Save the Date: Vancouver Wedding & Honeymoon Show on March 25

Searching for wedding inspiration? Check out spring’s biggest wedding show on March 25 at Vancouver Convention Centre East.

The Vancouver Wedding & Honeymoon Spring Show is your chance to meet the Lower Mainland’s top wedding and travel specialists and gather inspiration and expert advice. Whether you’re searching for a photographer, caterer or perfect honeymoon spot, it’s all here, under the sails!

Plus, loads of prizes are up for grabs, including a chance to enter the Grand Wedding draw.

The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but don’t miss the fashion shows scheduled for noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Who knows, you just might spot the dress of your dreams.

Tickets are $20 online or $25 at the door. See you there!

*From our archives

As the details of planning your wedding begin to pile up, don’t forget to start thinking about your honeymoon. Remember that as important as your destination is, your accommodation deserves at least as much-if not more-attention.

Not all of us can afford the luxury of a two-week-long exotic honeymoon sequestered on a remote island in the Caribbean. If this is you, relax. Vancouver and Seattle are home to two award-winning hotels, establishments that attract travellers and honeymooners worldwide for their lavish attention to detail and their respective abilities to turn ordinary hotel rooms into havens for romance, peace and solitude.

In Vancouver, the Wedgewood Hotel recently garnered international attention when Condé Nast Traveler rated it the best hotel in Canada as part of their annual Reader’s Choice Awards. I spent a night there in February in an effort to discover what distinguishes it from its peers, and found the keyword at the Wedgewood is intimacy. With only 83 rooms and private ownership under Eleni Skalbania, this hotel has achieved the ultimate balance between friendliness, intimacy and a respect for privacy in the service it delivers.

“We’re small enough that we’re able to give personal attention to each of our guests,” explains Joanna Tsaparas, director of sales and marketing. I know what she means. I arrived late and anxious the night of my stay over, but upon stepping up to the reception desk, I was pleasantly surprised by the absence of an automated greeting-the kind where staff say ‘welcome,’ their eyes fixed to the computer screen. Instead, it was clear that I was expected, and I was welcomed by name even before I could introduce myself.

“We know all our guests, and send notes to people when we know they’re returning, or celebrating a milestone in their lives,” continues Tsaparas. “We also circulate that information among our staff. For example, everyone knew that you were going to be arriving late that night.”

The Wedgewood has mastered the art of making a hotel stay intimate, yet unobtrusive. It’s a philosophy that’s given the hotel consistent occupancy rates of 100 percent and one that continues to be the cornerstone of its success. Says General Manager Philip Meyer: “A guest’s first three minutes into a hotel are vital in terms of the greeting they receive.” Oftentimes, it is Meyer who steps up to the curb of Hornby Street to welcome guests, opening the car door and holding an umbrella if the weather is rainy.

That said, the minutes and hours that follow at a hotel are equally important, and the Wedgewood delivers the best here, too. I experienced the Honeymoon Memory package in a beautiful penthouse suite.

I arrived to find chocolate-covered strawberries in my room, a complimentary bottle of champagne, a box of Belgian truffles and an authentic Wedgwood Jasper piece of China to take home as a souvenir of my stay. And if there was any space left at all after a sumptuous dinner at Bacchus, the hotel’s signature restaurant, it was filled by the homemade cookies placed discreetly at my bedside during the turndown service.

Rooms at the Wedgewood are distinctly European in their décor, and artfully arranged to suggest sophistication, elegance and above all, comfort. There are fireplaces, jetted bathtubs, boutique style soaps and bath foam and garden patios on the penthouse levels, perfect for a morning breakfast overlooking the awakening city.

Location is key, and the Wedgewood Hotel marries its central placement in the city with special windows that block the sound of traffic and make it easy to forget you’re surrounded by the bustling city. Until you choose to remember, of course. Then, you simply step out of the hotel and walk half a block to be ensconced by stores, pedestrians, restaurants, lights and the excitement of Vancouver’s downtown core.

