Do you go camping? In my earlier years I did quite a lot of it, including spending an entire summer backpacking across the USA and Canada. Most summers back then included at least one camping trip. In more recent years the idea of sleeping on the ground or even on an air mattress leaves something to be desired. Much as I enjoy the natural world and the joy of the experience, I want to come back to a comfy bed with a great meal and a good bottle of wine at the end of the day! Most often the luxury resort and the great outdoors don't overlap. But I have news for you - I've found a place where you CAN have it all!
Clayoquot Wilderness Resort on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, is aptly billed as an "eco-safari" destination and reached by seaplane from Vancouver. Ours was a morning flight so we came in the night before and stayed at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport which was an excellent choice - literally walkable from the terminal and once you're inside, you'd never know it was an airport hotel, worth it just to go to their restaurant if you had a long airport layover. The next morning we boarded our seaplane and set off for a fantastic flightseeing ride over the sounds of the west coast going north over Tofino and up Bedwell River where we landed and were transported to camp by horse and cart! The resort dogs happily escorted us up the gravel road as the 20 tents came into view around the bend.
This is a seasonal operation, open from May to September due to the weather. Remember, this is a temperate rainforest, granted a Biosphere Reserve designation by UNESCO in 1999- what that means is don't have expectations of hot sunny days, but do expect to be awed by the magnificence of nature every day.
There is a timbered main lodge building where the kitchen and dining area are located, everything else is in wonderful large white canvas tents on raised permanent platforms with raised walkways throughout the forested area. The sleeping tents all have great big comfy beds, wood burning stoves (which are rebuilt and retstocked ever day), dressers for clothes, and no sounds other than the wind and wildlife once you close your tent flap. Toilet facilities are in a separate out-building just beyond one's tent, these are composting environmental potties and I do not lie when I say there are no bad odors! There are private showers in a nearby Shower house, dedicated to each tent. I wasn't sure I'd like either the toilet or the shower arrangement but it really wasn't at all an issue. Apparently they are now turning 12 tents into Luxury tents with their own flush toilets and indoor/outdoor showers. I loved the big hot tub, set out over the river where you can watch the eagles and if you're lucky, maybe a seal popping his head up. And the massage tents where you can book a treatment either before or after your soak - just heaven.
Ok, so you're far away from anything, no phone or television access (yes, there is wireless access!), what do you do all day? Take your pick - horseback riding, hiking, climbing, fly fishing, whale watching, kayaking, wildlife viewing, ziplining, mountain biking - and the best part? No signups, no extra fees, it's all included in the price. Each evening you talk with the guides and decide what you want to do the next day, as many or as few activities as you want, and they set it up for whatever schedule suits you - not you and 10 other people at 10am sharp. For instance, my husband loves to ride horses and is good at it while his wife is not. So the guy that runs the stables took us out for a short ride (more of a walk on my account) into the rain forest. After he got me back safe and sound, they took off again and once he saw that Jim knew what he was doing, cut the horses loose and came back a few hours later with big grins and sweaty horses. One day we went out in the kayaks for a few hours and had eagles fishing all around us. A small group of guys there for a bachelors weekend hired a floatplane to take them into the way back country for a full day of extreme fishing - so unless you want to do nothing but sit by the huge wallsized fireplace and read for the afternoon, there's never a lack of options for things to do.
And the food - unbelievable. Almost all the staff are enthusiastic young people who love working here and their enthusiasm is infectious. Chef Tim is no exception, he's been with the resort since it opened and he is, quite simply, a magician with food. Everyday was an epicurean experience and I was never disappointed. There's no real set meal times, the kitchen is open to the guests and if you don't see what you'd like on the menu chalkboard, just ask and it's yours. The bar too is always open and fully stocked, premium wines and beverages, no need to ask just help yourself - and it's all included in the price of your stay.
The staff and the managers are the heart and soul of Clayoquot and I can honestly say that at the end of four days, we felt we had made new friends. I'll never forget listening to one of John Caton's tall tales over sips of a 12 year old scotch by the fire in the evening, or laughing so hard at the fish stories from the bachelor group, or being left speechless at the beauty of a sunrise over the Bedwell river. This is a very special place and if you can afford it, worth every penny. It seems terribly expensive when you look at the prices but if you tally up what you'd spend for dining and drinking at a top restaurant every day plus the individual excursion costs at a top resort, it starts to make more sense. So if you really want to take a break, this is it - there are a few others now with a similar bent but this is the original.
