By Rama Gaind.
Rooms at the Fogo Island Inn feature floor-to-ceiling views of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Trying to choose which part of Canada to explore is like walking into a chocolate shop or perusing a restaurant menu where everything is mouth-watering. The expanse of Canada’s natural beauty, from mountains and glaciers to secluded lakes and forests, is almost unparalleled worldwide.
Occupying most of the northern part of North America, we are lured by visions of sky-high mountains and turquoise lakes, but charismatic cities and culture make Canada more than just appealing. Each region is steeped in character and rich with one-of-a-kind experiences. Be sure to bring your appetite, because Canada will satiate your craving for adventure.
It’s time to seriously look at options as we work on a holiday schedule. The choice is endless, but here are a few suggestions.
Sonora Resort, British Columbia, is a jewel amid one of Canada’s most alluring and pristine environments. Uncompromising eco-adventure travel meets elegant accommodation, warm hospitality and five-star facilities.
Less than an hour by air from Vancouver is a wilderness of bears, orcas, bald eagles, vast forests and dramatic seascapes. Here, you can kayak, fly-fish, fish for salmon, soak in warm outdoor mineral-water pools, tour by helicopter to experience mountain glaciers and view coastal grizzlies in their natural habitat. Enjoy the spacious accommodation, treatments inspired by the refreshing sea in the Island Currents Spa, then toast the day’s adventures over West Coast cuisine in the waterfront restaurant.
Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is located in the heart of Jasper National Park, near Banff National Park. Tucked within a UNESCO World Heritage site and celebrated for its rustic elegance, it provides a majestic Rocky Mountain stay. Not far off the Yellowhead Highway and a short walk to the Athabasca River, the lodge is easily accessible from the town of Jasper. It is conveniently located near Maligne Canyon and a short drive to Maligne Lake. A short distance down the Icefields Parkway you can experience the Athabasca Glacier and check out the Athabasca Falls on the way.
Sonora Resort is a jewel amid one of Canada’s most alluring and pristine environments.
Every green and tee on the spectacular golf course aligns with a mountain peak – just one reason the course ranks as Canada’s best. Go hiking, fishing, horseback riding – even explore the Columbia Icefield; winter months bring every snowy pleasure imaginable. No matter what the season, the 10,000-square-foot spa induces serenity.
Fairmont Banff Springs is where you flock for a unique blend of chic sophistication and a rugged outdoor environment. Inside, take advantage of the Willow Stream Spa and countless dining opportunities. Stay in a gold room and enjoy private check-in and the exclusive Gold Lounge with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, honour bar and more.
Outside, take your pick of golf, memorable skiing, gondola rides up the mountain, or shopping and museum-hopping in the town.
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is set enviably in the heart of the stunningly pristine Banff National Park, this is a jewel unto itself. Splurge for a room on the gold floor, an exclusive hotel within the hotel. You’ll enjoy private check-in, a dedicated concierge, deluxe breakfast daily and the finest accommodation the hotel has to offer.
Even the outdoor opportunities are limitless from hiking, canoeing, fishing and rafting in the summer to heli-skiing, dogsledding, ice-skating and sleigh-riding in the dramatic winter months.
Award-winning
Fogo Island Inn sits on an island, off an island, at one of the four corners of the earth. Situated along Iceberg Alley, all 29 rooms feature floor-to-ceiling views of the North Atlantic Ocean. This is where locality is expressed when nature and culture come together through food, adventure and community. The island has seven seasons, and its still-wild world has caribou to track, hills of berries to forage, nature trails to explore and countless birds and marine species to behold.
This award-winning inn is operated as a social business, and 100 per cent of the operating surpluses are reinvested in the community.
View coastal grizzlies in their natural habitat at Sonora.
Vancouver Island’s celebrated luxury outpost Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge skirts the banks of its namesake ocean inlet, Clayoquot Sound and offers an escape to the still, tranquil beauty of Canada’s remote wilderness. Set among magnificent conifer forests, the lodge offers an unforgettable experience of the landscape and its wildlife. Located at the heart of Vancouver Island’s natural wild-west playground, house guests have direct access to 600-acres of gloriously wild nature reserve. Each day offers unforgettable encounters from horse-riding along mountain trails, thrilling marine adventures in a Zodiac to spot beautiful black bears, sea otters and whales and canyoning down a glacier-fed waterfall channel.
At the beginning or end of a day spent in the great outdoors, the Healing Grounds Spa set on the banks of the sound offers revitalising treatments to reset mind and body, rewarding guests with a feeling of wellness and bonhomie.
In between adventures, guests relax in luxuriously appointed prospector-style tents decked out with contemporary furnishings, cosy cast iron stove and end-of-the-bed views of the old growth temperate rainforest. Ensuite bathrooms with heated floors dispel any lingering sense of roughing it. After all the fun, world-class dining awaits, with premium and sustainable produce taking centre stage on the daily changing menu.
Here’s to reinforcing Bernhard Langer’s sentiments: “Be decisive. A wrong decision is generally less disastrous than indecision.”
DETAILS BOX
Travel Associates
13 70 71
| Floriade returns with the Sounds of Spring … after a two-year COVID hiatus!
Saturday, 17 September – Sunday, 16 October 2022 Commonwealth Park, Canberra |