Seattle’s Sorrento Hotel is equally well positioned on First Hill, a mere three blocks north of the city centre. This is another boutique hotel, with only 76 rooms, a 94-year legacy and an architectural style that speaks of Italy and stands in a class of its own. In a Condé Nast Travelers Readers’ Poll, the Sorrento was rated one of that country’s top 25 hotels, and just last year made the list of the 500 greatest hotels in the world, according to Travel & Leisure magazine.

What sets the Sorrento Hotel apart from its competition? Again, it boils down to attention to detail and a magnanimous effort to capture the best of Italy and contain it. In the bedrooms, this translates to 400-thread-count linens over the down comforters and pillows, Italian marble bathrooms with porcelain pedestal sinks, high-end bathroom accessories and two styles of Frette bathrobes-light spa and luxurious terry. There’s a complimentary town car service in case you don’t feel like driving, an in-room Torrefazione French press coffee and tea service, an in-room sound system and a 24- hour concierge in case you need anything at an odd hour.

If you’ve ever grumbled about hotel pillows, you’ll be glad to know the Sorrento places seven on each bed, ranging from soft to medium to firm to satisfy different slumbers. The hotel’s Sorrento Romance package includes champagne upon arrival, accommodation in a luxurious, superior guest room with an adjoining sitting room, rose petals scattered on the bed at turndown, complimentary silk pajamas and continental breakfast for two delivered to the room.

Given its old-world charm, the Sorrento has a long history of forging romance and attracting romantics. The Hunt Club, the hotel’s northwest-style restaurant with its rich, deep-paneled interior, has been continuously named one of the city’s best places to kiss. The management estimates that the restaurant witnesses 30 marriage proposals each year, but there are likely more in the Fireside Room, to the backdrop of melodies from a jazz musician and the flicker of a roaring fire.

“Everyone who grew up in Seattle has a Sorrento story,” says Owner Michael Malone. “I have a love of old things, and I always thought that the Sorrento was a wonderful old thing, a kind of diamond in the rough.” It takes vision to transform any ‘old thing’ into an incarnation of its gracious, yesteryear charm, but the Sorrento hotel is a definite success story. The hotel recently spent $50,000 per room on renovations. But rather than looking brand spanking new, the alterations simply add more character, class and comfort, with European elegance and a contemporary style. There’s the best of the old world, but the ultimate in the new world too-like high speed internet access, cordless dual-line telephones and direct phone numbers for all rooms.

And if you do find yourself sleepless in Seattle, there’s the option of call refusal, which means complete and utter privacy as you celebrate your honeymoon and enjoy the vibrancy of Seattle’s bright lights.

If You Go:
The Sorrento Hotel’s Romance Package, which includes continental breakfast for two delivered to the room, silk pajamas, rose petals at turndown, champagne upon arrival and accommodation in a superior guest room, costs US$445 per couple. Deluxe rooms start at US$250. For more information, visit www.hotelsorrento.com or call (800) 426-1265

The Wedgewood Hotel’s Honeymoon Memory package costs CAD$305 for a suite and CAD$445 for a penthouse. It includes a bottle of champagne upon arrival, breakfast in bed the following morning and an authentic Wedgewood Jasper piece to take home. Deluxe rooms start at $160. For more information, visit www.wedgewoodhotel.com or call (800) 663-0666.

Picture a bay fringed by forested hills, a place where gentle waves lap against the beach and casitas nestle in haphazard symmetry between the trees. There are no high-rise hotels jostling for space on the beachfront and no sea-dos zooming noisily in the surf. By day there are surfboards, kayaks and sunshine while at night visitors dine beneath palapas at local restaurants, the sweet sound of salsa music filling the air. This is Sayulita, a small town of 3,000 just 45 minutes from Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta. It’s not widely recognized on the honeymoon map, but it’s a little alcove of paradise for those who want a getaway that personifies peace and quiet, simple beauty and the authenticity of Mexico—without travelling too far from a major airport.

We checked into Villa Amor, a boutique hotel perched on the north side of the beach, just metres from the ocean. The 42 villas are rustic, airy and distinctly Mexican in their architecture. Mexican earthenware and art adorn the walls, a private splash pool is a great spot to cool off on a hot day and from the large terrace, the ocean view is simply
mesmerizing.

