Review: Sooke Harbour House

April-May 2000

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Alan Wilson

Stained glass mask and other native and non-native art works grace the walls, photo Alan Wilson

Last fall, Laurie and I were fortunate to spend a weekend at Sooke Harbour House. The Sooke Harbour House sits in seaside garden overlooking Whiffen Spit, at the mouth of Sooke Harbour, with a grand view of Washington's Olympic Mountains across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Known far and wide for its excellent restaurant, the Sooke Harbour House is a world class inn, with a unique creative flair. Every one of the rooms has been designed around a different theme by owners Frederique and Sinclair Phillip, including the evocatively named Passion Flower Room, Hummingbird Room, Sea Lion Room and Underwater Orchard Room to name a few.

Some rooms have hot tubs, others have cedar paneled double tubs, beach boulder fireplaces, or garden balconies. We stayed in the Grandifolia Room, decorated in a maple theme-and the newest suite. It was huge, elegant and very comfortable.

The food at the Harbour House is extraordinary. We watched the cooks wandering in the gardens, snipping fresh produce for our meals. Breakfast was delivered to our room, lunch was a sumptuous buffet (a pack lunch is also available for those going off on adventures). Both meals are included in the room rate.

The owners pride themselves on serving only fresh, local, in-season foods, organic where possible and largely harvested from their own gardens. They refuse to serve farmed salmon.

At dinner we were faced with a 70-page wine list and menu choices which have earned applause from reviewers-"the best restaurant in Canada", according to a reviewer for the Toronto Star. A well-deserved reputation, judging by our experience.

After dinner, we spent time in front of a roaring fire with host Sinclair Phillip who made us feel very at home.

We were also treated to a tour of the facilities and the many art objects which make the Sooke Harbour House a virtual gallery. Beautiful original carvings, paintings, sculptures, and fabric art decorate the hallways, while imaginative metal and ceramic sculptures are found throughout the gardens.

An Ideal Paddlers' Getaway

The Sooke Harbour House is an ideal paddlers' get away. You can launch right in front, at Whiffen Spit, and paddle out and around the bold rocky head of East Sooke Park. Or if it's rough, you can paddle inside Sooke Basin. Other options include river kayaking on the Sooke River or kayak surfing at Jordan River, both a short drive away. There are also innumerable nearby beaches for hiking-including the Juan de Fuca trail and Galloping Goose bicycle and hiking trail.

But the best part of the day, after adventure, is to come home to a hot bath, complementary decanter of port, and a great meal. Life doesn't get better than this.

Access: Sooke is 45 minutes west of Victoria, BC. Contact: Sooke Harbour House 1528 Whiffen Spit Rd., Sooke, BC V0S 1N0. Toll free: 1 800-889-9688. Ph: 250-642-3421. Email: info@sookeharbourhouse.com. Web: www.sookeharbourhouse.com When in Sooke, call Dave Blacoe of To'Ki (The Ocean Kayak Institute) for Kayak Lessons, Sales, Rentals and Tours. Now situated at Cooper's Cove near the Fox's Grill Restaurant. Phone: 250-642-2159.

A Place of Legend The Gateway to Sooke Harbour is a narrow neck of land today known as Whiffen Spit. It is a place of legend and a symbol of the T'Sou-ke Nation. At the entrance to the channel a rock stood as a traditional sentinel until 1964 when it was deemed a hazard to vessels and removed. Legend has it that this rock was long ago a man who the Changer transformed so that he could watch over the waters of the harbour and keep them safe. The watchman watched for the red tide to come, and then he would shoot at it to keep it away, so that the people could eat clams all the time. Whiffen Spit is also the site of the massacre, which is believed to have happened in the early part of the 18th century. One night a war party of Clallams from across the Strait of Juan de Fuca evaded the guard and massacred the T'Sou-ke people. According to legend, a mother and her two sons managed to avoid capture and took refuge in a cave in the hills. Later, each armed with a club, they crept stealthily among the sleeping Clallam, killing or maiming all but one. That one warrior carried the tale back across the Strait to his own territory, and the three regained their stolen land. The T'Sou-ke Nation is submitting a land claim to the BC government to reclaim this former village site. Once successful with this claim, the T'Sou-ke Nation will likely preserve this area as it now sits, a park. There are several midden sites in the area. Information thanks to Denise Purcell, T'Sou-ke Treaty Office