With more than 270,000 votes tallied, the results for the 24th annual Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards are in. Named in the top three for Canada’s Best Resort is Vancouver Island’s own Long Beach Lodge Resort.
The awards, held Oct. 10, in New York City, gave the highest achievement to King Pacific Lodge, a resort located on Princess Royal Island, British Columbia, that starts about $1,583 per night, with Emerald Lake Lodge, also located in B.C., earning second place. In fact, it was a great night for British Columbia, whose resorts filled the top five positions.
“There are great quality resorts in this part of the world so it is very exciting to us that the readers have acknowledged Long Beach Lodge Resort in the top three,” says Long Beach Lodge Resort general manager Perry Schmunk. “We pride ourselves to be in this top three grouping delivering a great resort experience and, at the same time, offering it with great value with rates starting from $169 per night.”
Long Beach Lodge Resort is located in Cox Bay, located just seven kilometres south of Tofino in an area known for world-class surfing and storm watching. The property includes eight acres of beachfront property, 41 lodge rooms and 20 cottages, a full-service dining room and lounge called The Great Room, a fitness facility called the Riptide Centre, a Surf Club Centre (new in April 2012), and an outdoor, covered barbeque area.
Catering to adventures of all types, from storm watchers and beachcombers to surfers and fishers, the resort has its own on-site marine charter company, Private Marine Adventures, and Surf Club — meaning guests never have to go far to fully experience the surrounding land and sea.
“We’re fully dedicated to creating your dream West Coast getaway,” says Schmunk. “Want to ride the waves? We have instructors and boards waiting for you. Prefer to curl up on a couch by the fireplace with a good book? We’ve created The Great Room, a cozy spot that offers great views of the ocean. Want to share your experience with us? We listen to the feedback you give online so we stay on the right track.”
{advertisement} With nearly 13,000 Facebook fans and 384 “excellent” TripAdvisor reviews, Schmunk is a firm believer in the power of online engagement, offering discounts and deals to loyal followers and encouraging guests to offer suggestions to the staff at Long Beach Lodge Resort.
“Social media is all about two-way communication,” says Schmunk. “Platforms like Facebook and Twitter give our guests a place to be heard, valued and connected with the resort whether it is a live webcam view of the surf or what our chef has just whipped up in the kitchen.”
According to Klara Glowczewska, editor in chief of Conde Nast Traveler, the “number and depth of responses” of the survey make this poll the most “reliable measurement of consumer preferences in the world of travel.”
ABOUT
Douglas magazine delivers exciting, in-depth features about Victoria, British Columbia’s vibrant business culture — its startups, disrupters and influencers. With its clear-eyed, contemporary take on business, Douglas inspires local leaders with content about how entrepreneurship is changing our city — and our world.