The beach curves before us in an elegant arc of white sand licked by foamy waves. Pelicans dive for fish, surfers sit patiently on their boards waiting for the perfect wave and giant frigate birds glide on the thermals. From the moment we arrived the whoosh of waves filled our ears with a soothing melody. Inside, the villas feature large bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and mosquito nets elegantly draping the beds in a soft canopy. Devoid of telephones, televisions and in-room wi-fi, we’re free from the digital world and decadently disconnected.

Tempting as it was to curl up on the patio furniture with a good book, the surf was calling. Our first morning we booked surfing lessons with a local instructor, Israel Preciado, heading out into the water after a quick lesson on the beach. The waves were small and gentle that day, and within ten minutes we were standing cautiously on our surfboards, riding a wave toward the beach. It was invigorating being immersed in the waves, even with frequent tumbles off the board. By the time we sank onto towels in the blissful sunshine, we’d truly earned our repose.

Later, we sauntered around this eclectic, bohemian town, peeking into the shops and galleries. We walked by the Iguana Tree, a favourite hangout of the protected species, and looking up we saw four iguanas munching lazily on leaves, their legs clasped tightly around the branches. It was the first of a diverse array of wildlife we witnessed in the Riviera Nayarit, the coastal strip on which Sayulita is one of several small towns.

A few days later, on a boat ride to the Marietas Islands, a nature reserve a halfhour from Sayulita, we passed humpback whales, spyhopping and bellowing soft breaths of spray into the air. We snorkelled around the island caves beneath the watchful gaze of blue-footed boobies, an unfortunately named bird that’s found in only two other remote places in the world. And on a long walk on Sayulita’s soft sand, we observed several newly hatched turtles making their first journeys toward the ocean.

There’s a laid-back, friendly atmosphere in Sayulita that you just don’t find in Mexico’s major tourist destinations. We felt that camaraderie acutely when we dined at Antonia’s, a local restaurant on the patio of Antonia Venejas’ house. The menu was composed of Mexico’s traditional dishes, all of them whipped together with pride in the kitchen, just steps from our table.

We practiced the salsa at Don Pedro’s, a palapa-covered restaurant on the beachfront, and we mingled in the town plaza at night, watching street vendors fry pretzels into a delicious crisp. The street lights cast a romantic glow around the little town, and as we walked along the ocean back to our villa, the world felt
a wonderfully peaceful place.

For general information on Sayulita, visit www.sayulita.com and www.sayulitalife.com

Rates at Villa Amor start at $55 and up per night. For reservations visit www.villaamor.com or call 619 819-5407

The first thing you hear is the surge of waves, a thunderous whoosh as they break on the white sand of Grenada’s legendary Grand Anse Beach. I arrive at night, here to investigate the honeymoon possibilities at the Spice Island Beach Rresort. Weary after a long journey, I am invigorated the moment the hot island air hits my face. At the resort I’m offered a chilled towel, tropical juice and a warm welcome. In my room, more treats await: a drink of sea moss, a milkshake-like, cinnamon-spiced beverage that is decadently rich and sensuously different on the tongue, and one that quickly becomes my preferred beverage.

The resort is a picture-perfect manifestation of Caribbean serenity: cool tiled floors, dark wood furniture, breezy open spaces and a scent of flowers that perfumes the air. It has a sense of permanence that defies its recent history and Spice Island Beach Rresort’s owner, Sir Rroyston O. Hopkin, can testify to that.

Hopkin, knighted in 2004 by Queen Eelizabeth II for his contributions to Grenada and Caribbean tourism, was just starting to enjoy the property’s extensive renovations from 2000, when, in September 2004 the island was hit with a vengeance by Hurricane Ivan. The class five hurricane destroyed 75% of the resort and incapacitated the entire island, bringing tourism to a virtual standstill.

