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By Angela Murrills Photographs by Shannon Mendes How can you top the scenery surrounding this award-winning inn? Head inside for the best food, wine and spa treatments this side of the Rockies. Imagine filming this location from an eagle's perspective. Your video would begin with a high swooping shot over the Strait of Georgia, the sailboats below looking like tiny white brush strokes on the greeny-blue depths. Next, another aerial shot as you glide down the rugged slopes of the Malahat mountains of Vancouver Island. Laid down between the crags is a long body of water and at its end is a forested slope, the highest point in the area. On the soundtrack, the voice of the Austrian-born hotelier Maria Shuster whispers,"Liebe auf den ersten blick." Literal translation: love at first sight. Those were Shuster's first words when, while on vacation in 1984, she hiked up a rough logging road to a small clearing in the trees and found herself looking at a most spectacular view. The secluded site drew her back on repeated visits and slowly the thought crystallized: "What a place for an inn!" And what better name for this hideaway in the clouds with the dazzling views than The Aerie. Opened in 1991 as a small 12-room bed-and-breakfast with a restaurant, the resort grew quickly, expanding to its present 29 guestrooms and suites and adding an indoor pool, tennis court and in-house spa along the way. The spa or rather the "wellness and beauty center" is where guests can indulge in such luxurious treatments as marine salt rubs, aromatherapy massages and relaxing facials. Recommended: the hydrating manicures and peppermint pedicures. The place has garnered accolades galore. Last year alone it was voted Best North American Resort by readers of Condé Nast Traveler, which also awarded The Aerie top position in the Americas for its cuisine and gave it Gold List status as the premier Canadian resort. It's also only one of only three Rélais & Chateaux properties on Canada's West Coast, and a popular stop on the acclaimed Vancouver Island gourmet and spa trails. The Aerie's appeal is contagious. Soon after Maria Shuster fell under its spell, the setting worked similar magic on her son. "I wasn't meant to be here," says Marcus Griesser, the property's general manager. His intended sabbatical from the European hotel industry eventually became a permanent relationship. "I don't think I comprehended initially what the area was like," he marvels. "You keep peeling off the layers and discovering more." Beguilingly romantic, totally sybaritic, providing exceptional regional cuisine and all this in the midst of heart-stopping scenery, The Aerie is the getaway to beat all. Snapshots chosen at random: ambling at sunrise around the 75 glorious acres of gardens, forest and parkland; basking in the in-suite Jacuzzi; curling up by the fire or simply gazing through the window; going into total mental meltdown with a hot stone massage, head positioned to see That Panoramic View; and lingering over dessert, a mille-feuille of Vancouver Island berries as the moon transforms the glittering surface of Finalyson Arm far below to gleaming pewter. The magnificence of the setting helped shape The Aerie from the first. Standing up here, muses Griesser, "overlooking that body of water, you could be in northern Italy. It's like the Lake Lugano area but untouched." Modeled on Mediterranean lines and roofed in red tile, the sprawling white villa was positioned to capture wrap-around vistas of fjord-like waters and mountain crests. But that sense of being far away from it all is deceptive. At the southern tip of the sun-washed Cowichan Valley, The Aerie is only 25 minutes from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, and less than three hours by ferry and car from Vancouver. Each room or suite is uniquely furnished with Persian and Chinese silk rugs and deep, comfortable sofas: the ambiance is more that of a sumptuous private home than a hotel. But while most of the furniture is from Europe, many of the significant touches are the work of local artisans. The fragrant soaps and shampoos are from Vancouver's Deserving Thyme. The chocolates that greet guests bear the signature of Bernard Callebaut, western Canada's best chocolatier. And if the generous bouquets look as though they came straight from someone's cutting garden down the road, that's because they did. But it's with the region's 60 or so food producers that The Aerie has forged its strongest relationships. A lush patchwork of pastures, orchards and vineyards, the neighboring Cowichan Valley supplies a varied palette of flavors for executive chef Christophe Letard. Having cooked widely in Europe and Canada, he was lured wet in 1999 by the abundance of fresh ingredients. Farmers' markets on his doorstep? Small dedicated growers in his backyard? It was just like being in his native France. Access to sparkling fresh salmon, prawns, scallops and more is a given. Delectable cheeses are made on nearby Salt Spring Island. The local woods produce a spring delicacy, fiddlehead ferns, and baskets of wild mushrooms come fall. Letard works closely with island farmers, persuading one, for instance, to raise partridge to order and another to grow less-seen vegetables like salsify and Jerusalem artichokes. He also planted a small potager on the grounds of The Aerie. Micro-greens don't come any fresher than that. Vivid flavors highlight Letard's four tasting menus. One is geared to vegetarian dishes; others emphasize seafood or are inspired by what he brings back from the Cowichan Farmers' Market. Eager to demonstrate the quality of his raw materials to curious guests, Letard hosts a daily 4:30 pm session that sometimes includes a kitchen tour and always involves an in-depth preview of that evening's menu. Participants might get a close-up look at a pile of morels awaiting a delectable partnership with Finlayson Arm spot prawns, watch a rabbit loin carpaccio being prepared or admire a quail seasoned with local balsamic vinegar made hust the way it is in Italy. So successful are these informal briefin sessions that they have led to the creation of the Aerie's Gourmet Farm Tours, held on Sunday mornings. Local chef, farmer and regional food advocate Mara Jernigan is the tour leader. She takes up to 10 guests on a minivan trek along the winding lanes of the Cowichan Valley, leaving the resort around 10 am. Destinations vary depending on what is ripe and ready. One popular stop is the 400-acre Providence Farm where plantings include basil, blueberries, garlic and corn. Pasture-raised poultry and rare breeds like the curly-horned Navajo-Churro goat are the draw at Cowichan Bay Farm. The apples used to Merridale Estate Cidery just a few miles away are grown on-site. The last stop before lunch in Kernigan's 1920s farmhouse kitchen is often Blue Grouse Vineyards, where culinary explorers take a guided tasting and may purchase a bottle or two of Pinot Gris or Ortega to accompany their meal. A typical meal: chicken breasts , sausages and focaccia breas cooked in Jernigan's outdoor brick oven and served with a bowl of heirloom tomatoes, their colours spanning the full yellow-to-red spectrum. Conversation is spirited. One participant recently commented that the chicken reminded him of the poultry he ate as a child in Europe. An Oregon dentist wanted to know just why the arugala had such vigor. "Because it was only picked this morning," Jernigan explained smiling. Some Aerie Resort guests have described the region as "like Napa used to be." In truth, the Cowichan Valley or "the warm land" in its native Indian translation-sucks up more sunlight and basks in balmier temperatures than anywhere else on Vancouver Island, which already enjoys Canada's mildest weather. Around here, the last chard of winter and the first chives of spring can grow comfortably side by side. Over dinner, drinking in the view, many of the resort's visitors take advantage of the suggested wine pairings. The Aerie's wine list numbers 800 labels and was recognized by Wine Spectator magazine for its depth and variety. "It's an unfinished book," says Markus Griesser, adding that 40 percent of sales are of wines made in British Columbia. Some of them from just down the hill.
Read about "On Vacation: Great Drives in the Maritimes" (from Summer 03's "traveletc" issue) |
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