You know how there are small towns you look at and go, oh, how cute! Fairhaven’s like that. It used to be its own city but was eventually incorporated into Bellingham, Washington. Now, it’s the historic downtown district of Bellingham.
This charming place on the coast, about 1.5 hr. away from Vancouver, Canada, has a lot of good restaurants and beautiful scenery of the water and mountains. If you ever happen to visit, you should stay at the Fairhaven Village Inn. The hotel is quiet, quaint and decorated with a stately old Europe feel. Our king bed was very luxurious in both the mattress and bedding; best bed I’ve ever slept in.
When we arrived, there was a plate of white chocolate chip, brownie-like cookies at the front desk. They were so good, I wish I had walked away with as many as could fit in my hand.
A basic breakfast was included in the nightly rate and served in a sun-filled kitchen/dining room. The coffee bar in the library was also a nice touch.
The location was very convenient. There were plenty of artisan shops and restaurants within a few blocks of the hotel, and there was easy access to water sports. We browsed the bookstore across the way and bought a North American road atlas for future travels. Then we stopped by a ’50s-style diner for a drink and ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant, the inside of which looked like an interior from the set of the Will Ferrell Spanish comedy “Casa de mi Padre” (which is to say, it was funny, and I liked it). The food was on the bland side, but there was lots of it, so I wasn’t complaining. We stuffed our faces before wandering back to the inn.
The verdict on Fairhaven: A town worth visiting.
