I need to be careful or this blog is just going to become a Seabrook fan account. Thankfully there are hundreds of houses there to rent and we still seem to have all the time in the world to travel near rather than far. We’ve had such lovely prior visits to Seabrook so a trip to Seabrook in the winter was inevitable. We ended up booking last minute recently because the mountain pass to our cabin was closed, soccer was cancelled, and it was impossible to get a PCR test to get to Vancouver to visit or even see family. And by last minute we booked Cedarbrook Cottage literally the night before we left.
Cedarbrook Cottage
This is now the 5th place we’ve stayed in Seabrook and Cedarbrook Cottage might be our favorite rental for our family so far. For decor, this Seabrook vacation rental is the absolute win. From its cool vintage lighting, ( I loved some of them so much I looked up the store Mary Davis Lighting and found out sadly that it recently closed in 2021.) to comfortable chairs (maybe a couple I’ve seen at Blu Dot or Designs within Reach) and thoughtful art in every nook, the Cedarbrook Cottage description reads “think part beach cabin part mountain cabin” and this home has done this perfectly. I don’t have enough Hygge words in my vocabulary to describe how delightfully comfortable our stay was at this home. This rental is also a short walk from the village center as well as the beach so it was in a great location for a winter trip.
There is also a cedar hot tub outdoors
We always debate whether or not we should get a place with a hot tub when we visit Seabrook and while we don’t need one we always enjoy it when our rental home has one. Cedarbrook Cottage is the only rental that we’ve seen with a cedar tub and the garden setting makes it really inviting. I have to remember to bring my bathrobe next time though-there are towels but I really wanted a fluffy robe. (I also wish I packed chocolate chip cookie dough to make fresh baked cookies but I forgot that this time too.). After a day walking around in the chilly beach air it was refreshing to have a hot soak in the cedar tub outside and it really added to our experience this visit. We also got beautiful sunny skies on this trip and even a gorgeous sunrise too. After all the rain and snow and chill we’ve had in Seattle recently, the weather this weekend was really lovely.
And Cedarbrook Cottage has a woodburning stove
Another reason why we booked this particular cabin is because it had a woodburning stove which is one thing we like when we stay at Iron Springs Resort nearby (this resort is extremely hard to book lately!). It was a little difficult to get it working so it would have been nice to have an instruction book and if there was an axe or if we thought to bring one we could have chopped the wood up a little smaller- the logs were a bit too big. But there was also a propane firepit outside and eventually we had a blazing fire inside as well. Sometimes it’s just knowing things like a woodburning stove are available that adds to the magic of a vacation.
We did not bring our bikes this time even though Seabrook is perfect for biking
And we didn’t use our tennis rackets either. And we didn’t go to the pool. We pretty much read, rested, ate yummy food and went for walks to the beach. It was so sunny for the first time in ages and we soaked in all the sun as we walked along the sand. We even stopped by the bookstore and found copies of books in stock that my guys were trying to get in Seattle. It was luxuriously restful to have nothing to do and having a roomy, comfortable and beautiful space made it really easy to relax. Also, Seabrook in the winter feels a lot emptier than Seabrook in the summer and it was pretty special to feel like we had the whole beach to ourselves.
And after five Seabrook visits we now have a bunch of food favorites
The guys still claim Cookies Country Chicken is their favorite Seabrook meal and while the truck was not open this visit I think a location is opening in Ballard closer to home. We love the cronut and the cinnamon bun at the Vista Bakeshop. The fish and chips and a harvest salad we had at the new Rising Tide Tavern were pretty delicious too. (And thankfully they let us do takeout as well-hopefully next time we’ll eat in) And the roasted banana ice cream from the Sweet Life is dreamy.
If more restaurants open up, we are going to need to stay more nights so we can try all the things. And I keep threatening that if school goes online again, we’re coming right back here. So maybe that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world at all. We’re thankful that we were invited ages ago now to come to Seabrook– it’s definitely been a solace of a stick-to-yourself-getaway only 3 hours drive from Seattle and I cannot wait to come back one day with friends and family too.
PS. the only thing I wish Seabrook had more of is electric vehicle charging and composting. There is one public Tesla charger and some houses like Cedarbrook Cottage have access to their own chargers. We were supposed to check with the management because the charging was shared with another rental but we managed to find some time when the Tesla charger wasn’t occupied and it worked out just fine.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)