Saturna Island, Canada's closest neighbor to the San Juan Islands, is a gem. Several important…read morewildlife viewing and critical habitat sites are located on the island as part of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. The island is compact and friendly; it's customary for everyone to wave as cars pass on the narrow island roads. Saturna Lodge is especially nice. Innkeeper Laura Swan offers great advice for getting around the island and seeing the highlights, as well as practical advice like where to get coffee before you catch the ferry. Surprisingly, few of my Olympic Peninsula friends can even find the island on a map. Too bad for them-- it just means less competition for me for a room at the lodge next time I visit.

The millhouse restaurant is located in a nice older building that also operates as a lodge. I did…read morenot stay there, and only went for dinner once. The food was good, if a little pricy. However what made the night poor was the strange lady who owned the place, she kept walking past our table(on a very nice deck) to go and smoke just outside the entrance. The wind was blowing in our direction so the smell was very strong. I also got the impression that her staff did not enjoy her being there as they acted very tense and, well strange whenever she was around. We had a salad that was called a 'saturna' salad but tasted like a costco boxed salad, very bland with old lettuce. All in all I think the evening may have been more pleasant had they invested in higher quality foods and had the strange lady not been around. The Cafè on saturna was much better in terms of both cost, food, and atmosphere. I was there early in the year and maybe the quality improved but I won't be going back.

Had dinner at the Stone Soup Inn while visiting Vancouver Island with my wife and 18 year old son…read more The dinner experience easily ranks among my best ever, around the world. Worth every penny. The quality of the food supported a glowing atmosphere conducive to great conversation. Five course set meal of local ingredients that changes daily. My wife and I had wine pairings with the meal. We were there for just over 2 hours and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Though we enjoyed the wine, we would have liked a dark red to be included as part of the wine pairings; I suspect the lack was simply due to BC having good white/light wines whereas a good red would not be local. (I might be mistaken). In any case, the 3 white wines were good, the rose was fine, and the blackberry dessert wine was surprisingly good. Certainly not a reason to miss this treasure. Each course was carefully explained by the server. Brock himself visited several times to inquire about our experience, and could go into great detail on the intricacies of such things as raising hogs and turning them into great meat, on the challenges of roasting a savory dark coffee blend, on gathering wild mushrooms, etc. He clearly enjoys creating great culinery experiences. FOOD - 5 stars. A well-designed mixture of flavors and textures, beautifully presented. 1) "Salad" consisted of small portions of 4 different fresh items - beets with apples; small crisp cucumbers; heirloom tomatoes, and a green slaw. 2) Miso soup. My gosh I didn't think miso soup could taste so good. My wife is from Japan and I lived there many years so have had plenty of good miso soup. This version was outstanding and creative. Included spinach, freshly picked small chantrelle mushrooms, and fava beans. 3) Salmon. Beautifully moist with a crispy skin, served with huckleberries and raspberries, perfectly prepared green beans, cauliflower soft on the inside with a crisp outer layer, and delicious house-made tartar sauce containing wild French Sorrel. 4) Ham. A large slab of ham with small baked potatoes and carrots. Incredible. The layer of fat on one side was a crispy texture with a wonderful light bacony taste. The meat was tender and lucious. Brock raised the hog, and prepared the meat over several days. Wow. 5) Dessert. Ice cream with fresh berries, mint, and more. Very good, clean taste. Also, the coffee was outstanding! Deep taste with a long smooth finish. SERVICE: 5 stars. Both the server and Brock were attentive and explained all the food, answering any questions. AMBIANCE: 5 stars. Our table and chairs were solid and comfortable, and the restaurant interior was bright and welcoming.

I can't say enough about this wonderful gem in the Cowichan Valley. The owner and chef Brock owns a…read moresmall hobby farm and bed and breakfast combined with an incredible restaurant. Travelled with my family and we stayed the night taking over their modest but very comfortable 2 room B&B. The grounds are situated on a small hobby farm complete with sheep and some very cute lambs, chickens, ducks, turkey and some heritage pigs. Brock was accommodating when we came early so we went on a hike of the area that is very close to the trans Canada trail and some interesting trestle bridges. Coming back for dinner we were in for a real treat. It's a 5 course chef surprise tasting menu with pairings all for only a $100 each. Starting with a sping salad, local mozzarella and roasted peppers, then an amazing cream of asparagus soup that was incredible sweet and had no butter! Followed by a spot prawn and snap pea course. Finally the main was some wild venison and finished with a medley of rhubarb and hazelnut dessert with wild blackberry sorbet and sugar snap cookies. Each was paired with a local wine. The meal was nothing short of incredible and he accommodated dietary needs easily. Great service. Brock is incredibly knowledgeable of the local food stuffs and sources all of his food from local farmers and even picks his own mushrooms. Simple ambience but suited the environment. Highly recommended.

I had the best stay at Salty Pear. The hosts are amazing and…read morehelpful. The studio has a great feel. it has the clean and minimalistic vibe but at the same time it's rustic and cozy. Theres a lot of light coming to the studio through the windows and outside everything is green - felt great to wake up to that. And talking of sleeping, it's awesome to go to bed listening to the frogs and waking up listening to the birds. Sauna is amazing. Easy to use and powerful. There's also plenty of space between sauna and the studio, just grass and fruit-trees, which feels like your own piece of land. There's a fireplace on your patio and the shower never runs out of hot water. Location is also everything. It's close enough to the centre - a 10mins pleasant walk. But its secluded enough not to hear any cars or city noises and feel like you're somewhere in the countryside and on your own. You feel special, and spoiled with all that;) Thank you Salty Pear and Annika. We will definitely be back!

We were just there, August 2026. Breathtaking views and an overall lovely place. The new owners,…read moreSylvie and Roger are friendly, kind and extremely accommodating. It is very clean and there isn't a bad spot in the whole place. Great place for kayaking and sea bird watching. It is very much worth the trip.

We were one of the few campers here and the camper hookups were on the left side of the camper if…read morewe pulled in forward. But the maintenance guy insisted we back in and we could no longer reach the hookups. It didn't matter we had settled in for the evening after being there for four hours and there was no one else around - he was adamant we move our camper. If they want everyone to back in, they need to put the hookups on the right side so its possible to connect your camper to the power and water. The receptionist was wonderful but the maintenance guy needs a chip upgrade as his brain doesn't work so well. If you like to be harassed by morons, this is the ideal spot for your next vacation. Also they advertise wifi but it doesn't work. Other than that this place is great.

This is just a review for the vineyards, which were gorgeous by the way. This is a great place to…read morecome wine tasting on the island, as they were the only ones (of the 3 vineyards there) that paired their wines with foods! The scenery was gorgeous and the ladies who worked there were lovely to chat with. And I believe there was no charge for the tasting either! Sweet deal! The wine was good, as well. Buy a bottle and chill out on their patio with some friends on a sunny day. :)

Came here for my anniversary with my boyfriend and had an amazing time . Emilie and Charlie were…read morefriendly and had a great personalities. We were lucky enough to meet their son jasper and their two dogs aswell. The view was incredible, and so was the hot tub. We enjoyed our morning coffee on the ocean front patio both mornings and it was a great way to start our day. Plenty of unique restaurants about a 5 minute drive from the room. The first night we got take out Thai food from a restaurant on the strip, and the next night we went out for dinner at the rock cod cafe and it was incredible (get the caeser). I would definitely see myself coming back here again! Thanks again Charlie and Emilie!

My family chose this hotel based on its swimming pool and hot tub with water slide and found out…read morethat this is just part of the benefit of staying here. The staff is very helpful and they provided a list of great restaurants locally, we choose 1948 Kitchen and Bar and highly recommend it, check my review over there. The rooms here are nice and well cared for and clean. The included breakfast was great and the scrambled eggs were better than expected. The location is walking distance to both a gas station/convenience store as well as a nice liquor store. We brought our dog and there's great grass and trail up on the rail road tracks for a nice walk. Can recommend if you find yourself in Nanaimo!

We decided to stay here as the hotel is fairly new and it looks clean and modern from the website…read more It is located by the highway, about 5-10 mins drive to Ladysmith. You will definitely need a car if you are staying here. It seems to be a new development (Oyster Bay Village) with nothing much in the vicinity at the moment. There are two gas stations -- one is across the road with A&W attached, the other has Tim Hortons and a small gift shop corner inside. A liquor store is also in the area. The hotel itself is basic and serves our needs. Hand sanitizer is readily available, especially at high touch point places. Coffee and cucumber flavored iced water are available by the elevators. There is also a fitness room plus a swimming pool with a giant slide and jacuzzi to relax. No changing rooms in the pool area but there are showers and washrooms. The room we had was comfortable. Basic amenities were provided (soap and shampoo/conditioner). I like how each bed has 3 pillows and they are fluffy and supportive. Breakfast was included but due to covid, it was a light breakfast of 4 items (granola bar, muffin, yogurt and fruit). Indicate on the form what your would like and they would be placed outside your door in the morning. Free parking and wifi too. The only drawbacks were noise: 1. the air conditioning kept going on and off as it tried to keep to the temperature indicated on the thermostat. So that kept me awake. 2. Kids running around on the level above us. The thumping was pretty much non stop when they were in the room. And kids do wake up early. We only informed the front desk about that when they asked us on our experience when we checked out. I also indicated that a few days later in the email survey form. To the hotel's credit, the management replied with an explanation. The "auto" setting on the AC caused the on and off issue. It would not happen if I set it to "Lo" or "High". Well, if this could be clearly indicated somewhere in the room, that would be helpful. There is a control panel in the room with the temperature indicated where you need to turn it on or off. Then there is a physical air conditioner with its own control panel, and no temperature indicated. Every hotel is different, so we didn't know how this worked. Regarding the thumping noises caused by children running, we were told to contact the staff in future as they could advise their guests to tone it down. So for future reference, the bottom line is to contact the staff immediately if you encounter any issue (noise or otherwise). The staff at the front desk are fabulous. Friendly and welcoming. I do not mind staying here again if I am traveling in this area next time. I do like that it is away from the town area.

Holly Farms Suite is rented out by the owner Lindy and her husband and they couldn't be more…read morehospitable. It's in a garden setting on their property where they grow berries and other products. The spacious suite was very clean and well supplied and had a full kitchen and separate bedroom. Lindy met us at the gate and gave us suggestions for several excellent but nice and casual restaurants nearby and then provided her healthy homemade muffins and yogurt for our first days' breakfast. It's about a 15-20 minute drive to downtown Victoria, but very close to Butchard Gardens and Brentwood Bay. The setting and surrounding area are beautiful and out in the country. homemade. The only negative was a little difficulty in finding it because Victoria road signs are somewhat confusing. I'd highly recommend staying here for any stay in Victoria.