These creations are made by some very inn-spired bakers, both professional and amateur.  Some start in August, if you can believe that, and others put their creation together over a long weekend. 

All of this hard work and artistic focus comes together to raise awareness and funds for Habitat for Humanity Victoria.  This amazing organization believes in housing for all, human dignity, partnership, diversity, and inclusiveness.  And in the end, they work with community partners to help build affordable homes for purchase by local hard working, low-income families.  Seriously does it get any better than that?

We are very proud to be able to support this amazing charity and continue our community give back in our own special way. As an independant and locally owned hotel this fits right in with our core values and fits with our appetite for fun!

Check out our Facebook album, I put up lots more photos of these amazing creations.  Have a look and let us know which is your favorite.

Stay spicy!

Avril

But none-the-less we are in all cases hurtling toward another busy  holiday season and just like everyone else we are pulling out last years’ decor items , dusting them off and spruce them up for another awesome season of comfort and joy.  And you know what? Even though I am not convinced its time – it is and as soon as I see that first wreath or a glittering  ribbon I am reminded that I am ready for another holiday season – we all are.

So here I sit here in this wonderful Victoria BC Hotel and contemplate all that is possible this year I can’t help but want to share it with you too.

Take a look through some of what we have going on this year by clicking through this Holiday Magic Link and who knows maybe you will be inspired too!

Stay inn touch

Avril

One of the awesome products in our new line of guest amenities!

Our new exclusive products are just as unique as all of us who work here at the Inn and feature great-smelling tree bough oils (harvested by members of the Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative from BC’s pristine Great Bear Rainforest). If you close your eyes and take a whiff, you just might, for a second, think that you’re walking through a West Coast rainforest just after a rainstorm – yum! The products are also blended by our very own Silk Road (the same local company that also creates our signature hotel tea).

Daniela Cubelic, owner of Silk Road, poses with one of her great-smelling products.

So why did we make the switch to these products? In two words – Guest Experience. We believe that our guests deserve the most authenitically local experience possible. And of course they’re good for the environment by being both plant-based and biodegradable (as BC’s first carbon-neutral hotel, this one is a biggie for us).

Next, they support other local businesses, such as the Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative and Silk Road. The Great Bear Initiative does great work in our community, helping to create meaningful (and conservation-based) employment for our First Nations people – we’re so proud to become the first commercial client for this awesome group of people!

We were joined this morning by Harold Yeltatzie, president of the Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative.

Lastly, these products smell and feel awesome and we’re pretty positive you’re going to love them as much as we do. To appeal to all our guests, the scent is gender neutral and the products mild on the skin.

So next time you’re staying in our Erickson Wing, throw your cares to the wind and take a hike through our beautiful BC wilderness… all without having to leave your room. (Not visiting us anytime soon? You can also buy them off our website!)

Smell different,
Avril

Inn at Laurel Point is the premiere harbour side hotel in Victoria, BC. Overlooking the waterfront, the pet friendly BC hotel is perfect for business meetings, conferences, meetings and your Vancouver Island getaway. To reserve your Victoria waterfront hotel accommodation, call 1-800-663-7667.

We have an awesome number of beverage supporters for this year’s Sips and Seafood, so if you’re wacko for wine, gunnin’ for gin, bonzo for beer or have a taste for tea, mark your calendars for July 22 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. and come down for the top tasting/culinary event of the summer. And in addition to all the great “sips” you’ll sample at our flagship event, there’s also a ton of seafood delicacies (thanks to Finest at Sea) and great, local entertainment.

To whet your whistle, here’s a rundown of the rock star beverage suppliers for this year’s Sips and Seafood:

