Rosario Resort

It was close to the marina.

Location. Quiet, close to the water. The staff very nice, friendly and helpful. We loved meeting Sean(sp?) He was delightful, a wealth of info about the island. We would love to see him again. Jacob & Selena were also very nice and helpful. Our room was very nice and clean.

The quiet atmosphere

Fantastic view, waterfront room. Quiet. Comfortable bed and linens, good temperature control, decent hot water in bathroom, clean, Adequate parking.

Beautiful

The room is fine; nicer than I expected, clean, and the view is fantastic. Problem is I never would have found the building if not warned by other users to ask for location specifics, ask for a map, and I had to ask two or three times. They never told me what building I'm in until I asked several times (getting worried) instead of being able to enjoy the rainbow from the ferry as the ferry approached the dock! Worse, they lied: remote communication emails and texts assured me there would be staff at the "Beach House" when I arrived, but I stopped by the Beach House at 8:30 PM to find a "Closed" sign. No explanation, no hours posted (that I could easily see, anyway).
Also, there's been a loud, high-pitched whine that I've had to drown out for hours this rainy morning with peaceful music of my own; then it switched to a low roaring hum. I'm guessing this may be the ice machine just next to my room? Ha, nobody needs ice on a chilly rainy morning, temps in the low 50s, and the inefficiency of the equipment means it's sucking energy as well as annoying (if in fact that's the source of the noise).
Yes, you need a car to fully enjoy this location if staying at Rosario. But, DRIVE SLOWLY for wildlife! You don't want to be the one to kill a low-flying bird or a confused baby fawn, like the fawn that stood there on the road in a 55 mph zone yesterday! I was able to come to a complete stop for the little fawn only because I was already watching for wildlife and driving under the speed limit.
Maybe if you stay in Orcas Village where you first get off the ferry, you could walk, bike and get rides to the hiking spots -- Turtleback Mountain. It's gorgeous everywhere here.

The overwhelming beauty of this island is a truly spiritual experience. So if you do stay at Rosario Village, my suggestion is to post an honest review, but then focus on the deeper reality of this incredible island, its Indigenous history, its wildlife populations and beauty. Enjoy!!! Michael at the Cafe in Orcas Village where you first get off the ferry will cheer you up too, if you stop in there anytime 8 - 8. Their server Shoshana gave me good hiking tips.

Location was the only pro from this experience.

View

The view

It must be off season. 5/7/26 We stayed at the round house unit. The door code would not work . Had to drive 4 miles back to town to get cell service to contact booking agent. (Heavy Indian accent with many voices in the background ) After a hour+ got in. Quaint hotel room with great view. Bring supplies nearest restaurant was 5 miles away in town.
The Rosario resort in its past splendor is no more. No one to be seen on the grounds and green water in the swimming pool.

The website is misleading. The website says the rooms are spread over 30 acres, during bookings to me it sounded like it was a walled property. It's more like vacation rental buildings (resemble apartment buildings) with regular homes spread over a few miles.
They do not provide a physical address during booking or even with check in instructions. This is super annoying . a physical address would be so convenient to locate via google or any phone maps.
The remote service was easy enough to reach and they sent a picture of the map but only after I called them after reaching the address provided on the website and not being able to find the rooms. It was inconvenient.
They could have just sent this information via text with check in instructions. they were definitely texting with the online check in process, room code to open the door etc.

The resort is fine, although the crown jewel Moran Mansion is closed for renovation. My issue is with their fully remote front desk. I was sent a partial map which did not include the location of our room. Their WiFi was inoperable and there is no cell service. So we had to drive 15 minutes to find a signal to get a complete map, but when we returned to the resort the door code to the room did not work. Another 30 minute round trip to get a new door code ( they did not apologize but said the previous code “had a glitch”. Even with the right map and new door code we were able to access our rather ordinary room ( not accurately reflected on their website) but the WiFi did not work for nearly an hour after we finally got in.
Suffice it to say we will not be returning ever again

Looks like the shinning & abandoned. Whoever is running it also lied about their policies and what they’re responsible for. Do not stay here.

Do not book here.

The property itself feels largely abandoned, with closed amenities and no on-site staff. This was not disclosed before booking.

Customer service is handled remotely (appears offshore), and while they acknowledged the issue by phone and mentioned a possible partial refund, they then stopped responding entirely. We were told to “wait to hear back from management,” which felt like a delay tactic until the stay was complete.

Once that happened, communication ended.

The unit we received was not what was advertised — listing photos showed a bright space with a vaulted ceiling and large windows, but the actual unit was structurally different with low ceilings and little natural light.

This was a clear case of misrepresentation followed by bad-faith handling. Learn from our experience and book elsewhere.

The first few times I stayed at “Rosario Resort”, the room was nice and the water view was exceptional. The balcony sat just over the water. The room was also large and fully equipped.
This is not the case today. I blame myself for not calling “Rosario Village” and specifically requesting the room I had previously. Somehow I got roped into an Expedia “deal” online. Lesson learned.
Also, now that the “village” is under new ownership, it seems as though the quality of the facility has deteriorated. Why are there stains on the carpet as if someone was murdered and the body was dragged across the carpet? Even in my younger days at Motel 6, I had never seen carpet this bad.
My other gripe is that the mansion was supposed to be reopened in the summer of 2025. Summer has come and gone. So now I am paying for a peekaboo water view that I believed was going to be the “stunning” water view, filthy carpets, and I don’t even have access to the amenities such as the spa, the pool, or the restaurant.
Suffice it to say I will be staying somewhere else next time.

The pictures are deceiving. The Main building and pool were closed. I thought I was staying in the "resort." Turns out the Rosario Resort consists of 1 building of hotel rooms. There is no one on property to check you in. It is self check in on your phone. Although I had no problems with my stay, I felt deceived and slightly nervous as a female solo traveler. It felt isolated and I expected a "Resort."

Our stay here was not as expected. After reading about this hotel online, I followed tips and chose what others had said was a great room (1316) and it did not disappoint in its main feature: stunning views right over the water. It had a beautiful private deck (that has seen better days, but still nice) and a gas fireplace. However, I was unprepared for the level of neglect that seems to have taken over. There were small things: no caffeinated beverages of any kind in the room (only decaf coffee); no tissues; the fireplace didn't work; the TV didn't work; there was one bathrobe instead of two for a king suite. All of these were minor in themselves, but made significantly worse by the big thing: there is no lobby, and no one on duty to speak with. Instead everything is done via a text chatbot. It's true that several hours after I noted the absence of coffee, some arrived, which was good because there was literally nowhere else for miles that I could have gotten a cup of coffee or tea or anything at all to eat or drink. The restaurant was closed, and there is no open common space whatsoever. When the chatbot asked about my stay and I mentioned some of the issues, it assured me that this would "never happen again." This response was a) cold comfort when what I wanted was to have someone come help -- but again, no one on site to do so -- and b) unlikely to reassure me because (again) there was no one to address any of these issues. So I fully expect that nothing has been done about the fireplace or the TV. All of this said, it was a beautiful place to stay. But so poorly managed, and so utterly neglected, that I won't be going back and I cannot recommend that anyone else go, unless you come prepared with all of the food and drink for your stay, and with the knowledge that if something is broken or missing, you will do without. Then you can decide whether or not the price is worth it.