You have the agenda. It might be a leadership offsite, a two-day writing intensive, a train-the-trainer course or a sales kickoff for a small team. What you need now is a room that holds attention, a good bed for everyone, meals that arrive on time, and a host who handles the background so you can run the day. At The Grayson, all of that is on one property: private suites, the detached Focus Workshop, and a chef.
We are a family-owned bed and breakfast in the Cascade foothills on Highway 2, serving Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue, Woodinville and Seattle. Hosts Mark and Mariam Zinn run it themselves. This page is written for facilitators, trainers, team leads and workshop teachers who bring their own program. Leading a yoga, coaching or wellness retreat instead? That has its own guide.
Who brings a group here
You bring the program and the facilitator. We bring the lodging, the meals and the help behind the scenes. Groups that book the Intensive Workshop Retreat include:
- Leadership teams and company offsites working through strategy, a reorganization or executive alignment.
- Sales kickoffs and small team offsites that want focused sessions by day and real rest at night.
- Trainers, micro-seminars and masterminds. We regularly host guest speakers flown in to teach for the week.
- Writing workshops and academic writing retreats. The Baker suite, sun-drenched with a real work area, is known as the writer's room.
- Teachers with a recurring course. Book a block for your students for one weekend, or the same suites weekend after weekend for a multi-weekend course.
- Long-term consulting engagements with several experts arriving in stages as the work progresses: book the suites you need for each phase, and keep the Focus Workshop as your project room.
- Nonprofit and church planning groups, and small medical seminars.
The Focus Workshop: a room just for the session
The Focus Workshop is a detached 14 by 28 foot building with its own door, a garden path from the house. The session stays in the session room, and the suites stay quiet.
- Presentation ready. A projector and screen for slides, video or remote attendees, large whiteboards, a printer/copier and fully stocked office supplies.
- Safe and sound. A 14 by 28 foot room with two exits, a fire extinguisher, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, ceiling fans and a first aid kit. A loft area with a step stool holds extra gear, and deliveries are dropped right at the door.
- Everything at hand. An overhead projector with screen, two large whiteboards, rolling carts, built-in and movable bookshelves, window shades, plenty of power, and its own coffee and tea bar.
- Its own connection. The Focus Workshop runs on its own Starlink network, separate from the house.
- Set it your way. Individual desks with ergonomic seating, a central round table, and a sofa lounge corner for breakouts. Set it as a masterclass or a roundtable, or clear it to the floor.
- Coffee in the room. Its own coffee and tea bar.
- Easy loading. Drive-up access at the door for AV gear, training kits and boxes of materials.
- Comfort and safety. Heating, a ceiling fan and portable fans, two separate exits, a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. String lights light the stepping-stone path for sessions past dusk.
- Size. Best for 6 to 12 participants plus lead facilitators, with 15 seated at most, depending on the layout.
Please plan around a few honest limits. The Focus Workshop is open from about March or April, depending on the weather, through October, and it is closed in winter. It is reached by a stepping-stone path and is not step-free. Restrooms are in the main house, about 350 feet away.
The Focus Workshop is a separate booking, never bundled into a suite rate or a buyout. It is priced by the number of suites you book: $315* a day on its own or with one or two suites, $265* with three or four, and $195* with five suites or a buyout. Workshop days are usually nights minus one, so you arrive one day and begin the next. Team members who are not staying overnight can join you for the day sessions. Optional help is there if you want it: a Setup Assistant at $75* an hour, with a one-hour minimum, and Breakdown & Cleanup for $110*. We can also work with event partners to bring in extra seating, tables and staging, so the room is set the way you asked before you walk in.
*Prices subject to change.
Confidential work, behind a closed door
Some groups come here to work on things that are not public yet: a product, a reorganization, or a plan the board has not seen. That is normal here, not special handling. NDAs are routinely accommodated, so you can sign ours or hand us yours, and staff discretion is absolute. The Focus Workshop keeps the session behind its own door, on its own network. With a buyout, your group has every available room. For your vendor setup, we provide a W-9 with our EIN and our Washington UBI number.
Everyone stays, so the work keeps going
When everyone sleeps on one property, no one loses the morning to traffic or splits off to find lunch. The conversations that move a team forward tend to happen over the charcuterie board on the first night, on the walk back from the workshop, and around the fire after the agenda is done.
- A digital welcome packet. Before arrival, each attendee gets a virtual tour of their suite, check-in instructions, parking details and questions about dietary needs. We can draft the first note announcing the offsite, for you to send under your own name.
- A personal greeting. Arrivals run 4 to 8 PM, and every guest is greeted and shown around, one by one.
