Salish Lodge & Spa, Snoqualmie Falls

Last week, my parents and I drove up to Snoqualmie Falls for a little staycation and it was so beautiful! I hadn't been since I was small and had forgotten how dramatic the Falls were - after all, they served as the setting for David Lynch's Twin Peaks and the luxury hotel Salish Lodge & Spa (where we stayed) doubled as the exterior of the fictional The Great Northern Hotel.

In the summer, Snoqualmie is beautiful, and you can hike right down to the bottom of the Falls on a steep, but gentle trail. But even on a cloudy, overcast day like the one we experienced, it's a stunning sight to take in and a popular place to visit.

Our room at Salish Lodge had a balcony overlooking the river and a jacuzzi tub that I was tempted to jump right into, but my attention was quickly stolen by the fireplace,  which made the room instantly cozy - especially on the grey and slightly chilly day we had.

However, it was the exquisite food that won me over at Salish Lodge. Perched high above the falls and with window views overlooking the river, The Dining Room is the Lodge's most notable restaurant and its menu boasts a showcase of Pacific Northwest cuisine, featuring local and homegrown produce.

Our bread basket arrived warm, with honey butter (which I'm now obsessed with!) made with honey from Salish's own hives. I loved the honey so much, I brought two jars back to the UK. The flavor is delicate, light, and subtly sweet - not cloying, like so many other honeys I've tried before.

We were lucky enough to score a table by the window at dinner and it felt like such a treat to be sipping wine and enjoying the view over our delicious meals!

My dad's prime bone-in rib eye steak was utterly decadent: topped with Dungeness crabmeat and served with a side of Hollandaise sauce, it was no surprise that he couldn't actually finish it.

My filet mignon was delicious, although disappointingly overcooked, despite having asked for it to be prepared "medium". Having only recently returned from the-land-of-practically-raw-steak (AKA France), I was ready to enjoy my steak a little pinker than my usual order of "medium well" ... next time, I'll be sure to ask for "medium rare"!

Needless to say, we had absolutely no room for dessert (although they all sounded tempting: I would have easily opted for the carrot cake or chocolate souffle with Salish honey Creme Anglaise) and needed to save ourselves for the epic breakfast the next morning.

So, we waddled back to our room where I promptly proceeded to fall into a deep sleep on the super soft bed, with the sound of the falls serenading me in the background. Idyllic, no?

The next morning, I was super excited to try Salish Lodge's renowned "Country Breakfast". Consisting of four courses, Washingtonians and tourists alike travel to the Lodge just for this incredible spread plus the "Honey From Heaven" service, where honey is drizzled onto your plate from high above.

We started with a selection of Snoqualmie scones, muffins, and cakes, followed by a stack of buttermilk pancakes with syrup and fresh fruit, before digging into a bowl of steel-cut oats (which I barely touched!) and a finale of three fresh farm eggs, smoked bacon, apple-pork sausage, ham steak, hashed potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit.

Whew.

Like many other diners that day, we sampled a bit of everything and took the rest home with us in takeaway bags! It was so, so good.

Before we left, I picked up a few more souvenirs from the hotel gift shop (including those jars of honey) and reluctantly headed home. I'd love to go back with John sometime and indulge in a spa treatment or two as well! It's the perfect place to celebrate an anniversary or birthday (though I love how we rocked up because ... well, "just because").

I'm sure on previous trips to the Falls, I'd busied myself in the car with a book or whatever game/activity my parents had offered to keep us children occupied, but this time, I made sure to take stock of the gorgeous, sweeping views in front of me: evergreen forests that just don't exist in the UK and a peaceful stillness that I relished before returning to the hectic pace of London.