Love. It permeates everything at the Lightkeeper’s Inn Bed and Breakfast in the coastal town of Newport, Oregon. It’s in the design of the home, the family history that adorns the walls of the guest wing, the little touches in each guest suite, the wonderful breakfasts, and the snacks waiting in guest rooms at night. Most of all though, it’s in the warmth that goes beyond coastal friendliness of innkeepers Cheryl and Bill Lalack.

As I’ve written, Newport is a special place for me. My wife, Lisa, has been on the receiving end of much nostalgia: I lived here, the radio station was located there, our studio moved here later, that used to be a gas station, I remember when they built this hotel, that used to be a terrible restaurant, etc. She’s always been a good sport about it, but for Christmas last year she found an interesting way to change the paradigm a bit. Lisa, through some work connections, discovered the Lightkeeper’s Inn — a place that did not exist when I lived on the coast — and booked an extended weekend stay. She also made restaurant reservations at places I’d never been. This added up to a unique experience in familiar territory when we visited last weekend.

I used to love driving along the Newport Bayfront, but I didn’t get to see it much from a higher elevation when I lived in town. The Lightkeeper’s Inn changed that. The home features a panoramic view of Yaquina Bay from the outdoor decks, the entry level dining area and the two guest suites. The YouTube video from their website posted above gives a glimpse of the inn’s charm.

Cheryl and Bill’s salubrious home, which is only a few years old, sits on a bluff on the west side of the bayfront. Cheryl’s great-grandfather was a lighthouse keeper, which inspired the name of the inn. Directly across the bay from their home is the Port of Newport, NOAA headquarters and the South Beach Marina. Fishing boats come and go at all hours. The bay at night is beautiful with all the lights, and the sound of sea lions barking in the distance is both relaxing…and comical.

The location is great and has such a tremendous view, but the food is spectacular. This is where Cheryl is truly in her element: sour cream scrambled eggs, oven-baked bacon, French toast with a maple pecan glaze or homemade berry syrup, seafood benedict, and cinnamon rolls with raspberry jelly filling. That’s just some of what we had artistically presented to us each morning. She even packed a cooler for us one day when we had to leave early to go crabbing, and she made extra food for the friend we were meeting!

Julia Child would be proud that Cheryl uses both butter and cream in her food preparation. That being said, she caters to guests that have dietary restrictions and the results are wonderful. I’m still thinking about those raspberry cinnamon rolls, though. I asked one day if there were any left. There were not, but Cheryl added a raspberry glaze to some regular cinnamon rolls she had also baked and those showed up for us one night. One evening we even had German chocolate brownies waiting in our room.

The accommodations, view and food would have sufficed for an excellent experience, but there was something I found quite moving in the way that Cheryl related and catered to us. While that’s good business, it’s also genuine and flows from a natural desire to connect with guests. Had we wanted absolute privacy, it would have been granted. We chose to engage more than we would anywhere else. We talked about the town and shared stories. Turns out her grandmother and I lived in the same Newport apartment complex. Cheryl always checked to see how our dinners and shopping trips turned out. She even offered to cook the crab from our crabbing trip. If only we had caught more than one!

Other little touches were endearing. There was a magazine left in our room featuring an article on crabbing that Cheryl had specifically laid out for us. The afternoon following our crabbing trip we returned from lunch to find the gas fireplace on, drying out our jackets and gloves. She also dug up several Newport history books that had belonged to her grandmother, which were fun to browse.

Everything Cheryl did was rooted in love, or fussing, as she put it. She was genuinely interested in us and our experience. When we left, I was sad because it felt like we were leaving a good friend’s home. Coastal folks are friendly, but this was warmth that went beyond that. Her kindness was remarkable, and we can’t recommend the Lightkeeper’s Inn strongly enough to friends and family who want an enjoyable, relaxing and special experience. Apparently, we’re not alone.

Cheryl and Bill, it was a joy getting to know you and sharing your home. Thank you. We’ll be back.

A few pictures from the inn and our travels: