Canadian World Traveller Winter 2019-20 Issue

57
Vancouver Island Favourite: Oak Bay Beach Hotel
Article by Ilona Kauremszky, photography Stephen Smith
The Instagrammable Hotel Zed
Article by Ilona Kauremszky, photography Stephen Smith
If there could be whale whisperers on site, why not head to Oak Bay
Beach Hotel in Victoria to seek them.
The posh property on Vancouver Island overlooks one of Victoria's most
prized secluded bays on Canada's dramatic Pacific Coast that has been
attracting locals and those with a penchant for Old Brit Victoria charm
ever since the historic hotel opened in 1927.
Not unusual to see whales in summer months.
Nestled on the shores of the Pacific Ocean the Oak Bay Beach Hotel
overlooks the Juan de Fuca Strait with ocean views of snow-capped
Mount Baker seen in the distance. Only minutes from quaint boutique
shops, cafes, and galleries of Oak Bay Village, a charming nook that
dates back to Victoriana days, this hotel is a worthy legacy to its
renowned predecessor.
The original Oak Bay Beach
Hotel underwent a few reincarnations
with a major $52CDNmillion
revamp that saw each
brick, beam and leaded window
labeled and stored during
a 6 year refurbishment that
restored and expanded the
hotel's footprint to what you see
today.
These days wellness seekers arrive to soak in the scenery and if you're
super lucky you just might catch views of whales slapping their back
fins. Failing that the outdoor pool's stylized mosaic tile depicts a ring of
Orcas embedded on the pool floor.
www.oakbaybeachhotel.com
This locally-owned boutique hotel espouses to showcase sixties
and seventies stuff that once ruled households across America.
Pet friendly, motor cycle friendly, family friendly yet it brings in
the business travel guests too with its meeting room.
Here you'll step back in time at the three-story roadside motel and start
to snap Insta-hits. There's the living room lobby, the ping pong table,
the typewriters, the rotary phones, even LPs from yesteryear.
No wonder this local hotel gem in Victoria, B.C. has been deemed one
of the world's most Instagrammable hotels. There's a backdrop ready to
be snapped.
Hotel Zed is for folks who don't take themselves too seriously and want
to kick back and have fun. It's the hotel where play and hip go together
like Fred and Ginger.
The play happens at Hotel Zed's
“ground zero” in a stand alone building.
Staff greet and do the check in
here but you may not want to get to
your room so fast. The reception overlooks
the living room lobby lounge
laden in kitsch and funky décor.
Guests can channel a Jack Kerouac stoop, shoulders hunched over a
typewriter typing a letter back home. Pluck a record from the vinyl heap
and throw on a tune, maybe from the seventies disco days. Crash on a
couch and play a board game in the lobby or people watch as guests
arrive with skateboards or bike helmets. The property offers free bike
and skateboard rentals.
The rooms have their own splashy character. Find an industrial era desk
from the Mad Men days. Use the rotary phone to hear the incessant
buzz it makes before you dial. Can't figure out how to dial out? There's
a step-by-step rotary phone manual.
Victoria might be known for its Britishness –
the love of the stiff upper lip, protocol and
all – but this location is spinning a new
Victoria-vibe with its edginess that's filling a
new hotel space missing before.
www.hotelzed.com
Canadian World Traveller Winter 2019-20