We stayed 2 nights and luckily had beautiful weather (forecast called for 3 days of rain, we arrived on a rainy night and it was sunny the rest of the weekend). We were greeted on time by Cam, and one of the 2 very friendly dogs. The driveway is quite steep, so make sure you have good brakes!
The Starfish Retreat is cozy, quiet, charming and very clean. It over looks the ocean, which we enjoyed from the wall of windows spanning the entrance side. Nice big leather couch, and all the things you'd need for chilling out with good company. We loved the vaulted ceiling, gas fireplace, and especially the hot tub. Our hosts live right below, and if you're looking for private, they keep to themselves. The Retreat is right on the waterfront, with ocean views, you can hear the waves on the shore. There are nice touches like candles, fluffy towels, a down duvet and fire wood to make a fire at the beach. The breakfast bar was stocked with milk, cream, coffee, tea, sugar and fresh fruit by Michele. Access to the beach is down some stairs.
We loved the area; Sechelt is a laid back town with cool little shops to explore. We had dinner at the nearby Blue Heron Inn one night - excellent food, really friendly service, definitely would go there again! On Saturday morning, we went into town for lunch and it was a beautiful sunny day, the Farmers Market was going on (lovely, bought a few things). Lunch was at Ty's Fine Foods; very nice soups and appies.
Just a caveat, the Retreat has a "breakfast bar", not a full kitchen (has microwave, toaster, kettle, coffee maker, bar fridge, dishes, utensils). We brought our own food for breakfast (fruit, toast) and lunch (salads and snacks) but you wouldn't prepare an elaborate meal here; there's no stove. I had missed seeing that in the rental listing (which is fine as we went out for dinner), but I'm glad we decided on the Retreat over the Studio, as the Retreat is waterfront. The only thing I wished the breakfast bar had is a can opener haha!
Overall, a fun, relaxing stay; we look forward to visiting again!
Thank you Michele and Cam :)