An Oregon Coast BnB Like a Luxury Hotel: Sandlake Country Inn

Published 07/15/2018 at 7:52 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Pacific City, Oregon) – A mere stone's throw from the massive Sand Lake Dunes Recreation Area and a quick jaunt to the beach, there's a small, slightly unassuming gray house with blue trim standing in the middle of the forested road heading to the dunes. If you blink, you might miss it.

It’s a north Oregon coast treasure, however. A bed and breakfast called Sandlake Country Inn, it’s aptly named: lounging gracefully in the midst of a bucolic, rather backwoodsy section of the Three Capes Tour. The distinguished little spot has you sitting in the lap of luxury while also providing a rugged experience, all under a roof that has quite a past.

This is not your typical BnB. There’s a cottage out back, and privacy reigns supreme in the other three rooms of this historic charmer. The whole places screams romance, and with a bit of a European accent. The fine touches begin with access to cookies 24 and hot beverages hours a day, and they end with climactic displays of beautiful furnishings and décor that often have an Old Europe vibe. Well, that and the stellar breakfast and dinner service to your door.

Owners Ron and Diane Emineth provide a lot of unique features here, but the history of the Sandlake Country Inn is really quite stunning. Starting out as a pioneer homestead in the late 1800’s, parts of it were built from the spilled timber cargo from a shipwreck nearby.

Around Christmas of 1890, a Norwegian sailing schooner called the Shuan hit the sands around Cape Lookout and broke apart. The crew had abandoned it some ten days before at sea when storms hit and the ship began taking on water. So when this vessel shipwrecked on these sands, it was a Christmas present for those looking for easy wood and other supplies.

The original owners / builders were the King family, recent immigrants from Britain.

100 years later, a lot of the seafaring wood is behind the walls, but some is still evident. Some spots show old saw marks from when the 100-year-old wood was milled up in Canada.

All rooms have one kind of Jacuzzi, deck or fireplaces or another. Other fab features include not just a four-course breakfast delivered to your room but also in-room dinners. It’s like a luxury hotel, but more intensely personal.

The Starlight Suite comes with intricate, classical designs in the bedroom, reminiscent of turn-of-the-century Europe. This then moves to a sleeker, more modern white sitting room that is cozy and yet striking.

The bedroom of the Rose Garden Room feels slightly Victorian with its canopied bed. Then there’s the outdoor patio surrounded by the lush Oregon coast forests of this section of Tillamook County.

Another step back in time, the Timbers Suite features some of the actual wood from the shipwreck, along with a living room that feels a tad like the study of explorer character Laura Croft.

In the back, the cottage is at once sleek and yet historical in vibe and texture, where you’ve got a patio right up against a rather fairy tale-like babbling brook.

Another interesting part of its history is the path of the owners. Diane had been a professional musician for 23 years before acquiring the inn. Ron had worked in a brokerage for five years. They met in ‘98.

“A crazy whirlwind swept through our lives in 2001,” Diane said. “Changing careers, getting married and picking up our lives in Los Angeles and buying our beautiful bed and breakfast.”

Diane played violin and viola in L.A., but this also brought her all over the world as she record or performed with different artists from the classical world as well as pop and rock.

“But, after many years as like any job, burnout occurred,” Diane said. “For approximately 15 years, I had the thought in the back of my mind that if I ever gave up the music business I would want to have my own B&B.”

For both, a love of travel helped decide their fate.

“Now my office is maintaining the great outdoors at Sandlake Country Inn and making and living up to my title of Mr. Fixit,” Ron said.

In recent years they’ve added a special component for those soon to be married. It’s almost a separate business, called Oregon Coast Weddings & Elopements, which Diane said is going exceptionally well.

“We do stand-alone officiating and photography as well as the all-inclusive packages which includes a night stay at the inn,” she said. “Couples can get married on the beach for $200 for the officiant and if they want, add the photography for an additional $395. Of course our all-inclusive packages are more, but still for the budget minded.”

Sandlake Country Inn is at 8505 Galloway Rd. Pacific City, Oregon, about ten minutes north of the actual town. Website here. 503-965-6745. More photos below:

The original homestead, circa 1900

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