Our Story
Jeff and Jenn share a love for travel, food, wine, family, friends and sports. They are huge fans of the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Kraken (sorry if you hear loud cheering on game days!)
In addition to the above, as small business owners, Jeff and Jenn do whatever is needed to provide the best experience for our guests . . . housekeeping, laundry, walkthroughs of cabins before check-ins, landscaping projects and more so don’t be surprised if you see them out and about wearing many different hats on property.
Meet the owners
Jeff Betinol
Jeff is Filipino Canadian and grew up in Alberta, Canada. Jeff enjoys photography especially capturing the beautiful surroundings at Chevy. He attended photo journalism school in Victoria and worked in the commercial photography field for many years. Jeff is passionate about rugby (he played for the Philippine Volcanoes National Team) and all sports. Jeff has become super handy over the past ten years (thanks YouTube!) and is responsible for the majority of the property maintenance. He is also on point for the beautiful blue pool in the summer season. He is the resident dog whisperer so if it’s ok with you and your pup, he would love to say hello and/or play with your pup on the lawn. You will often see him on the mower or out on the property tackling his vast to do list of other projects at Chevy.
Jenn Dickey
Jenn was born and raised in the Seattle area. Jenn is also an animal lover (she loves dogs and she is obsessed with the resident eagles). She enjoys gardening, organizing, event planning, craft making and loves creating beautiful flower arrangements for the cabins. If you call or email to book a reservation Jenn will likely be the one to respond. She does all things office related and plays a big role in the daily operations of Chevy. She also has a new found love of projects and has recently taken on things like sanding decks, painting the pool house and more. Jenn enjoyed her 15 years at UW in her roles as CFO for the Department of Medicine and as a Director on the UW Finance Transformation Program (for her first seven years at Chevy she even commuted to Seattle several days a week) but couldn’t be happier being at Chevy full-time.
MARCH 2012
The way that Chevy Chase Beach Cabins came in to our lives is truly one of those magical “stars aligning” stories. In March of 2012 we were focused on new adventures and enjoying every moment with our beloved dog Tana who was battling cancer. Jenn’s dear friend, Kate, who loved staying at “these cute cabins in Port Townsend” saw a social media special which prompted Jenn’s first visit to Chevy Chase. The fact that the cabins were dog friendly was the most important thing to Jenn. When she arrived at Cabin 4 and took in the sweeping views and peaceful surroundings she was in awe – not to mention that sweet Tana was so excited to be at the beach. In love with the property, Jenn immediately made reservations to bring Jeff back to Cabin 4 just a month later. We couldn’t get enough! We were quickly becoming regulars and brought Jenn’s parents back for a week at Mother’s Day.
How it all started...
Sitting on the deck of the Clubhouse and soaking in the view one afternoon, Jenn said, “Wouldn’t it be great if this was our life? If this is what we did and this is where we lived?” Everyone laughed. In line with Jenn’s outlook on life she responded, “Hey, let me DREAM BIG – let me just put it out in the Universe…”
JUNE 2012
The letter
Little did we know that the Bailey family, the owners since 1946, were scheming about how they were going to find the perfect people to take over the stewardship of the property. Would they be able to find someone who could honor the history and the soul of the place? They sent a heartfelt letter to 120 friends, family members and long-time beloved Chevy Chase guests in hopes that someone who already felt connected to the property would leap at the chance to be the next owners. That same dear friend that had first introduced Jenn to Cabin 4 in March caught a glimpse of the letter (via a friend) and she passed it on to us. We were shocked, elated, ecstatic…we had asked and the universe had answered – fast!
We were living in the Seattle area, we had great jobs that we loved, could we really turn it all upside down and make this huge life change? We had fallen in love with the place. From the moment we had first set foot on the property we felt a sense of peace and it felt like home – and now the stars were aligning and we had the opportunity to make it our home.
We jumped in with both feet and have never looked back.
DECEMBER 2012
Our adventure begins...
In a whirlwind of real estate excitement, in December 2012 (just nine short months after Jenn’s first visit), we became the third family since it was opened in 1897 to own Chevy Chase. An added bonus (and one of the best things about Chevy) was that the Baileys also asked us to keep their dog, Scout. Scout was the resident greeter, tour guide, ambassador (until she crossed the rainbow bridge in July 2019) and a part of our little family and Chevy was all she had ever known.
The last eleven years have been a true labor of love, but we couldn’t be happier. We really do pinch ourselves every day, in awe that we are blessed to call this magical place on Discovery Bay our home and that we get to share it with so many wonderful people. We are often asked what the biggest surprise of this journey has been, and we have to say that it is the strong connections that we have made with guests over the years. We have had guests celebrating and mourning every phase of life: birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, death, recovery from cancer, a new baby’s first vacation, an old pet’s last getaway.
We get this rare and incredible opportunity to participate in people’s lives in an intimate and real way when we host them. For that, we are forever grateful. We look forward to a lifetime of adding to the story of this special place.
Our Cabin Crew
Our cabin crew is small but mighty!
Camille has been a part of the Chevy Team/Family for six years! She helps keep the cabins in tip top shape and can tackle the massive piles of laundry in record time. Camille grew up in Port Hadlock and is a Chimacum graduate. When Camille is not working at Chevy Chase, she is a full-time mom to her son Elijah and daughter Emily. They enjoy swimming, walking on the beach and going on other fun adventures.
We are hiring! We are looking for hard working, dependable and detail oriented people to join our Chevy Team. If you enjoy cleaning, laundry and projects in a beautiful & friendly environment please reach out to us via email at info@chevychasebeachcabins.com or call us at 360-385-1270.
We are proudly a woman and BIPOC owned business.
