Ucluelet accommodations complement Mother Nature

DOC POW

The Surf’s Inn offers both dormitory and family-style accommodations.  Courtesy SURF’S INN HOSTEL

UCLUELET, BC — In Ucluelet, located on the west side of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, even your accommodation options come with adventure. 

On a recent visit, I checked in for a stellar stay at the Surf’s Inn Hostel. The Inn options are pocketbook friendly and the “House on the Hill” features clean, cozy and warm bunk or private rooms. But if you want to step it up or need some room for the family, than check into the Rainforest cabins tucked in the back and surrounded by old growth forest. 

Owners Mike and Nicole Bray have constructed some sweet units fully equipped with kitchens and fine furnishings, and making the most of what they had, the cabins were built from reclaimed timber around the lot.

All in the details

It’s the little features like the kitchen nooks or the heated tile floor in the bathrooms which really go a long way in making this a great call to stay. And if you are up for it, your accommodations with the Surf’s Inn can come with the surf too, as the Brays run their own surfing camps and offer rentals right on site. 

The Black Rock takes its inspiration from the ocean and the nature that surrounds it.  Courtesy BLACK ROCK OCEANFRONT RESORT

Just up the road at the new Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, it doesn’t get much more oceanfront than this. The resort is built with a surge channel as one of its focal points. And if you are wondering, a surge channel is a narrow inlet which is formed naturally by years of waves crashing into a rocky shoreline, finding that one crevice that wears away with time. 

British Columbia’s west coast is famous for them, and whether it’s a small or large one, the pressure of the water rushing in and being forced back out again almost immediately is truly mesmerizing. 

Front row seat

“Head down stairs.” I was told as I walked through the front doors of this place completely gob smacked. The Black Rock is extremely modern and it’s really impressive. Downstairs is the wine cellar, featuring a floor-to-ceiling window giving you a front row seat to a 12 to 15 metre (40-50 feet) surge channel where at high tide, the swell swirls and churns.

“The resort has a very strong attachment to surfing – a theme that runs right throughout including, our oceanfront lounge, Float,” said Rhonda Frazee, the Black Rock Oceanfront’s food and beverage manager, bringing my attention to the Float bar which gives the impression of being one giant blue tiled wave.

The Terrace Beach Resort gives you door-front access to one of the greatest hiking trails in British Columbia, the Wild Pacific Trail.  Courtesy TERRACE BEACH RESORT

If you are looking for the ultimate spot to stay that includes some serious serenity than head straight over to the Terrace Beach Resort.

Being truly unavailable

“You’ve got two parks on either side of us and Terrace Beach,” said resort owner and president of Ucluelet Tourism, Lorne Priestley.  

If the last name sounds familiar, it should. Think Jason (Lorne’s son) of TV and movie fame. The Terrace Beach Resort is pretty unique, as a suspended boardwalk takes you through old growth forest to your completely outfitted beachside cabin.

At end of the boardwalk is the Wild Pacific Trail, where you can enjoy an amazing hike along the ocean shoreline. 

“When we took over, the first thing I did was rip out all the phones in the cabins,” said Priestley. The sound of the phone ringing has been replaced by waves crashing against the shore and the occasional call of bald eagles soaring overhead. In my books I couldn’t think of a better trade off. 

For more on accommodations in Ucluelet, British Columbia, visit http://www.ucluelet.travel/en/index.html.