Possibly my last vacation question...

nancy324

nancy324

Cathlete
Yes, I'm STILL planning the vacation that never seems to take place. And yes, I am definitely spending more time planning than I can possibly spend on the vacation itself. But anyway...

Has anyone ever been to Victoria, British Columbia? We are thinking of flying from NYC (where we live) to Seattle, maybe spending a day or so in Seattle, and then taking the ferry to Victoria to spend 5-6 days. We mostly just want to "relax", whatever that is. The whale-watching tours sound fun and so does the tour of the gardens. It claims to be the cycling capital of the world, and my DH loves to cycle. Lots of spas and health clubs. Whatcha think?
 
Nancy - I think Victoria is a wonderful choice.

Just so you know, many, many Canadians aspire to retire there. That's how beautiful it is.;)
 
I just had a thought, Nance. I wonder if you've ever considered visiting Ottawa? It's a beautiful city, the Gatineaus are a very short drive away for wonderful hiking and trails, the Byward Market has something like 60 restaurants in about 2 square blocks, the art gallery is fantastic, the shops are amazing. There is also some sightseeing as it's the Canadian Capital, so you have the Houses of Parliament, etc. Just wanted to put it out there to confuse you some more:p

ETA - if you do consider Ottawa, treat yourselves and stay here.

http://www.fairmont.com/laurier/
 
Ottawa looks lovely, Shelley. How much of a "city" is it? I think we want to limit the amount of sightseeing we do, and spend some time just reading on the veranda of our hotel or near a pool or something. We always tend to wind up in cities, doing city things, and we need to learn how to chill a bit....
 
Nance - it's not very city-ish at all. I found it quite lovely and quiet if you stay in the area where Parliament is (at the Chateau Laurier). There's a huge beautiful park, the hotel has a splendid Art Deco indoor pool and nice fitness facility, everything is a five minute walk from the hotel. The canals and locks are right next to the hotel and it's nice to just sit and chill and watch the boats go through the locks. Compared to NYC, it's nothing:p And as I said, the Gatineaus are a half hour drive away and there are some lovely beachy areas where you could just take your books, sit on a blanket and relax:) We're not city people either, and we absolutely loved it.
 
Nancy:

I stayed at the Chateau Laurier last December and its a REALLY great (grand) hotel (read also to mean $$$). But lots of stuff to do with in walking distance. Restaurants and shopping and museums. I'm not up on the walking trails but the Rideau is right there and I think it's probably lovely in the summer. Indoor pool too. Not sure about outdoors. No balconies for if you just want to sit outside your hotel room and read for a few hours and relax I'm not sure this would do for you.

To drive from Seattle to Vancouver then go over to Victoria on the ferry I believe it is around 2 hrs to Vancouver then about 1hr ferry ride minimum (plus wait time for when the ferry leaves). But staying on the island sounds like what you're looking for in a vacation. I did that trip at Xmas several years ago. The ferry ride I think was around $50 / person (not by car). If you're lucky you might see some wildlife from the ferry.

Not much help am I?
 
Thanks so much, Patricia. I think I've got it down to two. Maybe you have an opinion?

1. Abigail's is a small hotel with 76 rave reviews on tripadvisor. The staff is said to be warm, welcoming and helpful in making sure your trip is wonderful, plus there are opportunities to mingle with the other guests over appetizers and cocktails. The food is said to be wonderful. But the rooms look so formal in that kind of cluttered way that I find a bit suffocating, and I'm very aesthetically oriented. It seems to have a lovely spa. It has 23 rooms in total.

2. Hotel Grand Pacific is larger, more modern and more spacious, but less personal. It is said to have a good health club with cardio machines, weight training and yoga classes, in addition to a spa, which I would use. (It also has squash courts and a pool, which I probably wouldn't use.) It has 308 rooms. Every room has a balcony, and the rooms look beautiful to me.

While the prices of the two hotels appear to be the same, I'm finding that Expedia has good deals on the Abigail's rooms, but the discounts for the Grand Pacific are not so good. So, in the end, Grand Pacific would probably cost a bit more.

All opinions welcome!
 
Nance - difficult as this is to believe, in our house, things like this are decided with either a roll of the dice or a toss of the coin. Only when the choices are so similar though.

And the thing is.... if you choose heads for Ottawa and tails for Victoria, and it comes up heads and you get a sinking feeling, then you know you REALLY want to go to Victoria ;)
 
>Nancy:
>
>I stayed at the Chateau Laurier last December and its a REALLY
>great (grand) hotel (read also to mean $$$).

Patricia, the Chateau Laurier is coming up in Ottawa only. I don't see it in Victoria at all. Are you sure you have the name right?
 
OMIGOSH I THINK I MADE UP MY MIND!!!! I was just reading the reviews of the Grand Pacific and it was very low on the "romantic" scale, where Abigail's seems to be all about romance. That made up my mind. Our honeymoon was interrupted by 9/11 and our memories of it are not great. We could probably really use a special second honeymoon. And what better place than the romantic Victoria in the romantic and elegant Abigail's? I think I'm there. :D And you're right, Shelley, I'm following my gut. :D
 
Nancy~

Have you tried looking at prices through www.kayak.com ? They do a great search of prices of all the other search engines (orbitz, travelocity, etc.)and send you to the link directly. I have used this website for ALL of my traveling (hotels, airfare, etc.)!

Glad you decided! Good luck!!
Jenn
 
That's so funny Shelley. In my house things like this (and many others!) are determined by my blood sugar reading... before I check it, I'll say "if it's above 120 I'll do X, and if it's below 120 I'll do Y..." and then of course 9 times out of ten I'll be 120 on the nose, LOL. And then I'll do whichever one I really wanted to do all along, just like you said!... ;)

But back to your vacation, Nance. I can't wait! ;)
 
You're welcome to come Ame! I'm really excited about arriving at a vacation decision. This never happens to me. :p
 
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