Published May 2003

Conger's Cedar Inn booking business lunches, retreats

From the living room (at left) to the Virginia Room (below), Conger’s Cedar Inn combines elements of the old and the new to create a comfortable ambience. Snohomish County Business Journal/ KIMBERLY HILDEN

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

Just a few miles outside of Granite Falls, tucked away from the main roadway, is Conger’s Cedar Inn, a place where newlyweds can honeymoon, families can share a catered meal and views of the Cascades, and business executives can hold meetings.

“We’re open to business lunches and corporate retreats ... we love hosting people,” said Rebecca Conger, who opened the four-bedroom bed-and-breakfast with her husband, Doug, in August 2001.

When the Congers started the bed-and-breakfast, it was for holding marriage enrichment retreats, with couples arriving on the weekend and participating in a relationship seminar led by Doug, a state-licensed counselor and therapist. During their stay, guests enjoyed a Friday evening dessert, Saturday morning breakfast and a lunch before finishing the seminar that evening, with couples receiving a discount on an extra night’s stay.

From there, the inn opened to other bed-and-breakfast guests and added bridal and corporate luncheons, family get-togethers, weddings and receptions, and honeymoon packages to their list of services.

“We have three weddings booked so far for this summer. It’s the first year the inn is offering wedding packages,” Rebecca Conger said, adding, “It’s been really fun working with the brides and their families.”

Able to host up to 35 people to a sit-down meal, the inn also has hosted luncheons for businesses and nonprofit organizations. It’s a market Conger hopes to grow.

Meetings can be held in the inn’s living room area, which includes a wall of windows facing Mount Pilchuck and Three Fingers, a stone fireplace, stuffed couches and chairs, and a television and VCR.

The rental rate for meeting or luncheon space is $75 for three hours, with additional time costing $50 an hour, plus catering charges.

“If they want, people can bring a caterer in, otherwise I do all the catering,” said Conger, who describes herself as a “down-home cook.” Catering fees are dependent on the menu chosen.

Menus include an array of homemade dishes, from soups and salads to quiches, homemade rolls and muffins, and fresh fruit. Dinner menus include various roasts served with delicate sauces, and chicken and fish dishes, including a teriyaki and ginger salmon that is one of Conger’s favorites.

And then there are the sweets, from the inn’s signature chocolate chip cookies to hot apple dumplings with vanilla sauce, a dessert Conger’s husband often refers to as a “dessert to live for, not die for.”

For those wanting to spend a night or more at the inn, whether for a relaxing getaway or a corporate retreat, the bed-and-breakfast has four theme rooms available:

• The Northwest Room, furnished with a hand-crafted log bed and rustic details, has a private bathroom.
• The Seaside Room, featuring a pale-yellow-and-blue design scheme and decorative accents of the ocean shore, has a private adjacent bathroom.
• The Virginia Room (pictured below), paying tribute to Virginian Thomas Jefferson and American patriotism, the room is furnished with a cherry, four-poster bed and leather armchair and is decorated with framed replicas of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The room has a private adjacent bathroom.
• The Garden Room, the inn’s “deluxe room,” comes with garden decor, a private deck and swing, and a private bathroom with an oversized bathtub.

“It was really fun to have four different themes,” said Conger, who designed and decorated them herself.

Each room comes with a VCR, alarm clock, radio, CD player, bathrobes and turndown service, and a night’s stay includes a special dessert or treat on arrival as well as breakfast the next morning. Cost is $85 per night to stay in the Northwest, Seaside or Virginia rooms, or $125 per night for the Garden Room, Conger said.

For those wanting to book a group retreat, the cost for overnight inn rental is $500 and includes use of the first floor and all four bedrooms with breakfast for eight. Lunch and dinner are available for an additional fee.

Voted the “Best Bed and Breakfast in Snohomish and Island Counties” in 2002 by Herald readers, Conger’s Cedar Inn has enjoyed growing success, but is always looking for new market opportunities, said Conger, who has found that most guests learn about the inn via the Internet or word-of-mouth.

“Business has been really good. In talks with other bed-and-breakfast owners, all their business has been down. For us, each month has been better than the year before,” she said. “We feel like we’re building and we’re progressing.”

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