Ask anyone on the island and they can recall the hurricane vividly. Andy, one of the 150 staff at the resort, remembers covering his body with a couch at his home to prevent being swept away by the fierce winds that claimed 49 lives in its eight-hour-long duration. “Trees were uprooted and blown away—I could not have imagined it if I hadn’t seen it,” he told me gravely.
All that has changed now and Grenada has bounced back from the storm, its businesses and infrastructure stronger than ever. At Spice Island, Sir Rroyston sighed, reached deep into his pockets and began a $12 million process of renovating and rebuilding. The result is quite spectacular.

My room, the Saffron Suite, is the size of a small townhouse, with two bathrooms, a living room, a bedroom with a massive four poster bed surrounded by soft silky curtains and two dining tables—one indoors and one on the patio.

The heart-shaped spa bathtub in the suite’s bathroom could easily fit a family of five, while the spacious rainhead shower is a blissful place to wash away the day’s sand and seawater with high end Molton Brown toiletries and baby-soft towels and gowns. Directly outside my suite are private lounge chairs, a hammock, the palm trees and mere steps away, the rolling ocean.

On Friday nights honeymooners can enjoy a sumptuous buffet dinner with the tunes of a steel band in the background. I dine on exotic foods like flying fish with coucou and callalou, local dishes that carry the distinct tang of the Caribbean.

At breakfast nutmeg flavoured jams and yogurts sit as casually on the table as do their strawberry counterparts in North America. Spice is ubiquitous on this island, which grows more spices per square metre than anywhere else in the world.

Some honeymooners spend their day moving slowly between the beach and the swimming pool, their hands clasping brightly coloured drinks decorated with fruit and umbrellas. Others are eager to explore the riches of Grenada.

I join Grenada Seafaris for a speedboat and snorkeling adventure, plopping off the side of the vessel into choppy waters. Below me the reef is in the process of rejuvenation after the storm, thanks in part to an innovative British sculptor. Jason de Caires Taylor has created an underwater sculpture park with 55 life-size sculptures that form a canvas through which he explores Caribbean folklore and attracts corals and fish to the reef.

It is an eerie but compellingly beautiful experience to snorkel over his sculptures. There is La Diablesse, for example, a devil woman with the face of a skull. One gallery called Grace Reef features 16 casts of a Grenadian woman lying down while at another a circle of 28 life-size children stand holding hands.

That night I find myself on a lonely beach on the northernmost tip of the island, listening to the soft snorting sound of a leatherback turtle as she lays her eggs. With her back to the hole she deftly uses her hind flippers to excavate. Perching on the edge of the hole she has dug, she starts to lay eggs, depositing up to five simultaneously and dropping them with a soft plop into the chamber.

I extend my hand to her sandy shell, which feels firm, warm and exquisitely smooth. Marked with seven ridges that help her to swim more efficiently through the water, it shines in the moonlight. Her flippers are rough to the touch, like the wrinkled skin of an elephant’s trunk, and I’m filled with wonder at this amazing creature who, in the coming months, will swim half way around the world and plunge to depths of up to 3,900 feet.
In no more than 15 minutes there are 123 eggs in the nest and after she has completely camouflaged the nest, she begins a slow, clumsy walk back to the ocean. Soundlessly she enters the surf and as the waves splash the sand from her shell she is quickly swallowed by the water and on her way.

It’s a magical moment on this island of spice, and honeymooners can experience many more. Visit Grenada and you leave with unforgettable memories and the exotic scents of nutmeg syrup, guava jam and other island delicacies that will bring the turquoise waters crashing to your mind every time you use them.

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If You Go:

• Nightly rates at the all-inclusive Spice Island Beach Resort start at $535 per room and include haute cuisine meals, room service, golf green fees and non-motorized sports such as cycling, tennis,
  snorkeling, hobie cats and kayaks.
• Kennedy Tours offers turtle watching tours on Levera Beach for $65 per person. www.kennedytours.com; 473 444-1074
• Grenada Seafaris offers motorboat trips that combine reef snorkeling with a snapshot of the island’s history at $60 per person. Info: 473 405-7800; www.grenadaseafaris.com
• For more information on visiting Grenada contact the Grenada Board of Tourism at www.grenadagrenadines.com or call 416 595-1339.

