VICTORIA'S OAK BAY BEACH HOTEL VOTED TOP HOTEL IN CANADA

Victoria's Oak Bay Beach Hotel has been recognized with Conde Nast Traveler's 2021 Reader's Choice Award: 

#1 Hotel in Canada

#19 Hotel in the World 

 “It is a great honor to receive this recognition from Condé Nast Traveler’s esteemed readership. Personalized service and meaningful connections are at the core of everything we do. This award recognizes the best in the industry and is a great testament to the dedication, passion, and resilience our employees have embodied every day during this challenging year. From intimate getaways to wellness-inspired weekends, conferences, weddings, or events, the Oak Bay Beach Hotel is a beloved home-away-from-home for local and international guests alike. We look forward to celebrating this recognition with our team members and valued guests from near far over the coming months. Thank you!” 

Madone Pelan ~ General Manager

©SueFrausePhoto

I was a guest at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel several years after its opening in 2012. The 100-room luxury boutique property overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca and features the full-service Boathouse Spa and three heated outdoor mineral pools. Dining options include The Snug Pub for indoor/outdoor dining and the new FARO Handcrafted Pizza and Tasting Room. 

©SueFrausePhoto

OAK BAY BEACH HOTEL

1175 Beach Drive, Victoria BC

250.598.4556

Oak Bay Tourism

Conde Nast Travelers 2021 Readers' Awards 

Top 15 Hotels in Canada as selected by Conde Nast Traveler's 2021 Readers' Choice Awards

1. Oak Bay Beach Hotel - Victoria, BC
2. Fairmont Waterfront Hotel - Vancouver, BC
3. Hotel 71 - Quebec City
4. Hotel Gault - Montreal,
5. Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile - Montreal
6. Fogo Island Inn - Newfoundland & Labrador
7. Rosewood Hotel Georgia - Vancouver, BC
8. Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac - Quebec City
9. Manoir Hovey - North Hatley, Quebec
10. Le Germain Hotel Quebec - Quebec City
11. Fairmont Pacific Rim - Vancouver, BC
12. The Magnolia Hotel & Spa - Victoria, BC
13. Loden Hotel - Vancouver, BC
14. Auberge Saint-Antoine - Quebec City
15. Pan Pacific - Vancouver, BC

Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala: CBC's Rick Mercer replaces ousted Jian Ghomeshi as host of awards show

CBC's Rick Mercer

With the downward spiral of CBC's ousted Jian Ghomeshi, the on-air journalist's to-do list keeps getting shorter and shorter. So it was no surprise that soon after CBC gave Ghomeshi the heave-ho, the Scotiabank Giller Prize had second thoughts about having him host its annual literary gala -- to be broadcast on CBC Monday, November 10 (times vary). Replacing him will be CBC veteran TV host Rick Mercer. Here's what the Giller Prize had to say about the switch on its website : 

"As our broadcast partner, it is up to the CBC to select a Scotiabank Giller Prize gala host. We respect that decision, and that is the decision we communicated via social media yesterday (Sunday, October 26th) in response to inquiries. We all recognize fans and followers are feeling dismay and confusion. We thank those who have offered supportive words to the Giller Prize as we work to bring our occasion back to a focus on celebrating Canadian literature and our six authors shortlisted for this year’s prize. We will share our further updates and those of our partners as they become available."

Rick Mercer is best known for his political satire on the CBC shows This Hour Has 22 Minutes and The Rick Mercer Report. Joining him will be six presenters who will introduce the authors and their books. They include:

• The Betrayers by David Bezmozgis will be presented by Kim Coates
• Tell by Frances Itani will be presented by Yannick Bisson
• Us Conductors by Sean Michaels will be presented by David Usher
• The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Heather O’Neill will be presented by Jessica Paré
• All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews will be presented by Naomi Klein
• The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Padma Viswanathan will be presented by Deepa Mehta

JUNO-nominated classical pianist Jan Lisiecki, a 19-year-old, will perform during the gala. 

The Scotiabank Giller Prize highlights the best in Canadian fiction each year. Beginning in 2014, the prize will award $100,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English, and $10,000 to each of the five finalists. The award is named in honor of the late literary journalist Doris Giller and was founded in 1994 by her husband, Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch.

Jian Ghomeshi will be a no-show at the black-tie gala at the Ritz-Carlton.

Watch the Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala live online! Monday, November 10, CBC Books 

Vancouver Island's Wolf in the Fog named Canada's Best New Restaurant by enRoute magazine

A Vancouver Island restaurant came out on top in enRoute magazine's annual Canada's Best New Restaurants. Wolf in the Fog, located in Tofino on the "wild side" of Vancouver Island, bested nine other restos in enRoute's annual roundup of top restaurants in Canada. For those not familiar with enRoute, it is Air Canada's award-winning inflight magazine (and one of my favorites).

Selecting the best restaurants was the mission of food writer Andrew Braithwaite, whose month-long culinary journey took him across Canada from Tofino, BC to St. John's, Newfoundland. The ten winners represented seven of Canada's provinces: British Columbia 2, Ontario 2, Quebec 2, Alberta 1, Newfoundland 1, Nova Scotia 1, Saskatchewan 1.

