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Review of Worldmark BirchBay

sun starved Gayle

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We have just returned from our three day weekend at Birch Bay. We spent one night in a 1 BR unit booked through bonus time, and moved to a SN penthouse (only penthouse available at booking) when the rest our family joined us.

I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the units were, especially the penthouse which was HUGE with a private hot tub on the deck, a deck that ran the length of the unit and plenty of windows. Nice, newish linens. Well stocked kitchen with larger coffee mugs and both red and white wine glasses. Granite counter tops, and robes in all the bedrooms. The run-down bar across the street looks like it is out of business so we did not have to deal with noise from there. It does partially obstruct the view, but I can live with that. The view was still good in my opinion. We saw whale spouts sitting at the table having breakfast, and so may bald eagles, herons, and seagulls dropping shellfish to crack open to eat. There is noise from the street, which runs directly in front of the unit. That might be a problem in the summer if you wanted to sleep with the windows open.

A few negatives about our SN penthouse unit. The dishwasher back flow valve over flowed water on the counter every time we ran it, we learned to put dish towels around it to absorb the water. And the sofa was ridiculous, old, low and uncomfortably sloping back towards the back frame. You had to climb out of it. Needs replacing badly. The counters were lower, as it was a SN unit, but the bar stools were normal height, making the counter way to low to eat or work from.

The salespeople at the parking-pass pick up were HARD SELL, and left a lingering bad taste in my mouth. They would not take no for an answer and insisted on going through the whole schtick, even after I told them repeatedly I was not interested. In fact the young woman became somewhat belligerent when I interrupted her to tell her I was not interested for the third time (we had just driven 275 miles, and I wanted to use the rest room!) and insisted I hear the whole song and dance. They wanted to come to our unit at 8:30 AM with a "welcome gift" which I refused. I do not want anyone at my door at that time of the morning while I am on vacation. I heard another woman in the elevator complaining about that also.

I enjoyed our stay here. If you had teens there might not be enough to do, but we were very content. We ate at CJ's Beach House down the street (fish tacos were good but not great and were spendy), Drayton Bay Oysters in Blaine, (Fabulous ! But only if you like oysters because that is all they serve) and got big cinnamon rolls to take back to the unit from C Shop Cafe. We bought some groceries from Market at Birch Bay in the Blaine shopping Center. They had a wonderful selection of gourmet items and had the prices to match.

My husband had the inclination to visit Point Roberts. You have to go thorough customs into Canada, drive to Tsawwassen and go thorough customs again to return to US soil to get there. Interesting history on how this small point off the Canadian mainland is part of Washington State. http://www.changesinlongitude.com/visit ... ashington/ Saw dozens of bald eagles. We stopped at Tim Horton's on the way back in Tsawwassen for coffee and doughnuts.

Thanks to all who gave me advice and info about this property.
 
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rhonda

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Thanks for the write-up! We've yet to make it this location. Some day ... some day!
 

jrogersok

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Thanks for the information. I just booked it for the end of the summer and plan to go with several oder teenage girls. You stated there wasn't much to do in the area; do you think they can still have a good time for 2 night stay or should I look elsewhere? Anyplace close by to visit like State Parks?
 

DaveNV

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Thanks for the information. I just booked it for the end of the summer and plan to go with several oder teenage girls. You stated there wasn't much to do in the area; do you think they can still have a good time for 2 night stay or should I look elsewhere? Anyplace close by to visit like State Parks?

Birch Bay in Summer is very different than Birch Bay in Spring. There is more to do during the busier time of year - granted, it's geared toward tourists, but there can be some fun in that. There is a water slide park just up the road, a state park right down the road in Birch Bay itself, and a huge beach area to walk on when the tide is low. The water goes out a very long way. If push comes to shove, Bellingham isn't far away, and there is plenty to occupy teenagers there.

Birch Bay-Lynden Road is Exit 270 off I-5. Check a good map and you'll see how close you are to everything in the area. Its about five miles from the exit to the bay. Canada is about two miles north of that exit. If you have passports, you could easily spend a day in Vancouver.

Dave

Screen Shot 2017-06-17 at 3.51.41 PM.png
 
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Born2Travel

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Thanks! We will be there for the first time the end of July. I wasn't expecting much...now maybe it's something to look forward to.
 

bbodb1

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We are headed here next summer and I have started putting together ideas for trips/activities while there. A trip to Canada / Point Roberts is on the list for sure. Are there whale watching opportunities in late June / early July? Any other ideas or suggestions?
 

Bunk

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Is this the same location as Raintree's Sandcastle at Birch Bay
 

DaveNV

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We are headed here next summer and I have started putting together ideas for trips/activities while there. A trip to Canada / Point Roberts is on the list for sure. Are there whale watching opportunities in late June / early July? Any other ideas or suggestions?

I don't know if there is any whale watching from Birch Bay itself, but the city of Bellingham is about 15 miles south on the freeway. From there, if there is anything available, you should be able to find a whale watching cruise to the San Juan Islands. There are resident pods of Orca whales that live in and around the San Juans, and it's a short boat ride from Bellingham.

Failing that, if you want to drive a bit more, you can make your way to Anacortes, (west on WA Hwy 20 from I-5 Exit 230), and find a whale watching excursion from there. It's a longer drive (40 miles on I-5 from Exit 270 to Exit 230), and then the ~20 minute drive to Anacortes from there. A long way around, but it starts you that much closer to the San Juans. Check a good map to see relative locations.