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Scottsdale beckons with dry beauty and modern luxury

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Scottsdale is a place of paradox: a landscape of cacti and dry Sonoran desert that has transformed itself into a city of magnificent, sprawling resorts, luscious golf courses, great restaurants and fantastic shopping. Come for the luxury of highthread- count sheets, sublime spa treatments and gourmet food in romantic restaurants. But don’t leave before taking time to appreciate the verdant life and exquisite beauty of the desert.

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Built in the shadow of Camelback Mountain—more like a hill by BC standards, but considered a biggie in the flatlands of Scottsdale—the Royal Palms Resort & Spa has a distinct Spanish-Mediterranean design that’s immediately enduring. It’s construction was a love-story in itself, for financier Delos Cooke and his wife had fallen in love with the location and when they took occupancy in 1929, they filled their winter home with their exotic treasures. Their bliss was short-lived, though, for two years later Delos took ill and passed away, leaving his wife to walk the beautiful, sun-filled passageways alone.

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The Stylish Honeymoon

Still, the aura of romance remained, and over the years it was enhanced as various property owners added casitas, plants and reflection pools. To this day couples come to Royal Palms Resort to celebrate their love over good food and orange blossom massages. Bougainvillea spill over hacienda style canopies, terracotta ponds bubble around the property and palm trees stick their long necks into the air rejoicing in the dry heat that characterizes this part of the world.

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The Royal Palms Resort has undergone $12 million of upgrades over the past 13 years, expanding and restoring it into a spectacular retreat that feels like a boutique hotel, but with a room count of 119, really isn’t. Our spa suite is a three-roomed space with a balcony overlooking the mountain, a gas fireplace that you’d likely never need in this heat, a steam shower and a quaint claw foot tub in the centre of the bathroom.

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A Twinkling Reception

Between the rich décor of the property and its wonderful level of luxury, it’s easy to feel pampered here. A pool butler brings fresh towels and iced water to guests on the lounging chairs, and valets zip your car away the moment you pull into the driveway. Bathroom toiletries carry the sweet scent of neroli, harking back to the orange plantations that once stood here, and at night the courtyard comes alive with musicians, twinkling orange lights and an effervescent beauty accentuated by the starry sky.
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Honeymoon Adventures

In downtown Scottsdale we spend an evening on the Art Walk, a 25-yearlong Thursday night tradition of window shopping and browsing. We pass countless galleries displaying  expensive paintings and objets d’art, wandering in and out of the air conditioned spaces.
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The next day we rise at 4:00 am to board a hot air balloon that will drift us high into the sky for a panoramic view of Greater Phoenix. We see the beauty of the city: its massive mansions, some with expansive swimming pools and private putting greens. “But for the invention of air conditioning, this would still be a small town,” says Marc, our balloon pilot.
We’re grateful for that invention by the time we return to land, for with the rising sun temperatures have already climbed to the high 30s. We return to the Royal Palms, succumbing to the decadence of the swimming pool and the relief it brings from the wave of heat. Camelback Mountain shimmers behind us and the day beckons with possibility.

Venue Tip: The Boulders

If you’re looking for a unique wedding venue, consider Promise Rock at The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa. Located on the outskirts of town, The Boulders is named for its 12-million-yearold massive rocks. Nestled in an alcove of those rocks, the Resort recently created a ceremony site with lush green grass, a waterfall and a rock sculpture of a couple holding hands. The beauty of the boulders is inspiring, and the spirituality of the site is almost tangible.
For more information: www.TheBoulders.com or 480 488-9009

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How To Plan Your Trip:

• Scottsdale is a quick two-hour flight from Vancouver. For information about the city, call (800) 782-1117 or visit www.ExperienceScottsdale.com
• Rates at the Royal Palms Resort range from $149 to $549 per night. For information, visit www.royalpalmsresortandspa.com or call 800 672-6011.
• Hot Air Expeditions offers early morning flights into the sky followed by a Champagne breakfast. For information call 800 831-7610 or visit www.hotairexpeditions.com.

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If you want to see history alive with colour, buzz and excitement, you only have to visit Holland. Just a nine-hour flight from Vancouver, setting foot in this country can bring you back to the 1500s with utter clarity, its ancient castles, churches and quaint canal-side homes juxtaposed with modernity at every turn.

