OAK BAY, BC — Traveling from the skies over Seattle to Victoria British Columbia's Inner Harbor only takes 45 minutes aboard a Kenmore Air float plane during a regularly scheduled flight. The views as the plane travels over the Olympic Peninsula and the Strait of Juan de Fuca can't be beat. It's a true application of the cliché 'getting there is half the fun.'
"Absolutely, and part of the experience is the journey to get here," said Madone Pelan, General Manager of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, a boutique destination resort in Victoria's Oak Bay neighborhood that's a trip to another place and time. This place has been welcoming guests since 1927. It's a storied property that's the perfect place to slow down, and soak it all in.
"This is a place of absolute wellness and relaxation," said Pelan. "There is something about walking through that door where you take a deep breath, your eye draws you out to the ocean and you feel like you've gone far away."
This award winning 100 room luxury hotel is known for its outdoor mineral pools.
"You're just nestled amongst the rocks on the ocean. And it's quite stunning," Pelan said.
Hot soaks are available to guests year-round along with another activity that is growing in popularity here - cold plunges in the hotel's salt water cove.
"Because our pools are situated right on the ocean and we have beach access, it is more and more common to see people hot tub, sauna, and take a dip in the ocean," Pelan said.
The waterfront location contributes to one of this hotel's many historic stories. In the '70s, an orphaned baby orca was rehabilitated here in a salt water pool. Her name was Miracle, people traveled from all over to see her, and today there's a mosaic tribute to Miracle in one of the hotel's three mineral pools.
There are other pieces of history here: A fireplace in the main dining room that was restored brick-by-brick. The Snug - a neighborhood pub that's been here since 1954. And an original façade that still welcomes guests just like it has for nearly 100 years.
Nearly a century of hospitality doesn't mean this place is stuck in the past. Pets are welcome, just ask canine concierge Ella, a two-year-old former service dog trainee that's a favorite of both guests and employees. The sauna and spa are sublime. The pizza at Faro (one of three eateries on-site at the hotel) is perfect. The sheets? We have no words. But they are pressed so beautifully we suggest when you pull back the duvet that you pause to appreciate the whole arrangement for a moment before climbing into bed.
Pelan smiled when we asked about the sheets. She said they are a priority for this place: "We have the best sheets of any hotel I have ever worked at or stayed at."
Take a Kenmore float plane to Victoria and get away to the Oak Bay Beach Hotel for the ultimate Spring refresh that also happens to be an international adventure - without all the baggage.
Sponsored by Kenmore Air, which is offering flights to Victoria's Inner Harbor Monday-Wednesday from $169 pp/one-way through May 15th.