• Using 100 per cent Naramata fruit, Nichol offers top of the line wines, including limited vintage. A new release is 9 Mile, a St. Laurent/Pinot Noir blend that displays vanilla and plum with crisp, vibrant dark cherry and earthiness.
• In 2005, Judy, the owner and operator of Serendipity Winery, fell in love with an old Okanagan apple and cherry orchard. Today, she runs a thriving vineyard, specializing in Syrah and Merlot for the main reds and Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc for the whites.
• Therapy Vineyards, a combination vineyard/guesthouse in the Okanagan, specializes in playful wines. One is Freudian Sip, a varietal blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Viognier, Kerner, Chardonnay, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer.
• The legacy of Hillside Estate Winery began in 1984 when Bohumir and Vera Klokocka replaced an old apricot orchard with grapevines, including Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, to build a successful winery.
• Red Rooster Winery might be a bit quirky, but their Okanagan wines are anything but. Since 1990, the winery has won a slew of awards for its whites and reds, including the 2011 Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence.
• As an estate winery located in the Cowichan Valley, Averill Creek Vineyards is the result of one man’s passion for wine. Owner Andy Johnston is working on a unique Foch-Eh, a bold wine made from 100 per cent estate-grown Marechal Foch.
• Phillips Beer, the brainchild of Victoria-boy Matt Phillips, has grown into an award-winning Canadian brewery. Some current faves include GrowHop, a unique beer that uses freshly picked Chinook hops, and Longboat Chocolate Porter, a rich dark ale.
• As a retail store, spa and tea bar facility located in Victoria’s historic Chinatown, there’s no better place to get organic teas than at Silk Road. To boot, owner Daniela Cubelic is a certified tea master!
• Victoria Spirits’ specialty gin balances the characteristic evergreen flavour of juniper with notes of citrus, floral and spice, distilling in small batches in a handmade copper potstill with only the hearts (middle part of each run) saved for bottling. 

Have I sold you yet? Tickets to Sips and Seafood are $99 each (all proceeds go to the BC Guide Dog Services and Autism Support Dogs) and can be purchased by stopping by our hotel front desk or by visiting www.victoriataste.com (be sure to check out this website to learn more about Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine ­– an annual food and wine festival that includes many great Vancouver Island culinary-related events, including Sips and Seafood).

To learn more about our awesome Sips and Seafood event, check out our website at www.laurelpoint.com/news/events/.

Sip different,
Avril

Inn at Laurel Point is the premiere harbour side hotel in Victoria, BC. Overlooking the waterfront, the pet friendly BC hotel is perfect for business meetings, conferences, meetings and your Vancouver Island getaway. To reserve your Victoria waterfront hotel accommodation, call 1-800-663-7667.

These two organizations do wonderful work in our community and, in partnership, provide professionally-trained dogs to visually-impaired people and to children with autism. These organizations rely solely on volunteers and donations to keep the program going. And from breeding, raising, training and providing ongoing support, each dog has an estimated value of $37,000 bones – but, thanks to the generosity of the program, recipients pay only a token loonie (that’s $1 for you non-Canadians). Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Once trained, these power-pooches provide freedom and increased independence for the visually impaired. Like the two organizations, the person and the dog work in partnership – fluidly navigating through daily life with the dog helping to anticipate potential hazards. For a family with an autistic child, the dog provides safety and companionship and can help reduce negative behaviors and lower frustration levels.

To meet one of these soon to be wonder-dogs (read: puppy), head down to our third-annual Sips and Seafood, July 22, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. at your favourite waterfront hotel in Victoria, BC (cough: Inn at Laurel Point). If you’re not familiar with our annual flagship culinary event (part of the Vancouver Island food and wine festival, Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine), you can read more deets in our previous blogpost, at www.laurelpoint.com/news/events or at www.victoriataste.com. Tickets are $99 each and, once again, net proceeds will go to BC Guide Dog Services and Autism Support Dogs.

Next time you’re at Inn at Laurel Point, be sure to stop by and and say hello to Ruby, our resident pooch. This gal is a six-month-old chocolate lab who loves long walks on the beach, tennis balls and howling at the moon. She’s currently “inn training,” but can be found hanging out by the frontdesk.

Ruby, our resident pooch, has a tough life.

Oh, and if you’re still not convinced we love dogs, just ask the front desk about our special Pet Package – from leather chaise lounges to gourmet treats and designer dining bowls, Fido might finally forgive you for boarding him at the kennel during last winter’s vacation to Hawaii.

"Your eyes are droooping, you want to walk meee..."

Wag different,
Avril

Inn at Laurel Point is the premiere harbour side hotel in Victoria, BC. Overlooking the waterfront, the pet friendly BC hotel is perfect for business meetings, conferences, meetings and your Vancouver Island getaway. To reserve your Victoria waterfront hotel accommodation, call 1-800-663-7667.

Enter stage left: Finest at Sea.

