English Country Style Resort on Harbor Property

Firmly entrenched on 22 acres abutting Ganges Harbour, Hastings House Country House Hotel is a small, luxury resort that incorporates a charming country style into its carefully manicured décor. The estate revolves around the southerly Manor House, an 11th-century Sussex-style villa overlooking the marina—furnished in native wood and natural stone quarried from the hotel property, the manor is accented with midcentury antiques and iron hardware forged by a local blacksmith. Inside, guests can enjoy chewing through a complimentary breakfast, sipping afternoon tea, or memorizing a selection from the library while relaxing by the majestic Inglenook fireplace.

On the western edge of the Hastings House property, six Deluxe Hillside suites patiently wait with king-size beds, heated tile floors, and hearth fireplaces. Embellished with locally crafted woodwork, wide picture windows, and details from the nearby barn's shake roof, the deluxe lodgings are appended with private porch balconies that provide romantic vistas of the sea below. Hastings House dresses its guest beds in luxurious, high-thread-count linens and eiderdown duvets, and outfits the rooms with large soaking tubs and separate showers. Guests receive a complimentary wake-up hamper of coffee, tea, and freshly baked muffins delivered to the door every morning.

Hastings House also presides over a sprawling, seasonal garden teeming with flowers, herbs, and fruit trees well suited for survival on the Southern Gulf Island. Beyond meadows helmed by grazing sheep and rich woodlands is the sculpture garden, enhanced with french-braided grass and art installations ranging from functional sitting benches to a decorative trio of ghost salmon. With a kitchen garden for vegetables and herbs, orchards for fruits and berries, and organic imports from local island farms, the resort inspires its dining menu with homegrown treats. Guests can sample the riches of the Hastings House landscape with a three-course continental meal from the Dining Room in the Manor House, a gourmet Pacific Northwest restaurant with a superior wine list.

Salt Spring Island

Hastings House Country House Hotel sits calmly on Salt Spring Island, the largest of the Southern Gulf chain and home to a distinguished art community. The unincorporated Ganges village, a 10-minute walk from the property, abounds with eclectic art galleries and farmers' and crafts markets where visitors can explore the local talent. For a course in traditional and contemporary native art, guests can tour the Pegasus Gallery of Canadian Art, and a stroll through the Jill Louise Campbell Fine Art Gallery reveals vibrant watercolors and on-site framing.

With a rich hundred-year history of transforming limestone quarries into floral show gardens, the world-famous Butchart Gardens—located on Vancouver Island an hour outside of Salt Spring—features 55 acres of seasonal flowers, shrubs, and trees. To preserve its Victorian tradition, The Gardens honor five seasons of rotating botanicals, and retain much of the landscape's original 1904 design. An eco-friendly electrical boat ushers guests on a 45-minute tour of the wildlife of Brentwood Bay during the summer months, and the Rose Carousel entertains children. A short drive up Benvenuto Avenue leads travelers to the Victoria Butterfly Gardens, a 12,000 square-foot indoor facility that shelters more than 3,000 tropical butterflies and moths in free flight.

Perched next door to Hastings House, the Salt Spring Marina launches daily whale-watching tours for those who want to explore the waters. The boats are outfitted with on-board hydrophones so passengers can listen to the whales discuss deep-sea philosophy while naturalists elucidate the mammals' lifestyle and natural habitat. In addition to discovering pods of southern resident orcas, guests are supplied with sightings of dall's porpoises, harbor seals, bald eagles, and sea lions on wildlife tours hosted by local companies. Sailing trips, kayak tours, and ferry cruises are also adventurous ways to observe the native species or achieve fashionably wind-blown coiffures.