In Amsterdam, cyclists whiz by pedestrians, one hand clutching a mobile phone to their ear and the other navigating through the messy traffic of people and cars.

Canal homes dating back to the 1800s have morphed into luxurious modern-day hotels, with wireless internet access and other bells and whistles that don’t detract from the homes’ yesteryear charm. The famous artist Rembrandt lies interred at the Westerkerk, a city church not far from where Anne Frank lived, surrounded by the frantic bustle of a place filled with tourists, businesses and commuters. Indeed, here the old and the new truly sit-side-by side with striking congruity.

With 51 museums and a mere 141 art galleries, Amsterdam is a magnet for some 15 million visitors a year, many of them couples who stroll hand in hand along the cobblestone streets. Romantics are surrounded by inspiration in this city, with its enticing boutiques and cozy, dimly lit restaurants tucked into picturesque side streets.

Where you sleep plays a large role in what you can do in Amsterdam, a city best explored on foot or by bicycle. We opted for the Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam, a new establishment that opened its doors inside a century-old shipping building in June 2007. The Amrath is history personified, though you wouldn’t know it to step inside its rooms. Contemporary bathrooms feature granite countertops, rooms boast flat screen televisions and beautiful dark furnishings, and a minibar, well stocked with soft drinks, wine and spirits, is included in the room rate.

Step outside the rooms, however, and you are greeted with history at every turn. The paternoster elevator, which now goes up and down for display only, was long in service in this building, once known as Het Scheepvaarthuis, or the shipping house. Floors are an elegant marble and intricate wrought-iron decorates the banisters and light fixtures. The main boardroom, with stained-glass windows and grand wood paneling dating back to 1913, is still used for corporate functions, though the once bustling cashier booths, where money from the shipping excursions changed hands, are dusty and closed off from the public eye.

With 163 rooms and suites, the Amrath Amsterdam is a luxury retreat, its fine dining restaurant, The Seven Seas, filled with the hum of chatter and the clinking of silverware the night we stayed over. In the basement, a brand new bar and nightclub pulsated with music, though we opted instead to warm up in the heated swimming pool and hot tub, grateful to wake up to a view of the canals, houseboats and the slender, six-story homes that line these waterways.

Another hotel with a lengthy history is the Pulitzer, an amalgamation of 25 canal side houses that date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Overlooking the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals, the Pulitzer’s 230 rooms are enviably located in the hub of historic Amsterdam, just steps from the Royal Palace, the flower market and the city’s best known museums.

Part art gallery, part museum itself, the Pulitzer also seamlessly juxtaposes old with new. The upper rooms of the canal houses, once servants’ quarters, have morphed into intimate conference facilities. The interior courtyards are still lush with foliage and open to diners in the summer months, but in winter, locals and guests flock to the comfy couches of the Pulitzer’s Bar and Cigar Lounge, where large windows offer picturesque street views.

Rooms have an historic tone coupled with contemporary facilities. There’s wireless internet access, of course, as well as in-room movies, round-the-clock room service, fine linens and deluxe toiletries.

At breakfast, businessmen dressed to the nines rub shoulders with honeymooning couples and service is fast, professional and thankfully, fully bilingual in this hotel. In the noise and bustle that characterizes Amsterdam, the Pulitzer offers a peaceful, classy sanctuary. This is a place from which you can reflect on the beauty of the city and wonder at its seamless incorporation of modern-day technology without compromising its yesteryear charm.

If You Go:

For more information on the Grand Hotel Amrath, visit www.amrathamsterdam.com.

For The Pulitzer Hotel’s rates and details, visit www.pulitzer.nl

Amsterdam gets all the attention from visitors to The Netherlands, but The Hague, a city steeped in history just 45 minutes from Schiphol Airport, has far fewer tourists stepping on its ancient roads. For couples seeking a romantic retreat, a visit to The Hague offers a combination of seaside and city life with old stone palaces just minutes from a bustling modern core.