Chef Nick Nutting of Wolf in the Fog in Tofino on Vancouver Island
 ©JohnCullenPhoto courtesy enRoute magazine 



CANADA'S BEST NEW RESTAURANTS 2014 | Air Canada's enRoute magazine 

1. Wolf in the Fog (Tofino, BC) | "On the extreme west coast of Vancouver Island, where rainforest meets ocean, you stumble up a flight of stairs and into a soaring cedar-clad room above a surf shop where chef Nick Nutting leads a crew trained in the precise details of fine dining." 

2. Farmer's Apprentice Restaurant | Vancouver | "Each small plate -- more often, a bowl -- conjured by owner David Gunawan is a precise jumble of textures and flavours. Digging in is a sort of black magic." 

3. Le Vin Papillon | Montreal | "Long-time Joe Beef guru Vanya Filipovic fills massive chalkboards with organic wines to run with a vegetable-focused cuisine from boyfriend and chef Marc-Olivier Frappier." 

4. RGE RD | Edmonton | "The heart of Blair Lebsack's kitchen is a wood-burning oven that consumes birch and maple at 700F, curing honey ham and smoking Salt Spring Island mussels or even dehydrated local milk during the off-hours."

5. Mallard Cottage | St. John's | "Todd Perrin spent two years restoring a heritage property in Quidi Vidi Harbour for this brilliant mash-up of fine dining and comfort cuisine on the outskirts of St. John's."

Canadian journalist and author Andrew Braithwaite at work.

6. Bar Buca | Toronto | "Rob Gentile's restaurant likes to pretend it's a simple bar for sipping Barolo. You're here to drink, sure, but you're also here to eat things like tiny fried smelt dusted with fennel salt."

7. The Chase | Toronto | "Chef Michael Steh doesn't lean on molecular trickery or audacious ingredients to wow. His food is more direct and more delightful than that, in an atmosphere that makes you want to say yes to things."

8. Ayden Kitchen & Bar | Saskatoon | "Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay gambled that Saskatoon was ready for lime- and lemongrass- and ginger-dusted chicken wings. Ayden isn't about showing off Prairie cooking to the world -- it's about bringing the world home."

9. Restaurant Legende | Quebec City | "Northern Quebec is the culinary hunting ground that Frederic Laplante mythologizes at his capital-city bistro. Cornish hen gets a boreal accent from balsam fir fleur de sel."

10. Edna Restaurant | Halifax | "Jenna Mooers' North End bistro digs up treasure from the fertile soils of Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley and hauls it out of the brisk Atlantic waters."

Ayden Kitchen & Bar was awarded the 2014 People's Choice Award, and all the winners are profiled in the November issue of Air Canada's enRoute and online. There you can also find out where the top chefs travel, drool over a "dream menu" and take a quiz to find out where you should eat (I got Chase in Toronto). The top 10 restaurants will receive their official awards during the annual Canada's Best New Restaurants Gala celebration in Toronto on November 20, 2014.

Vancouver nabs city and hotel awards from Travel + Leisure

Vancouver as seen from Helijet en route to Victoria. ©SueFrausePhoto

Let's hope it doesn't go to Vancouver's shiny little head, as the BC city has picked up yet another accolade. According to the readers of the travel magazine Travel + Leisure, Vancouver is Canada's top travel destination. The magazine's annual World's Best Awards survey asks readers to evaluate cities on five characteristics:

• Sights and Landmarks
• Culture and Arts
• Restaurants and Food
• People
• Value

Vancouver's score for the 2014 survey was 86.71, making it the top city in Canada and #6 in North America -- Quebec City came in #8. Here is the top ten list for North American cities. 

RANK 2014	RANK 2013	NAME	SCORE
1	1	Charleston, South Carolina	90.18
2	6	New Orleans	88.74
3	7	Savannah, Georgia	88.30
4	2	San Francisco	87.53
5	4	Chicago	87.21
6	9	Vancouver	86.71
7	5	Santa Fe, New Mexico	86.68
8	8	Quebec City	86.51
9	3	New York City	86.26
10	-	Boston	85.69

Vancouver also scored in the World's Best Hotel category, with five of the top 10 Canadian hotels located in Vancouver. Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver was anointed Canada's Top City Hotel, with four other Vancouver Hotels placing in the top ten: Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Wedgewood Hotel and Spa, The Fairmont Waterfront, and Fairmont Pacific Rim. Here is T+L's complete list: 

TOP CITY HOTELS IN CANADA

RANK 2014	RANK 2013	NAME	SCORE
1	4	Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver	93.00
2	-	Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver	92.27
3	2	Ritz-Carlton, Toronto	92.00
4	-	Ritz-Carlton, Montreal	91.50
5	3	Auberge Saint-Antoine, Quebec City	90.94
6	5	Wedgewood Hotel & Spa, Vancouver	89.60
7	6	Fairmont Waterfront, Vancouver	89.08
8	-	Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto	88.50
9	1	Fairmont Pacific Rim, Vancouver	87.49
10	-	Hotel Grand Pacific, Victoria, British Columbia	87.41

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