These irises are not in my garden (I wish!) but are part of the landscaping at thelovely waterfront hotel we stayed in Saturday night in Victoria. Our son and GF have some good connections in the hospitality industry; he made the reservation for us and obviously scored an upgrade to this gorgeous room.
I get downright petulant when rooms don’t come with a great bathrobe. This huge marble-lined, shoji-doored (this wing of the hotel Asian-themed, but discreetly, tastefully so), double-sinked bathroom left no room for petulance.
Tranquility — simple clean lines, neutral colours, beautiful materials.
Dramatic, yet simple, comfortable furnishings
A reading, lounging corner (oh, wait, I suppose it could have been used for watching television as well. . . )
And just out the sliding doors, a private patio for sitting with the papers in the afternoon sun.
Or for wandering out to explore a bit the next morning along charming pathways
lined with thyme. I was impressed by the azaleas and rhodos trimmed into a hedge — I haven’t seen that before and found it very effective.
Spring in Victoria is always a wonderful mix of green foliage and colourful blooms. . .
and there’s always water somewhere close by, in this case, a large artificial lagoon, fed by a dramatic waterfall.
But just beyond the lagoon, past the pedestrian walkways, is the harbour, with seaplanes coming and going.
I like having a bit of busy-ness within view, just to remind me how fortunate I am in my kicking-back.
Very fortunate indeed. . . .
In fact, we enjoyed our stay so much that we wonder why we don’t visit Victoria more often, tending to head to Vancouver instead. Or to places much further away. But really, when there is so much to enjoy so close to home (a 90-minute drive), we’re thinking we should play a bit closer to our own backyard. What about you? Do you have a getaway near enough for a weekend break (driveable in a few hours)? And do you take advantage of it?
And just to be clear, the Laurel Point Inn offered no compensation for this post, nor do they even know it’s here. I just thought I’d share the pretties. . .
Lovely!
I believe that Arthur Ericson designed that hotel.
I am going to lunch at Aura today with my sister and Mother to celebrate Mom's 84th birthday.
Our favourite getaway spot close by is Point No Point.
Milner Gardens and Coombs are on my radar this summer…I have heard that Bamboozle is a great shop not to be missed!
Nice that you have some connections in the hospitality area…our friends' son does too and they get a great friends and family rate.
Enjoy this sunshine mater!
What a lovely spot and it looks like a relaxing and refreshing place to stay.
We used to go to NYC (2 hours) or Boston (3 hours) and in the days when there were frequent direct flights, Chicago (1.5 hours in air plus 1.5 hours driving/waiting), but now we stay close to home. It looks like this would be a nice change of pace occasionally.
Wow! What an incredible oasis. The gardens are amazing. I'm always a sucker for a water feature, and love the Asian-influenced themes.
That room and environs look peaceful and relaxing. I've never seen azaleas and rhodos used for trimming either. It would take a lot of fussing.
We used to visit Tahoe, Napa/Sonoma, Monterey/Carmel more often but increasingly find ourselves content to stay home with our sewing projects.
Still debating what to do during the 2012 sabbatical. A trip like your Paris/London trip seems very appealing!
What a gorgeous hotel!
Ooooh, very nice!!
The hotel indeed looks divine; I especially like the sliding doors onto the balcony, which is now a prerequisite when booking holiday cottages. I love holidaying in England and do so at least twice a year, but prefer cottages to hotels on the whole. Maybe when I am not paying for others I might enjoy a little more luxury!
Hostess: I haven't been to Bamboozle for a few years, but yes, I think you'll love it. Send me a note if you're up this way, and perhaps we can meet up. . .
Mardel: It must have been wonderful having those great cities so close by for visiting. . .
Sue: The Asian influence and the water features always bring tranquility, no?
Susan: Actually, it looked as if the trimming wasn't too tricky — was clearly done by one of those small trimming machines with a fairly long blade.
Alison: I'm with you on preferring a cottage much of the time — not only more affordable, but I like the convenience of being able to get my own food, especially my TEA when I want it!
Isn't it funny, I don't have a bathrobe of my own at home, but I always love it when a hotel provides one!
What a beautiful place! Glad you enjoyed it.
Oh, there are lovely getaways near us, but it's seldom we get out. Santa Barbara, Ojai, or the Santa Maria wine country. We often tell ourselves that where we live is like a vacation resort, and when we think of it that way, we see it differently.
Only no bathrobes!
Aunt Snow: Reserving the bathrobe enjoyment for hotel stays makes that experience more luxurious, I'm sure.
Because my holiday time is in the summer, and our home is on/at the beach, we tend not to go away much (excepting the annual Paris thing), for a similar reason — it's really resort-like to me, here, in the summer — and I do have a bathrobe here equal to any hotel's!!
So calm and beautiful, inside and out. (And private terrace, divine!) Reading a few posts backward, hope you will return to this peaceful setting as needed.
Sometimes we can forget the restorative and exquisite getaways closer to home. The same thing has happened to us: "Why don't we come here more often?"
Duchesse: Oh, and now you're fairly close to Montebello. that's one place I'd love to spend a few days at, again, having been there fifteen or twenty years ago. . .