Inncredible

As I mentioned before, right when we got off the ferry, we headed to our hotel, the Inn at Laurel Point, literally just steps away from the dock.

Mr. Monkey had booked a lovely Terrace Suite for us. I was already excited about this from the photos I'd seen on the hotel website. When we got there, however, we didn't get the Terrace Suite.

We got a complimentary upgrade to the Mayrs Suite! Penthouse! Two stories!

Best. Hotel. Room. Of. Our. Lives.

Here's floor one.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel room with its own spiral staircase? We hadn't.

On to the second floor! So expansive that a king-sized bed looked tiny!

Biggest bathroom ever.

More Molton Brown than you can shake a stick at. This was only a sampling.

Apparently you're supposed to spray this for restful healing sleep.

The almost 360-degree daytime view from the enormous second-floor balcony.








Mr. Monkey was so excited about the balconies (yes, floor one had an ample balcony, too). He wanted to get in on the camera action as well and took these photos of the seaplane and ferry that we'd board the next day. Meanwhile, I relaxed. Everywhere. I tried all the couches and chaises and chairs and ottomans.



As you know, Mr. Monkey is the master trip planner. I don't lift a finger; he is that good. He just tells me our destination, I pack a suitcase, and I go along for the ride. And it's always a fabulous ride.

I am, however, in charge of one thing when we travel -- food!

Notwithstanding my pre-trip restaurant research, which unearthed the Dine Around and Stay in Town program (i.e., Victoria's equivalent of dineLA), we decided to stay in to maximize our time in the gigantic suite.

Can you blame us? Have you looked through these pictures?

Before we settled in for dinner in our contemporary palace, we went out again to see the Parliament Building and The Fairmont Empress Hotel all lit up. Definitely sights to see!


As pretty as Victoria is at night, it was great to get back to the warmth of our hotel, which was not only modern but also had a touch of Asian flair.

The hotel restaurant, Aura, was a place we'd like to go if we were eating out.

Lucky us -- we had it brought to our effing enormous suite.

Creamy Cortes Island clam and oyster chowder with local little neck clams from Cortes Island and smoked oysters ($10). Smooth and steeped with tons of clams and oysters. Scaldingly hot, just how I like it!

Sesame calamari with fresh orange segments, baby tatsoi greens, tobiko, and cucumber ginger yogurt ($14). Delicately fried. Clean. Fresh.

Aura crusted wonton prawns with togorashi mayonnaise, warm edamame, and lime salt ($15). Nom nom nom! Man, the crunch!

Aura-style fish and chips with house cut fries, yuzu remoulade sauce, and Asian coleslaw ($18). Yummy for my tummy.

It's sort of hard to see, but the two pieces of fish were gigantic. Quite good.

Aura vanilla pudding with caramelized puffed rice, sour cherry compote, and Japanese red plum wine sorbet ($10). Light and sweet paired with icy and tart.

After dinner, I took even more pictures of our room and its view. I was that enamored. We went out on the balcony. Again. I wish we lived there. The parties we would throw on that sprawling balcony!

Of course, we made good use of the huge jacuzzi.

Molton, take me away!

Next: Snapping a sunrise, soaring on a seaplane, and sailing to Seattle.