- A hand when you need to reset. While you change gears between sessions, our staff can host your group with a property tour or a hosted experience.
- Flying in. Paine Field in Everett is the closest airport, and Sea-Tac also serves the area. The Microsoft Redmond campus is 19.8 miles away, and Redmond itself is 19.
Meals that keep the day moving
- Breakfast is included for every overnight guest, served 9 to 11 AM. On early session mornings, the Early Riser Express brings parfaits, orchard fruit, croissants, coffee and tea for $15* a guest.
- Our chef can cook the rest. A chef-cooked group lunch or dinner is $35* per person, with beverages and to-go snack boxes. Desserts are a $15* per person add-on. Lunch can be family style at the grand dining table, boxed and brought to the Focus Workshop, or al fresco on the garden patio.
- Your own caterer is fine. There is no required caterer and no food minimum.
- The Hearth & Honey Long Table Brunch. Complimentary with a block of four or more suites. Without a qualifying block, it is $450* flat for up to 10 people, plus up to 15 more guests at $45* a plate.
- Confidential work stays confidential. Strategy sessions, unreleased projects and leadership conversations stay behind a closed door, and we are glad to sign your NDA. When she worked at Baker Street Ministries, serving youth at risk, Mariam’s team designed a 12-week fathers’ parenting curriculum. The first classes were held in a central location full of distractions, and it was hard to hold everyone’s attention. Once the classes moved to a less central location, everyone was distraction-free, the material could be condensed and delivered at a much more palatable pace, and the outcome was completely different. That is why she built the Focus Workshop this way.
- A kitchen of your own on a buyout. With a buyout, the Chef's Kitchen is yours, and a hosted Last Together Supper closes the stay. Otherwise, the chef cooks for you.
- Diets and drinks. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free and nut-free diets are welcome; send dietary needs before you arrive. The Grayson does not serve alcohol, though guests may bring their own.
*Prices subject to change.
Rooms, rates and the practical details
- Room for your group. Every group sleeps differently: corporate groups usually take one guest per suite, couples each want their own room, families squeeze in, and teens sometimes bunk together. Inquire if we can accommodate your group's size. Guests beyond two in a suite are $15.75* a night.
- Three ground-floor suites. The Olympic, Cascade and Pike have zero stairs and a ramp to the door.
- Midweek costs less. Monday through Thursday carries preferred rates, and midweek dates are the ones we prefer for retreats.
- A 1 PM late checkout comes with every buyout and every Monday through Thursday group stay.
- Blocks and perks. Book only the suites you need. Blocks start at three days and two nights, and group perks begin at three suites.
- An afternoon out. Monroe is two miles away for shops and pubs, historic Snohomish is 10 miles, and Woodinville wine country is 10.
- Payment. Larger reservations are paid at booking, or split in two for a one-time 10% convenience fee. You can reschedule once, up to 12 months from the original date, penalty-free.
- House hours. Check-in is 4 to 8 PM, check-out is 11 AM, and quiet hours run 10 PM to 6 AM.
*Prices subject to change.
Questions, answered
Where can I hold a small leadership offsite with lodging, serving Seattle and the Eastside?
The Grayson hosts small offsites and facilitator-led workshops with private suites, breakfast included and the detached Focus Workshop, serving Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue and Seattle. You bring the program, and we take care of the lodging, the meals and the setup.
How many people fit in the Focus Workshop?
The Focus Workshop is best for 6 to 12 participants plus lead facilitators, with 15 seated at most, depending on the layout. Inquire if we can accommodate your group's size.
Do you sign NDAs for company offsites?
Yes. NDAs are routinely accommodated: sign ours, or hand us yours, and staff discretion is absolute. The Focus Workshop keeps the session behind its own door, on its own Starlink network.
What equipment is in the session room?
A projector and screen, large whiteboards, a printer/copier, fully stocked office supplies, its own Starlink network and its own coffee and tea bar. Drive-up loading at the door makes it easy to bring your own gear.
Do we have to use your catering?
No. There is no required caterer and no food minimum. Breakfast is included for overnight guests, and our chef can cook group lunches and dinners if you want them.
Is the Focus Workshop open in winter?
No. It is open from about March or April, depending on the weather, through October, and it is closed in winter.
Request an offsite quote
Send us your dates, how many people are coming, who needs a room overnight and how you would like your days to run, and we will come back the same day with a quote. If the online calendar shows nothing open for your dates, please don't read that as a no. Send them anyway.
Read more about the Intensive Workshop Retreat, Private Blocks & Buyouts and our suites.
The Grayson, 20302 N High Rock Rd, Monroe, WA 98272. Serving Greater Seattle & the Eastside.
— Mariam Zinn, Owner/Operator, The Grayson
