This was published 4 years ago
US, Washington, Orcas Island: Historic hotel offers glamorous stay at reasonable prices
By Julie Miller
People enjoy the view from the top of Mount Constitution, Moran State Park, Orcas Island.Credit: Alamy
I've walked into Dracula's lair, the sinister strains of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, emanating from 1972 wooden pipes of a 1913 Aeolian organ, evoking horror-movie dread in my overactive imagination.
Sitting gleefully behind the keyboard, legs pumping on multiple floor pedals, is Christopher Peacock, musician, historian and general manager of Rosario Resort & Spa, the most upmarket hotel on Washington State's Orcas Island.
Every Saturday, and five times a week during summer, Peacock transcends his usual job description by performing free concerts on the hotel's organ, recreating scenes from a century ago when original owner Robert Moran entertained his house guests.
Rosario Resort swimming pool area overlooking Cascade Bay on Orcas Island.Credit: Alamy
"Moran actually didn't know how to play the organ," Peacock says as he finishes the classic composition with a flourish. "Back then, it was a 'player' organ, operating on music rolls. But he took great delight in pretending he was a musical genius, and loved it when guests congratulated him on a wonderful concert."
The former mayor of Seattle and a renowned shipbuilder, Moran built Rosario as a private retreat in 1906 after being told he only had six months to live. His plan was to spend his final days in his dream home, enjoying the wilderness of Orcas Island, one of 172 dots in the San Juan archipelago, located between Vancouver Island and the Washington State mainland.
The resulting mansion, overlooking sublime Cascade Bay where sea lions frolic and bald eagles swoop, is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, its wooden interior as elegant as an ocean liner with mahogany panelling, parquet flooring, a mosaic-tiled billiard room, a two-lane maple bowling alley and an indoor therapeutic swimming pool.
Moran's piece de resistance, however, was his beloved music room, a two-level space with a wraparound balcony, two mezzanine libraries, a stained glass window, Tiffany lights and, of course, that incredible organ that he loved to play every morning, waking his guests at the crack of dawn.
A staunch conservationist, Moran also set about buying up tracts of forest surrounding his home. By 1911 he had acquired 3156 hectares, offering it to the state of Washington as the Moran State Park – a proposal it inexplicably refused until 1921, despite Moran building the park's roads, trails and infrastructure at his own expense.
And what of his doctor's grim prognosis of imminent demise? Well, Robert Moran passed away in 1943 at the ripe old age of 86 – clearly the fresh air and tranquillity of Orcas Island worked its magic.
Having outlived his wife, Moran decided to move to a more humble abode on the island in 1938, selling Rosario to Californian industrialist, Donald Rheem (of hot water fame). In 1960, the mansion was again sold and converted into a hotel, along with its original furnishings and fixtures.
Today, Rosario Resort & Spa is a glamorous resort on Orcas, featuring a waterfront restaurant and bar, a spa, the original indoor as well as a new outdoor pool, a museum containing rare early 20th century photographs and accommodation in a range of guest rooms spread over the 16-hectare grounds.
Personally overseeing resort management for the past 39 years, Christopher Peacock ensures that Moran's vision lives on in his former home, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As well as his weekly concerts, Peacock also leads history tours through the property, sharing tales of Moran's passion, perseverance and philanthropy.
And what would an historic hotel be without a spooky story? According to Peacock, it's not Robert Moran's spirit that lingers in Rosario's mahogany corridors; that honour belongs to the flamboyant Alice Rheem, the second owner's wife who died at the mansion in 1956. Mrs Rheem, Peacock says, was somewhat of a "good time gal", cavorting around the island on a Harley-Davidson wearing a red negligee, drinking hard liquor and playing poker with local boys at the general store. The former socialite makes her presence felt as the "lady in red", click-clacking in invisible stilettos across parquet floors, glancing lustfully at male guests – even making loud "supernatural whoopee" in empty rooms. Eternally in search of fun, by all accounts.
TRIP NOTES
Julie Miller was a guest of San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau.
FLY
Delta Airlines flies from Sydney and Melbourne (via Sydney) to LAX, with domestic connections to Seattle. From Seattle, Kenmore Air has daily seaplane transfers to the San Juan Islands priced from US$131 one way. See delta.com; kenmoreair.com
STAY
Accommodation at Rosario Resort & Spa starts from US$119 a night. Free organ concerts are held every Saturday at 4pm, and from Tuesday-Saturday at 4pm in summer. See rosarioresort.com
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.