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Behind Victoria’s “Tweed Curtain” of stately English manors, historic houses, English-village tinged architecture and cozy shops has risen the spectacular Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Though the oceanfront luxury resort is brand new in scope and scale, the hotel is not new to the older, affluent Oak Bay community, three miles out of downtown Victoria. The original Oak Bay Beach Hotel sat on the exact same lot for more than 80 years, in Ye Olde English Inn style, replete with dark wood, stained glass window panes, abundant dusty knick-knackery and one of the most popular British pubs going—for you, your parents and your grandparents. The Snug pub was where teens from my high school, Oak Bay High, would sneak in for a pint and chips (I’ve heard secondhand, of course). The property was where numerous first dates and 25th anniversary dinners occurred and where locals would take visiting relatives to proudly show off the view. This is a really popular spot for locals and tourists alike. Finding the right place for a vacation can be quite challenging nowadays, which is why hoteljules.com/ feels like such a godsend thanks to their comprehensive reviews. But this hotel could save you the trouble of deciding your next destination.
The previous incarnation of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel came into the hands of the Walker family in 1972—first with Bruce Walker and business partner Glenn Anderson, and then in 1995 when Bruce’s son Kevin and daughter-in-law Shawna purchased the hotel. 80 years of wear and tear simultaneously adds up and wears down a building. Despite continuous renovations and updates, the aged Oak Bay Beach Hotel had become less charmingly characterful and more ramshackle. In 2006, Oak Bay’s grand dame had the doors ceremoniously closed and removed—to be reinstalled in the Walker’s industrious visions for the reborn Oak Bay Beach Hotel.
Of course, old habits die hard, and the proudly protective Oak Bay locals are nothing if not habitual. After years of zoning and council meetings, planning redesign and restructuring, the new and vastly improved Oak Bay Beach Hotel reopened in the fall of 2012 with visions of grandeur; a world-class luxury resort. Built to five-star standards, today’s Oak Bay Beach Hotel offers 100 hotel rooms and 20 luxury residences, a brightened and modernized version of The Snug pub, the casual Kate’s Cafe?, a cozy fine-dining restaurant (one with the capacity for a 1,600 bottle tasting room, that is), seaside mineral pools, a fitness studio, various meeting spaces, the Boathouse Spa & Baths and the David Foster Foundation Theatre. The hotel is Victoria’s first combination full-service luxury hotel and private residence (residences start around $1 million). Former hotel patrons just have to set foot on property to walk down memory lane; numerous physical elements and furnishings (windows, bricks, beams, furniture and artworks) were preserved from the original building in order to be reused in the new hotel. In fact, 95 percent of the previous building was recycled or reused, with only five percent going to the local landfill.
Now one year into operations, locals have again flocked to the property. En masse! Three short months after opening, more than 20,000 guests had dined in The Snug, downing 11,870 pints (including their house Snug IPA). The crush was so great, and unexpected, that they had to literally expand the kitchen to meet demand. Yes, The Snug is still where the community goes for a refreshing pint and chips, but now they can do it on an open air seaside patio with seasonal, fresh food and local craft breweries featured on tap, including Saltspring Island Ales and Vancouver Island Brewery. Executive Chef Iain Rennie has the challenging task of ensuring each of the 953 licensed seats across all of the food and beverage outlets on site are satisfied. It’s a unique test he’s suited to meet though, having worked in some of the top kitchens in the world including the Savoy Hotel in London, Vancouver’s Pan Pacific hotel, number of BC’s Fairmont Hotels and the Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort. He is also a numerous medalist (16 gold and five silver) in world culinary competitions, and respected mentor to student chefs at local culinary schools.
The community has also returned in droves for the revived dinner theatre tradition, equal parts culinary and culture. The David Foster Foundation Theatre is part of a $2 millon, 10-year fundraising commitment to the David Foster Foundation to support families of children awaiting major organ transplants. Multiple Grammy Award-winning producer Foster is a Victoria native, regular visitor to the property and city, and vocal advocate of both the arts and children’s health. Live theatre and screened films are shown in the theatre, accompanying three course, white-gloved dinners. Earlier this year the hotel played up their English roots with a costumed affair for the third season launch of PBS’s “Downton Abbey”—a highly popular night out for fans. In fact, the hotel prides itself on listening to the neighborhood that it has anchored for the last 80 years. From peaceful afternoon tea service to licensed poolside cocktails to 6:00 am lattes in Kate’s Café, this worldly facility is firmly centered in Oak Bay, and for locals. The property is the biggest employer in the district of Oak Bay, and the Walkers’ shared they have third generation staff members now. The food and beverage program follows the Walkers’ commitment to local; I enjoyed an Oak Bay Bramble cocktail, featuring Victoria Spirits Gin and Cherry Point Winery Blackberry Port, and lavender-infused French 75 with herbs drawn from the kitchen’s herb garden.
Yes, this old property is new again, and admittedly still adapting to both its new spectacular skin and bones and the overwhelming reception it has received. Next summer I’m planning on returning to the ocean-flanking mineral pools and spa (don’t miss the “Power of the Sea” healing Pacific Seaweed treatment) and enjoying cocktails poolside while watching the sailboats glide by. But I’ll be by The Snug for a pint and chips long before that—for old (and new) times sake.
Oak Bay Beach Hotel || 1175 Beach Dr, Victoria || oakbaybeachhotel.com
