When’s the last time you went to Leavenworth? Even growing up north of the border in Vancouver BC, we knew of this adorable Bavarian town in Eastern Washington and I visited a few times as a kid. The whole places has such fun character and its mountain backdrop is just stunning. I didn’t know of Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort in Leavenworth until much more recently. And we hadn’t really brought our kids to this area since we went to the Kid’s Adventure Games years ago. So when we were invited to stay at the Osprey’s Nest at the Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort on our way to a soccer tournament I was really excited to see what this place is all about.
The Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort has been in Washington since August 1995
I love places with a story and Sleeping Lady seems to have just that. This cozy little resort is the dream of Harriet Bullitt, who owned a neighboring property and bought its 67 acres to preserve the land in 1991. Apparently she sat with friends in the “Grotto” area where guests now eat pizza and ice cream and wine with their loved ones and figured out the plans for what we know as the Sleeping Lady Resort today. She also established the Icicle Fund, a non-profit organization to support arts, environment and history in the North Central Washington area and in 2019 the Sleeping Lady was donated to this fund so that it’s proceeds can help these things too. So every time we stay at Sleeping Lady our stays give back to the area too. (PS. I read the founding parable and found it intriguing and you might want to read it too.)
What does a stay look like at Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort?
There are a variety of rooms you can book at Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort. Most likely what you stay in will be dictated by availability because this area is very popular-some people come just to stay in the area, others book for an event, others might even be using the resort before and after hiking the Enchantments. Guest rooms are designed in clusters of little private rooms in outdoor cabins. These have different room configurations (one bed, one bed with bunks…..etc) and all have bathrooms. There are now a few stand alone cabins that can be booked too
The Steller’s Jay Suite for instance is a stand alone cabin at Sleeping Lady
This cabin provides a private entrance to the pool deck and used to be where the original spa was. It is now a two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite that sleeps up to 6 people with 1 king, 1 queen, and a pullout queen-sized memory foam sofa sleeper. It is dog-friendly too.
And the Osprey’s Nest was once Harriet Bullitt’s winter retreat and home at the resort
We were thankful to be invited to be some of the first guests to experience the Osprey’s Nest at Sleeping Lady. This cabin is the epitome of peaceful luxury. The beds are comfy-there is a king bed in the main bedroom upstairs, a queen wall bed on the main floor and a sleeper sofa in the living room. With two teenagers in our family, having two full bathrooms on a trip is a dream. There is a fully equipped kitchen and a washer and dryer. Everything about this place feels peaceful and thoughtfully designed to take in the outside views while still being inside.
We lived on the wrap around deck where we could relax on the inviting patio furniture and take in the mountain views. It poured rain at one day of our trip and we all stayed outside taking in the much needed cool refreshment of it all-we hadn’t seen rain in way too long and it felt pretty luxurious to be able to smell the first rain smell without getting wet. There was also a really well-stocked Nespresso machine that made morning coffee on the deck very easy as well. And I was hoping to see the Chihuly sculpture on the property while we were visiting and I couldn’t believe that we could see it from our deck.
I almost forgot to mention the views from the bathroom upstairs-they were spectacular. This bathroom even had its own sitting area too.
The Osprey’s Nest at Sleeping Lady was perfect for our family with teenagers. It might also be good for a multi-generational trip too. You can find out more about the Osprey’s Nest and how to book here.
Most of the cabins do not have parking nearby and you will have to wheel your things in a cute cart along the path which kind of adds to the feeling of adventure. I noticed at least one ADA cabin with parking nearby and that can be booked by phoning the resort.
Where to eat at Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort
While we were visiting, there was a breakfast buffet every morning for around $25 and this took place in a small cabin near the Lobby. At night the Grotto restaurant was open and this is kind of run like a take out, eat in place. Everything comes in takeout boxes that you could take back to your room but it was so lovely sitting outside with everyone else, eating and drinking and enjoying nature. The inside of the Grotto looks like it would be a cozy space in wintertime too. I don’t think there are any food areas open on the resort at lunch, but there are a few grab and go things you could purchase from the lobby fridge (we ended up coming home with the most giant tub of delicious chocolate pretzel bits you could imagine-I would almost go back just for these chocolate covered pretzels). In downtown Leavenworth there are lots of food options and it’s not very far away.
Hot drink bar in the Lobby
The hot drink bar in the lobby is such a thoughtful space. You can get coffee but also hot tea, cider and hot chocolate. And in the afternoon there are cookies at the lobby desk too.
And we loved the resort pool!
The pool is small but spectacular. One night we saw deer as we were swimming. We also swam in the rain. Next to the pool is a Play Barn with ping pong, a pool table from the late 1800’s and a piano you can tinker on and lots of comfortable seating.
There are so many thoughtful touches at this resort that you can see the intention built into its core. I can’t believe it took us so long to visit Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort. But we are thankful we had a chance to visit and this is a place we will think about visiting again soon.
(PS. I need to make a note that we really want to go tubing in Leavenworth next time we visit too so we actually make it happen. We scoped out of few places to swim in the river for next time as well. Have you ever been tubing down the river here?)
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)
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