Vancouver Island
Canada


The Experience

Although only 35 minutes' drive from Victoria, the Aerie Resort, set on the lush slopes of the Cowichan Valley, with sweeping ocean views, feels as remote as a monastery. Established on vacant farmland as a simple bed and breakfast in 1991, it's now an opulent Relais & Chateaux. Three separate buildings fuse Mediterranean and contemporary West Coast styles in 85 acres of forested gardens decorated with Italianate statues. The perfect place to nurture your spiritual side, the Aerie offers daily yoga classes, organic meals and fall mushroom-foraging expeditions led by a Benedictine monk.

The Rooms

Those in the original main Aerie building are classic European, with four-poster beds, wood-burning fireplaces and large private balconies facing pine-covered valleys and the emerald San Juan Islands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca below. The four 750-square-feet suites in the Villa Cielo are expectedly more lavish -- and set on higher ground, making for slightly better views. Their curved sleigh beds on cherry hardwood floors are set alongside sculpted fireplaces that suit the dramatic Tuscan arches and wall murals at the entrance to the building. All rooms have televisions, but the view is the thing.

The Service

Since it is a Relais & Chateaux, one might expect a certain stiff formality, but many of the 60 staff have been here since its humble beginnings and have an infectious enthusiasm for the hotel and the area. The front desk will book you on those mushroom hunts as well as arrange tours of local farms and wineries in the abundant valley, while resident chef Christophe Letard offers guests a pre-tasting and verbal explanation of the evening's menu each afternoon. Soon you'll be helping him prepare.

The Highlights

Apart from the chandeliers, crackling fireplace and tall-backed leather chairs at intimate alcove tables, the dining room in the main building is done on simple, clean lines so as not to detract from the views. The food, on the other hand, is a distraction. Chef Letard brings French twists to organic produce from local farms and fishermen -- try the Dungeness crab terrine or Atlantic lobster and braised beef tongue -- and is currently working on a raw menu. The Residence building houses a state-of-the-art gym, spa and wellness center; or just take a stroll around the grounds through terraced gardens and fir and arbutus forests.

-- Douglas Rogers

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