For you who read Monday’s BBC story about our world’s oceans being in serious decline, you probably know how important it is to support sustainable fishing practices. Finest at Sea, our neighbour in James Bay, Victoria, is Canada’s only provider of 100 per cent known-origin sustainable seafood – meaning that you can find out when, where and even how that delicious BC Side Stripe Shrimp made its way from his/her ocean bungalow to your plate. (Lost your appetite?)

Bob Fraumeni, the owner of Finest at Sea and a local fisherman himself, is a pretty forward-thinking guy, having been an advocate for sustainable fisheries since the ’70s. (To all you young whippersnappers, that was the same era that Elton John came on the scene and Rocky was released: “Yo, Adrian Rocket Man! It’s me, Rocky.” Anyone? No? Ugh, crickets.)

We’re also pleased to announce that Finest at Sea, once again, is set to supply our annual Sips and Seafood event with all the ocean-goodies you can possibly imagine, from smoked salmon, tuna and fresh oysters to crab, scallops, hand-peeled shrimp, mussels and more. (And for those who have yet to experience Sips and Seafood, this is our annual culinary flagship event and part of the Vancouver Island food and wine festival, Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine).

If you’re interested in buying a ticket to attend our event (at Inn at Laurel Point July 22, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.) and sample a range of delicious seafood by Finest at Sea while you meander through the hand-tended Japanese gardens at our Oceanside hotel, visit www.victoriataste.com or drop by our front desk (tickets are a steal at $99 clams each). Want more info about Sips and Seafood or Taste? You can read more deets in our previous blogpost.)

And a reminder to those coming from out of town for the event – we’re a pet friendly hotel, too!

Fish different,
Avril

Inn at Laurel Point is the premiere harbour side hotel in Victoria, BC. Overlooking the waterfront, the pet friendly BC hotel is perfect for business meetings, conferences, meetings and your Vancouver Island getaway. To reserve your Victoria waterfront hotel accommodation, call 1-800-663-7667.

At last year’s Sips and Seafood, Maggie and Kerry got a little crabby with the unique photo op.

Sips and Seafood at Inn at Laurel Point is one of the many delicious events lined up for the third-annual Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine, coming to Victoria, BC July 22 – 24, 2011 with the sole aim of celebrating Vancouver Island flavours and British Columbia’s wine region.

With Sips and Seafood slotted to take place July 22 at your favourite Victoria, BC waterfront hotel, Inn at Laurel Point, the time is now to drop $99 clams and book your spot to attend our annual flagship evening. At the event, you’ll wander through our stunning hand-tended Japanese gardens, stopping off at number of seafood, wine, beer, gin and tea stations, while canoodling with a group of fun and gastronomically-inclined peeps.

The Japanese gardens at this harbour side hotel will come alive with the tastes of great local seafood and bevvies, and the smooth sounds of Victoria musicians.

Finest at Sea, our neighbour in James Bay and one of our biggest supporters, will supply us with sustainable wild seafood products and more ocean treats that you can possibly imagine: from smoked salmon, tuna and fresh oysters to crab, scallops, hand-peeled shrimp, mussels and more. And after these little sea devils are prepped by our top culinary team (headed by Executive Chef Takashi Ito and Executive Sous Chef Patrick Gayler), your taste buds will sing with delight. And don’t forget to stop by for a Kiss the Crab photo op!

There’s nothing fishy about it: this event is packed with local and delicious seafood!

When it comes to whetting your whistle, be reassured that your wineglass (or tea cup) will never run dry at Sips and Seafood. Our rock star beverage supporters include Nichol, Serendipity Winery, Therapy Vineyards, Hillside Estate Winery and Red Rooster Winery (wines from the Naramata Bench); Averill Creek Vineyards (wines from Cowichan Valley); Phillips Beer (brews from Vancouver Island); Silk Road (organic teas from Victoria); and Victoria Spirits (gin from Victoria).

And you know how Inn at Laurel Point is a pet-friendly hotel? Well this event is, too. All proceeds from Sips and Seafood will go to BC Guide Dog Services and Autism Support Dogs – two charitable organizations working in partnership to provide professionally trained dogs to both visually-impaired people and to children with Autism . (As an added perk, we’ve heard that a puppy-in-training and a full-grown dog will be on-site during our Sips and Seafood event!)

So what are you waiting for? Visit www.victoriataste.com to buy a ticket to this year’s Sips and Seafood. (Planning on coming to the event from out of town? Bring your furry family members – we’re a pet friendly BC hotel, too!)

