PARADISE SANDY WATERFRONT ON WHIDBEY ISLAND Once Upon A Tide

Our family of four was in Whidbey Island for a wedding - and did we get lucky with this property! Spacious, comfortable, super well appointed and well maintained. We slept with the sounds of Puget Sound’s waters outside, enjoyed rambling walks along the beach and in the charming neighborhood. Enjoyed breathtaking sunsets over the Olympics, and more…. The home is well laid out for a family, and the kitchen is so well appointed that we were sorry we didn’t have more meals to prepare! Our hosts were warm, thoughtful, and responsive. highly recommend this home!

Despite the chill lovely time on the beach. Hope to return for years to come

Very spacious and well equipped house with a spectacular view of the Sound and sunsets. Table fire pit on the deck was a hit in the evening. Kitchen was great for preparing meals for our family of eight. Host was very accommodating and helpful with our final arrangements. Highly recommend this gem on the water!

Wonderful stay right on the beach. Excellent host

The house emphasizes the reason to be here. It’s all about the location and the beach. The kitchen and living room are large and modern. The kitchen has everything we needed. The deck is perfect for dining, grilling, and just relaxing while we watched ospreys, seals, eagles, and even deer wander past. It has decks on the second story that make excellent viewing areas for the spectacular sunsets. We will be back.

Upon arrival at this property in June we discovered the owner had not sent us a code or keys to access the property. We tried to contact the owner, Chris, by phone and through VRBO with no success. We were very disappointed especially because my son was visiting from Ireland and our family was excited to relax together. The following day the owner called and apologized profusely—she had simply forgotten to send us the key code and she had been unavailable because she was at an event with her phone off. She refunded our money and offered to give us a free stay in the future. Mistakes happen and I was happy to accept her apology and offer for a future stay. I made a reservation in September for my birthday and invited girlfriends. We were excited for the upcoming trip but shortly before the trip was to occur I received a text in the middle of the night from Chris, the owner. She was very sorry but informed me that she wanted to cancel my September reservation because she had family that decided to visit and she wanted to let them stay at the Whidbey house. I have never complained about a property but the behavior of this property owner was more than just an understandable one-time mistake.

We found Once Upon a Tide completely by accident as we live in North Carolina, we’re completely unfamiliar with Whidbey Island, and started looking for a place very late in the season. How we ended up here is just short of miraculous to us. If you like being right on wide expanses of water with a background of majestic mountains, broad tidal flats, whale sightings, parades of curious seals, diving ospreys, stalking herons, living in the ultimate quietude of a dead end gravel road, with the blackest night sky for viewing the boundless heavens, then this is the place for you. A top tier kitchen and expansive indoor and outdoor eating areas make it perfect for family gatherings. The three bathrooms are extra large and pretty exquisite. Of the three bedrooms, the children’s bunk room is the most conventional, adaptable and also offers the most privacy and separation from the noises of the rest of the house. The master bedroom is basically the landing/hallway of the spiral stairway which goes down the very large kitchen/dinning/living room below. There are no walls or doors to separate you from the noise from below or from people using the stairs to access the bunk room. What is listed as the third bedroom is actually the laundry room of the house with a fold out bed in it. Despite the initial surprise of the unconventional bedroom layouts we all got quickly used to it and adapted accordingly. Besides, the attractiveness, ease, comfort, and convenience of the rest of the of house and property completely overshadowed the bedroom idiosyncrasies. The owners are wonderful. Very very responsive, helpful and considerate in all regards And, to the delight of our grandchildren, they have chickens! Who are very grateful for your kitchen scraps. We want to come back every year! Thank you Chris and family.

Lovely house to stay with family or close friends. Beach fun and beautiful sunsets

Our stay was amazing. Such a beautiful spot and everything was as advertised. The owner or manager went above and beyond when they located and shipped our phone, watch and iPad chargers to us after we accidentally left them behind. We are definitely comming back. Thanks!!!

We spent a week here in the snow! The home was very comfortable and clean. Chris was an amazing host for us. This is a great family vacation home. It was beautiful in the winter with snow -- I would love to see it in the summer -- the beach was covered in snow while we were there -- so, we will just need to return in the summer!