Similarly, sommelier Tereza Roux adores wine and shares her knowledge generously, working closely with Witcher to ensure pairings showcase Canadian flavours and the team’s culinary skill. To her wine is “all about the dirt” and the emotions it produces. She uses words like “honour” when pouring and describes taste with phrasing suiting the environment – who knew a white could be “like fresh rain after a rockfall when rock-climbing”? Mealtimes at Clayoquot are gastronomic treats, the setting, flavours and destination working to make them truly memorable.
If you want to draw out the foody joys when you return from the wild, look to the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, which has partnered with Clayoquot to offer the Luxury Gone Wild package where guests can stay at both destinations. The hotel shares Clayoquot’s attention to detail and would no doubt have been a fine
Vancouver starting point for the great camp expeditions of yesteryear. And it remains an opulent treat to this day. Immediately welcoming, the sympathetically renovated 1920s decor pays homage to the hotel’s glamorous past. But modern flourishes abound – indeed, the hotel displays the world’s largest private collection of contemporary Canadian art. Patrick Hughes’ Internity in the lobby was a highlight, guests and the curious public pacing backwards and forwards to appreciate its 3D form.
Hawksworth Restaurant may be the hottest epicurean ticket in Vancouver (and home to the city’s best French toast), but the rooftop Reflections bar and restaurant is perfect for sipping specialty cocktails under a summer sky and watching the parade of style and creativity sharing the space. Bellinis here taste like summer in a glass, Green Thumb Margaritas have just the right amount of kick and birch syrup glazed house-smoked Kuterra salmon is delightfully appetising.
While luxury and flavour may also thrive in the city, it is the wild that provides solace. A few days after arriving you find yourself walking slower, breathing deeper and sleeping more soundly. Your senses are heightened and your psyche content. Mother Nature has given Clayoquot an amazing gift and the team has worked hard to imbue this exclusive, environmentally-responsible resort with real spirit. As you depart and the seaplane rises over Bedwell Sound the scale of this wilderness is apparent and the importance of protecting it becomes clear. Despite wanting to keep this little part of the world to myself, it’s only right that I spread the word.
