in one bed, boys in another. . .and it works out great for what we need. Their beds are so comfortable!
I LOVE the decor at the Adrift. It’s rustic, simple, sustainable and even feels a little vintage – totally my vibe. They are known for their simplicity and affordability! You’ll find simple light bulbs hanging from cords, raw woods, repurposed pallets, simple bedding and a very Pacific Northwest feeling. In my opinion, it’s welcoming but unpretentious – just like our Washington coasts – and one of the reasons we love it so much.
Our room had a sink right outside the bathroom – a convenient option for a hotel room, especially when traveling with a crowd because someone can be getting ready or brushing their teeth while someone else might be in the shower. You can see from the photo the clean amenities, simple finishes and vintage vibe. I love it.
The bathroom in our room had a tub . . . plenty of towels (thankful for that) and plenty of room to move around (not all hotel bathrooms are so spacious). I love the big shower head in our room – it delivered a hot “rainfall” type shower that was perfect after a cool day outside at the beach.
A sweet touch that’s been added since our last visit are these Adrift waffle fabric embroidered bath robes. These are perfect for tossing on over your swimsuit to head to the pool or for lounging in around the room – my kids especially loved them.
Speaking of the pool. . . .this is a newer feature at the Adrift and our first visit with it in place. WHAT A TREAT! A heated saline pool in Washington winter? Yes, please! It was our first stop after we got settled into our room. Spacious, clean, warm (did I say warm) outdoor – but covered – pool, it was a treat. We went at least once a day during our stay.
Here’s a photo of the pool/spa building our first night there. Well lit, clean, accessible by code only – the pool is tucked right inside to keep you from getting rained on or windswept. Next to the pool is the in-house spa with massages and spa treatments. We’ll have to book these the next time we go – the services look amazing.
Right next to the pool, in a fenced area, you’ll find wood barrel sauna and fire pit/lounging area. I wish I could have gotten a photo of this area at night – with the fire lit up, but it was a popular place and I was trying to respect everyone’s privacy who was hanging out around the fire. This is definitely a fun place to hang with your traveling companions. The sauna, pictured to the right in the photo), is a small wooden barrel steam sauna with a glass wall – so you can look out at the woods. I especially loved the hot, dry heat of the sauna after a cool windy day at the beach.
After our swim in the pool and our sit in the sauna, we headed up to the room and ordered room service from the Pickled Fish restaurant. Weekend nights at the Pickled Fish are generally bustling – often with live music – a fun place to be! But because we had the kids and it was the first night for our puppies in the hotel room, we opted for a little room service. Delivered piping hot and quickly – the pizza was the perfect treat after working up an appetite in the pool.
We slept like champs (we always do at the beach!) and our first night was a lot of fun with the pool, sauna, room service and a movie in the room. And since I have this adorable pic of my pup on here – can we talk about how pet friendly the Adrift is? We brought our two little puppies with us – and we love that they are only a small additional fee (just $20/ea) and the rooms are spacious enough to accommodate their sleeping crates.
The next morning we got up excited to spend the day exploring. . . we loved our peekaboo views of the ocean and the close walking distance to the beach.
Not only are you close to the beach, but also the boardwalk that goes right along the main road in town. Everything is in walking distance!
One of the biggest reasons why we love Long Beach, Washington is how walking friendly it is. We rarely have to hop in the car – especially when staying at the Adrift, because it’s so centrally located.
On EVERY trip to Long Beach we stop at the Funland Family Arcade in town. It’s a highlight for our kids – and honestly, as adults we have fun there, too.
It can get crowded during the summer months – but we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves last fall. When you get there – they’ll give you a Funland card with your funds on it – and you swipe it at the machine you want to play. This card also tracks any points you earn from the games – that you can redeem for prizes at the end!
They have lots of type of games – everything from basketball to Skeeball, to old fashioned pinball and newer style games.
My son loves this game – where you win rolls of TICKETS to redeem for prizes – here he’s winning a big ole roll of 900 tickets! WAHOO! I definitely recommend that if you’re traveling with kids to hit up the Funland Family Arcade. There are also a lot of other family friendly activities, like mini golf, go carts, etc – but the arcade is probably our favorite and the one we did on our last trip.
Another family friend activity you can do is rent a bike from the Adrift lobby! Located just in the lobby, the beach bikes are free to rent and a lot of fun, I love that they offer them. They also have a game room with shuffleboard and ping pong.
And speaking of the lobby. . .the Adrift has an amazing selection of Pacific Northwest snacks and beverages to purchase. This is awesome if you just want to get a cold beer, a bottle of wine, a soda, a bag of chips or a package of jerky to snack on! There are so many delicious options available for purchase, it’s frankly hard to choose! And because we love coffee so much here in the Pacific Northwest – make sure and help yourself to the complimentary coffees, teas and lemon/lime water in the lobby as well. What a treat!
For a more filling food choice – you MUST go to the Pickled Fish restaurant. The views from the restaurant are phenomenal. . . and the food, well, it’s one of our favorite restaurants of all time. You can see the latest menus here – always changing, but always delicious. For our dinner we started with a big bowl of clam chowder – which we all shared as a family as an appetizer. There is something about chowder at the beach – it’s just the best.
My daughter got the Aged Mac and Cheese . . . oh my goodness, delicious – look at how beautiful it is, too!
My husband got halibut and chips. . .their fries are delicious and they always have wonderful fresh fish on the menu. So good.
And my son and I both got burgers, made on house bread, with aged cheddar, butter pickles and their amazing fries. You can’t go wrong with any of the items on their menu! In addition to the yummy food – they always have a righteous collection of brews and beverages on tap and delicious cocktail combos!
We love the Adrift Hotel as a family-friendly, pet-friendly, home-away-from-home, affordable place to stay. . . where we know we’ll be treated like family, served delicious food and drink, and sleep well after exhausting but energy-filled memory-making days at the beach. We hope enjoy this review and we’d love to hear from you – have you stayed at the Adrift? Do you have favorite Long Beach activities that we should try next time we go? Do you have recommendations for other Pacific Northwest lodging or getaways?
This post is not sponsored or endorsed by the Adrift. All thoughts, opinions, photos, reviews and insights are those of my own and my family. Go check if out for yourself – we think you’ll love it as much as we do!
Photo of my daughter from our last Adrift review back in 2014. She was just 3.5 sound asleep after all the fun we had.
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