The earlier review is somewhat unfair to Mar Vista Resort. What the visitor did not understand is that the San Juan Islands were once a more primitive and simple place to live. Folks who inhabited the islands may have had less in terms of all the modern conveniences, but instead they had the grace and beauty of a unique place. I know this because my family lived on the island for about 16 years. I was lucky to get to go back and visit this beautiful place. Mar Vista reminded me of the old farmhouse on our property. Yes, it's a little funky, but the sheets and towels were clean, and best of all, there were no phones, no t.v., no loud car stereos, just the beautiful views and the sound of the ocean. You can stop at the market in town and stock up on some goodies to enjoy while at your cabin, or drive back into town for a meal at any of the many restaurants there. We enjoyed a quiet meal on the porch of our cabin on our first night there - some bread, cheese, wine, summer sausage and apples. It wasn't long before three deer came by the cabin. During a whale watching cruise on our first day, 3 pods of whales were viewed in the same area where anyone from Mar Vista's whale watching point would have had an amazing show. Seals are visible on the rocks off shore, and Mar Vista has a great beach for agate hunting and seal and whale viewing. I would definitely go there again. Please just don't expect the Ritz Carlton, if that's what you want, book at stay at the Spa in town.

I you are looking for great location, this is the place! Smack dab on the ocean, a lovely private beach, an orca whale look out, privacy between cabins, and a nice but extremely short 'hiking trail' (a 2 minute lawn mowed path through a field). If you are looking for nice accommodations with this beautiful surrounding however, don't rent a cabin at Mar Vista. Cabin #8 is the only one with an ocean view, but the orca look out is in their lawn, so whoever rents this cabin has to deal with the other guests walking past their cabin and sitting near it to view the ocean. Ok lets get to the cabins. I stayed in #7 and was horrified that they charged so much for such a filthy, aged, poorly equipped cabin. In my college days I was partial to exploring abandoned houses. The first thing I thought when walking in, was that it reminded me of an abandoned house/cabin. Parts of the wall were peeling, a ploof of dirt rose up as I sat on the couch (and threw the stained throw pillow as far from me as I could get it). There were scads of ancient, dirty 'notes' thumb tacked to everything reminding me to "do my dishes" etc, 10 year old sun faded maps and posters haphazardly tacked to the living room wall, old wall paper with tears in it, rust all over the endlessly dripping sink, a bed spread that you would be embarrassed to donate to Goodwill, with a paper thin mattress that hurt so bad to sleep on I seriously considered sleeping n the car, one tiny bath towel each, a shower nozzle that only came up to my shoulder (I am only 5'5) and last but certainly not least, I wrapped myself in a blanket to enjoy a glass of wine despite my surroundings and looked down to find multiple pubic hairs entwined in the blanket. Given the surroundings and solitude, I would have happily paid $70-90 per night, but $130 with taxes is ridiculous. For $60-$89 you can get a private room at the Wayfarer's Inn, or the Juniper (I have stayed at both and they were wonderful). To their credit, the manager was very nice, and the location was to die for...very beautiful. Stay at your own risk people.

Having read the other reviews, we booked a 2 night stay in the largest cabin at the resort.

The booking process was friendly and efficient, and the ocean views are - as described elsewhere - stunning. The other nice points of the stay were seeing deer wandering past our windows, and the peace and quiet - it truly is a retreat.

However......our cabin was really pretty dismal. The funishings were evidently new in the seventies, and many were very shabby. The beds were so creaky that we didn't dare turn over at night for fear of waking the rest of the household, and they also smelt musty.

The place looked clean on the surface but, when we spilt a little water on the kitchen floor and mopped it up with kitchen towel, the paper came away black. Those 70s vinyl floor designs obviously hide a multitude of sins.... There were also cobwebs on many of the ceilings.

The patio door didn't latch properly, and we had to find a piece of wood to wedge it shut - not that there are likely to be many intruders in those parts, but it wasn't very secure for our kids.

Overall, I felt that they were asking top dollar for accomodation that really needs money spending on it to bring it up to a reasonable standard. We didn't go inside any of the other cabins, but the outsides looked worse than ours if anything.

My family has been coming here each summer for four years now and will be coming again next year. My wife and I have three children and we have stayed in Cabin #1 three times and Cabin #3 one time. On our last trip during the first week of this August, we stayed in Cabin #1 which sleeps eight people.

First of all, Mar Vista is not for everyone. Don't expect Marriott's or even Best Western. The cabins have been around for probably 40 years. The furniture and interior is circa 1970's. The beds are a little worn and in one of the cabins (Cabin #3), the bathroom had a strong odor of water damage in the walls and floor. On the plus side, the kitchens are fully equipped and you can pretty much cook just about anything you want.

However, Mar Vista is the perfect place if you want to get away from it all and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. The eight cabins on 30 acres are spaced far apart from each other and most have a nice view of Haro Strait. I have seen Orcas, bald eagles, otter, seals, deer, foxes, and raccoons. The resort has a promitory with an expansive view of Haro Strait from which you can watch Orcas, the Olympic Mountains, and the beautiful sunsets. False Bay is just a few hundred feet from Mar Vista and is a safe place to kayak in, or just explore during low tide.

Mar Vista is also very family friendly. We have taken our teenage nephews and they enjoyed the resort (much too our surprise). We had rented kayaks and kept them on the beach and my nephews were in them several hours a day. The resort has a playground for younger children and a lot of open space for other activities.

I rent kayaks during my stay and spend hours each day exploring the life around the rocks. You can also go fishing or crabbing.

We enjoy Mar Vista for the peace and quiet and wildlife and will continue to vacation there every year.