8 of the best spa hotels on Vancouver Island

If you like Salish Sea views to go with your large and modern resort room, then Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa is the place for you. Whether you choose to spend your time wandering the beautifully landscaped Serenity Gardens or listening to the sound of salt water crashing on the pebbled shore by the resort, it’s impossible to visit here and not feel blissed out.

At the ultra-luxe Pacific Mist Spa, all the classic massage and esthetic treatments are available. The signature Pacific Mist Hydropath® is a must-experience: you’ll enter an underground cave sculpted in sandstone, then follow a path through hydrotherapy areas that include a mineral massage pool, a massaging waterfall, a glacial waterfall, an aromatic steam cave, a sea mineral soak, a tidal bath and a river walk. By the end of your hydro-trip? Expect to feel remineralized, detoxified and oh so relaxed.

The wellness offerings don’t end there. Look out for events like full moon meditation and yoga at the Starfish Studio. Also make sure to visit the Ocean7 Restaurant, or the AQUA Bistro & Wine Bar for a more casual meal.

At Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort on the east coast of Vancouver Island, stay in one of many cute log cabins among the Douglas firs or in one of the resort’s fancy sea-view suites. Then, get to know the wellness packages on offer.

At Grotto Spa, voted the best in Canada by Spas of America, you’ll find all the treatments you could want: facials, body wraps, body glows, massages, manicures, pedicures utilizing west coast ingredients — you name it. There’s also a 2,500 square-foot pool full of all the right minerals to soothe your tired muscles.

You can also dine in a fabulous “robes only” restaurant. At Treetop Tapas & Grill, you’ll be tasting seventeen teeny dishes — think candied BC Sockeye salmon, citrusy crab salad and buttermilk biscuits. Once you’ve tried each one, go ahead and re-order your favourites.

Everyone who goes to Brentwood Bay Resort & Spa gets to feel pampered. For those staying in a Deluxe OceanSuite with floor-to-ceiling windows, ocean views, a jet tub and the finest Italian linens wrapped around a king-sized bed, that statement is extra true.

As for the spa? It’s where you’ll find excellent Registered Therapeutic Massage (RMT) practitioners, an outdoor heated pool and hot tub that’s for adults only and some indulgent packages: opt for the Brentwood Experience Massage and you’ll receive a zen-like hour and a half of hot basalt stone and seaweed magic done to your back and feet.

You’ll definitely want to check out the resort’s on-site restaurant while you’re here. Imagine an evening meal involving seaweed salads, dynamite rolls and wasabi potato allumette, all while overlooking the Saanich Inlet.

The Sidney Pier Hotel & Spa has no shortage of natural light with glass-fronted rooms galore, often featuring floor-to-ceiling windows. For pure luxury, opt for one of Signature Pier Suites for sea views and a balcony and of course, check out all the spa offerings available at Haven Spa. There is an exceptionally wide range of rejuvenating packages here, from a two-hour facial treatment that includes a back and shoulder massage, to the ultimate mani-pedi featuring OPI products.

The little town of Sidney has a personality all its own. One of the best parts of this waterfront hotel is that its coffee shop is a real community hub. Head to Georgia Cafe for a Caffe Umbria coffee and a brie and apple baguette one morning, and you’ll be sure to get to know a few Sidneysiders while you’re there.

Victoria’s only oceanfront spa, Oak Bay Beach is the place to go if you’re a fan of sunsets — especially, say, the rippling pink kind that lights up the Juan de Fuca Strait and Mount Baker across the water. It’s also the place to go if you like bright, well-appointed rooms that include Boutique Suites and a Royal Penthouse.

If you like the sound of getting a Salish Seaside Massage in a gazebo by the water, you’ll like it at the Boathouse Spa. Named one of the Top 25 Spas in Canada in the 2018 Canadian Spa & Wellness Awards, head here for facials, body wraps, and “salt glows.” In between treatments, hang out in the eucalyptus steam sauna or three heated outdoor mineral pools.

Eat formally at The Dining Room, enjoy some casual bites at The Snug pub or head out the lobby door into the pretty seaside village of Oak Bay for dinner. Once you’re done eating, enjoy strolling among the area’s Victorian buildings, charming boutiques and galleries.

The wild and rugged west coast of Vancouver Island is home to excellent spa resorts like The Wickaninnish Inn. Set between the rainforest and the sea on the northern cape of Chesterman Beach, this is an aesthetically pleasing hotel known for bringing natural materials inside: expect to see slate tiles, cedar panels and artisanal driftwood furniture.

The Ancient Cedars Spa is right by the ocean, making it a very tranquil place for swishing about in a robe and sandals. Book your dream spa treatment utilizing healing local ingredients like seaweed and salt. Relax in the co-ed Steam Cave or on the oceanfront patio and get revived among the Sitka spruces.

After your treatment, perhaps head to The Pointe restaurant. It’s known for top-notch seafood dishes and stunning floor-to-ceiling views looking out over the Pacific. If you just fancy a smoothie and a lighter meal, there’s the cute Driftwood Café.

Opened in 1908, this icon of Victoria’s Inner Harbour is anything but stuffy. In fact, The Fairmont Empress is pure Marilyn Monroe-esque glamor.

Stay here and you’re within walking distance of the Royal B.C. Museum, Chinatown and the fun and bustle of Fisherman’s Wharf — a floating pier of rainbow-hued restaurants and shops.

As for the Willow Stream spa, it’s won multiple awards. It’s known for its treatments that use local ingredients, like wild seaweed and sea kelp, and it has the best mineral pool and Finnish sauna around.

Once you’re done treating yourself, opt for afternoon tea among the palm trees at the Fairmont’s Lobby Lounge. There is no finer place to enjoy a scone in all of Victoria.

On the dramatic west coast of Vancouver Island, you’ll find Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. Located in the cool little town of Ucluelet, down the road from Tofino, you can choose to stay in a studio or in a one or two-bedroom suite with your own kitchenette and soaking tub.

Book in a treatment or two at Drift Spa and, depending on whether you’ve booked in a body wrap, a scrub, or some other dreamy experience, expect to be slathered in wild, organic seaweed products: think kelp from the Pacific, natural sea oils, rainforest botanicals, sea salt and glacial mud. Once you’re done playing at being a mermaid, rinse off and head into one of the outdoor hot tubs or the plunge pool (open in summer).

After a day of pampering, hit the hotel’s Currents Restaurant for a seafood dinner, or to the Big Beach Bar & Lounge for cocktails and appetizers while watching the Pacific Ocean roar outside the windows.