There are likely whale watching opportunities available from Vancouver, BC, since they have their own Orca pods in their coastal islands, too. You'll have to research things to see what your options are. You may want to ask your resort, too. They'll have the best information of what their guests do.

Have fun! Birch Bay is a nice area, kind of low key and touristy, but still relatively quiet.

Dave
 

DaveNV

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Is this the same location as Raintree's Sandcastle at Birch Bay

Yes, same area. There is only one Birch Bay.

Dave
 

sue1947

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Is this the same location as Raintree's Sandcastle at Birch Bay

It's next door. WM bought some of the Raintree units and label them as WM-Blaine even though they are both in Birch Bay, across the street from the water.

Sue
 

DaveNV

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Curious for those who stayed there this summer - how was your visit? Did you like it? Birch Bay is such a unique area, it doesn't get the advertising it deserves.

Dave
 

ecwinch

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It is nice - great area for biking. More of a base than a destination IMHO. Flat tidal mud beach - like most OR/WA beaches. A few units have full ocean views, a few have sideways views since the resort is perpendicular to the ocean.
 

DaveNV

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It is nice - great area for biking. More of a base than a destination IMHO. Flat tidal mud beach - like most OR/WA beaches. A few units have full ocean views, a few have sideways views since the resort is perpendicular to the ocean.

Yep. I used to live right down the road, so I know the area well. I was mainly interested whether visitors had liked it, and whether the timeshares had met with their expectations. :)

Dave
 

Born2Travel

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We stayed this summer, but only one night on the way to Whistler. Enjoyed the unit and property, and would have liked to have had more time to explore the area. We walked both directions from the resort to check it out and have dinner at a restaurant/bar nearby. (sorry, forgot the name). I'd go back. Nice area. Not sure if we would need a full week there, but it was interesting and enjoyable.
 

taterhed

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We just got back this year from doing the Victoria/Vancouver Seattle thing.

If I had a choice, I'd spend more time in Victoria than VC. VC is a wonderful city, wonderful people, good food (but overcooked steak!). But Victoria is just very special in my mind. Lot's to do with a car or bike.

BTW: the whale watch (we took the islands tour) is quite different from the typical Hawaii or Mexico kind of thing. Many many boats surround and track the pod of whales as they go about their daily business (ORCA's of course, wrong time of year for big whales for us). The folks obviously know and love the whales. They can recognize many of them and talk almost non-stop about the species and diets and pod structure etc... We really liked the tour, but you should understand what you're going to see before you go. Some read-ahead might help.
Love that area, can't wait to move permanently to SEA.

Thanks for the great mini-review!
 

geist1223

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I know off topic. We love both Victoria and Vancouver BC. Easy to get to both in that we are in Salem Oregon. We try and go to one of them every year. This past June we spent 2 weeks in Vancouver. Next June we are spending 2 weeks in Victoria.
 

sun starved Gayle

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Back from our second Mother's Day weekend visit to Worldmark Birch Bay . We again had managed to book a penthouse. There are only four penthouse units on two floors and they have a deck across the entire front of the unit with a table and chairs, BBQ and private hot tub. I just cannot get enough of the view. Absolutely perfect weather.

We spent most of our time outside on the deck, visiting with our Seattle based kids and their spouses and basking in the sun. I booked this resort to make it easy for them to come, as it is only about 105 miles north of Seattle and has three bedrooms. Our kids used the hot tub. We also went to Drayton Harbor Oysters http://draytonharboroysters.com/ and got two dozen oysters in the shell to grill on the BBQ. The kids had brought champagne to have along with the oysters and we had a very memorable evening enjoying it all.

Before our kids arrived, we drove up to Semiahmoo Resort for dinner and ate at Packers, outside on their deck. https://www.semiahmoo.com/ Again, perfect weather and a very good Happy Hour to boot. As we walked in the front door of the building, they were sampling some local hard cider and it was tasty. I wish I could remember the name. We have stayed at this resort before when my husband had a conference here. I really like it, and it's unusual location on a narrow spit the juts out into the bay.

The ramshackle restaurant across the street from our Worldmark unit has been renovated and re-opened as "Bay Breeze". In fact, their soft opening was the first night we were there. I poked my head in and it looks nice, with a great view. The outdoor decks were not opened yet. I suspect when they are, it will be pretty noisy for the penthouse units directly across the street.

I like Birch Bay and the area around it. Beautiful water views everywhere and some interesting places to visit nearby. I don't think I would be so excited about this resort if we had any other unit beside the penthouse overlooking the bay. A parking lot view with just a peek of the water, or no peek at all would just not be the same. And a beautiful warm sunny day makes all the difference. A gray, rainy Washington winter day would probably be a different story.
 
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TUGBrian

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taterhed

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Sounds fantastic! Need to see the kids in SEA myself. Thanks for the ideas.

Gee, I wonder why you can't remember the cider's name. Hmm. Must be good stuff!!
 

rleigh

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Yes, same area. There is only one Birch Bay.

Dave


Funny thing: although they are next door to each other, the WM called "Birch Bay" is in Blaine. The WM called "Blaine" is in Birch Bay.
 

DaveNV

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Funny thing: although they are next door to each other, the WM called "Birch Bay" is in Blaine. The WM called "Blaine" is in Birch Bay.

And I think the Birch Bay mailing address is all Blaine. I don't believe Birch Bay has its own post office. :)

Dave
 

bbodb1

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According to my reservation:

Worldmark Blaine
7854 Birch Bay Drive
Birch Bay WA 98230

 
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