inside the Tokeland hotel, Tokeland, Washington

I've been going to the Tokeland Hotel for seven years as a customer, so when I finally got to photograph it professionally I had a lot of feelings about it. Mostly good ones. Some of them mimosa-related.

The hotel has been around for over a century and you can actually feel that when you're inside. Creaky wood floors, vintage details that aren't staged because they're just... there, a dining room that gets genuinely great light in the afternoon. It's the kind of space that doesn't need to try very hard, which as a photographer is honestly the best thing a room can be. I'm not in there propping things up and pretending. I'm just paying attention.

The bar right before service. The way a table looks when it's set for dinner. The small stuff that makes a place feel like itself. That's what I'm going for.

And then there's Walter's Cabin, which I am a little obsessed with. Newly renovated, tucked away, cozy but not in a cheesy way. Clean lines, historic charm, the kind of place you'd want to disappear into for a weekend with no real agenda. Rick and I are actually staying there soon and I'm already planning what I'm going to order from the Wandering Goose and whether I can justify bringing multiple camera bags. (I can. I always can.)

Tokeland itself is quiet in a way that feels intentional rather than forgotten. Long drives, honest coastal air, not a lot of noise. If that sounds like your kind of weekend, the Tokeland Hotel has been doing it for a hundred years and they're pretty good at it by now.

xoxo Chelsea