Sip different,
Avril

Inn at Laurel Point is the premiere Oceanside hotel in Victoria, BC. Overlooking the waterfront, the downtown location is perfect for business meetings, conferences, meetings and your Vancouver Island getaway. To reserve your Victoria vacation accommodation, call 1-800-663-7667.

Meeting Molly and Melanie was a true delight and it was amazing to sit with them as more of the story began to unfold. I was blown away by the information Melanie had uncovered about Molly’s life and the work done at the Victoria Genealogical Society. (For those who aren’t familiar, VGS is a non-profit volunteer society that aims to further the study of genealogy, helping people search for their ancestors and family history). If you’re interested in dropping by, the resource centre is open six days a week and is located at 947 Alston Street. And don’t think, like I did, that your ancestors have to be located in Victoria — they’ll help you find family from all over the world. Cool!

Below are a selection of the photos we took during our tea. We’ll keep you posted on new developments (and we expect there to be more shortly — Melanie tells us that she has a bunch of new leads to follow up on!).

The lovely Molly Whitelaw Reid. In the mysterious album, she is pictured as a young teenager.

Molly brought along some of her own momentos to help Melanie with her hunt.

Here, Molly is showing me some of the photos and newspaper clippings that she brought along.

The media turnout was great!

The man in the front of the album (who we thought was David Stark) is actually Jimmy Stark! The photo on the left is the one Molly brought -- compare the man on the far right and you have a match!

Melanie's sleuthing skills were incredible. She even found Molly's baptism record!

As Molly went through the album, she recognized more and more people -- helping Melanie with her search.

Molly has a wicked sense of humour...

If you have any leads on this incredible story, please send me a tweet (@ILPVictoria) or contact Melanie directly at 250-360-2808.

Stay different…

Avril

Sleuthing specialist Melanie Arscott, president of the Victoria Genealogical Society, quickly came to our aid after we requested help in finding the owner of this precious family keepsake. Melanie focused her efforts on one particular photo, taken in Montreal, Quebec.

Molly Whitelaw with some friends

First, Melanie found Marjorie’s obituary in a Nova Scotia newspaper. Using its information and the help of a friend, she next tracked down Molly, who is now 84 and an artist living in Victoria. After a quick telephone call, Molly confirmed Melanie’s suspicions that she was the woman pictured in the album alongside Marjorie and Jean.

As Molly’s story unfolded, more of the people featured  in the album were identified. Her father, a Scottish native, first came to Canada after being recruited by the Grand Trunk Railway (now Canada’s largest freight railroad, the Canadian National Railway). And with Molly’s father came several other Scottish engineers, including Jimmy Stark (pictured in the album) and Bert Anderson (whose son, Drew Anderson, is also pictured in the album).

Drew Anderson

And while there is still one major mystery yet to be answered (just who is this David Stark, the man whose name is inscribed on the inside cover of the album and the suspected owner of the teal-coloured book), we’re excited to meet with both Molly and Melanie today over tea and learn more about this family’s history.

We’ll keep you posted as new developments are made. Today we are having Tea with Molly right here at Inn at Laurel Point.  If you have any leads, please send me a tweet (@ILPVictoria) or contact Melanie directly at 250-360-2808.

Stay different…

Avril

On Saturday, March 12, our dear furry friend and honourary greeter, Cliff, suddenly passed away of suspected heart failure. As you can imagine, this was a huge shock to the entire team here at Inn at Laurel Point, particularly to his “dad,” Chris Jones, our Director of Food and Beverage.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning on the day that Cliff passed. He was doing what he loved best: running, playing and being his general goofy self, with his favourite person, Chris. We take a little peace in knowing that although his time on this Earth was cut way too short, that he lived a happy life and was surrounded by so much love at home and at the Inn at Laurel Point.

We’re currently in the process of putting together a remembrance for Cliff; to be displayed somewhere in or around the hotel. One idea we’ve come up with is to erect a placard in the grassy area behind the hotel, near the harbour front. This seems like a suitable place as it was a spot where Cliff loved to hang out – a place where, last October, four-month-old Cliff made his media debut and charmed everyone in sight by trotting around in the grass, munching on dried leaves.

We thank all of you who have already contacted us and offered us your support and care as we go through this tough time.

Avril

Cliff soaking up some sun in the lobby of his hotel, he will forever be in our hearts.