Coming from Vancouver, you cannot help but be struck by the short distances in Holland. The beach is 10 minutes by tram or bike from the city centre, and public transit works like clockwork, making The Hague easily and affordably navigable.

We started our visit in Scheveningen, the beach district that no foreigner can pronounce with ease. The time to come is in the summer, when locals laze on the long stretch of beach and the outdoor restaurants do brisk business on the pier. Lovers walk hand-in-hand along the promenade, kids play in the surf and at night there are casinos, fine dining or quiet strolls by the ocean.

Once a small fishing village on the Black Sea,  Scheveningen still has its yesteryear charm. Step into the Kurzaal Restaurant at the centuryold Steigenberger Kurhaus Hotel, and you’re surrounded by an old-world ambience. With massive domed ceilings, walls boasting intricate paintings and sculptures, elegant balconies and a pianist at the ivories, it’s a place that has seen performances by many an artist over the years. Marlene Dietrich performed here, as did Maria Callas and the Rolling Stones
We sampled breakfast beneath those stately domes, a European-style meal complemented by Holland’s legendary, creamy cheeses, freshly baked brioche and an endless selection of hot entrees. Our fellow diners were businessmen in town for meetings and conferences; as foreign travellers, we had the place to ourselves.

The Hague has many attractions to keep the days busy. We stopped in at Madurodam, miniature version of Holland with models 25 times smaller than they are in reality. The whimsical place has some 66,000 miniature inhabitants, 4,500 cars and trucks and 50,000 lights. There are tiny trees, trams, and a harbour, in which one of many miniature ships is “on fire”.

Like most places in Holland, Madurodam has its share of history. The funds for its creation in 1952 were donated by the parents of a war hero and resistance fighter, George Maduro, who perished in a concentration camp in 1945, just months before liberation.

On a walk in the city centre, we pass a children’s park with an odd-looking structure: group of chairs composed of steel bars in a circular platform. Come closer and you see that the first names of children are inscribed on each steel bar of the chairs. “One thousand seven hundred Jewish children from The Hague didn’t return from the war,” an inscription reads. “Many of them played here and went to school. Let us not forget them.”

Memory is important in this city, and many buildings that adorned its streets hundreds of years ago are still intact and even in use to this day. The Noordeinde Palace, whose lush green gardens border the Park Hotel in the heart of The Hague, is the working palace of Queen Beatrix, and a flag blowing in the breeze is the only evidence that she’s in at the palace on the day we walk by. The Lange Voorhout Palace, on the street of the same name, was the residence of Queen Emma until 1891, but functions as a museum today.

The Hague has always been the venue for politics in The Netherlands, the place where the country’s future is determined. The red stone walls of the Beinnenhof parliament buildings and the prime minister’s office towers are stately landmarks in the city, with guided tours available for the curious.

We were content to browse the narrow streets of The Hague, though, absorbing the marvelous foreignness of this country and its definitively Dutch character. Getting lost was part of the fun as we strolled through the city, marveling at the statues, peeking into quaint boutiques tucked into ancient buildings and trying to translate the Dutch on the menus of the many romantic restaurants we passed. 

It took just nine hours to get there from Vancouver. But once we arrived, The Hague set us on a path hundreds of years in the making, one with all the grandeur of kings, queens and historical political figures accessible in a city of beauty, beach and charm.

If You Go:

- Steigenberger Kurhaus Hotel (www.kurhaus.nl) is a landmark in Scheveningen, but rooms are much smaller and less luxurious than the hotel’s exterior would lead you to expect. In the historic city centre check into the Parkhotel Den Haag (www.parkhoteldenhaag.nl), a great location for savouring the sights of downtown.
- For information on The Hague visit www.denhaag.com

They say never judge a book by its cover, and the same is true of hotels. Head east or west in our magnificent country and you’ll find honeymoon properties to fit all tastes. From hidden boutique castles in Montreal to ultra-stylish establishments in Vancouver, there’s no shortage of choice for honeymooners seeking a domestic getaway.

My husband and I flew into Montreal for the start of our romantic rendezvous, checking into the Hotel Pierre du Calvet, a boutique property in the centre of the vieux port. Walk the streets of Montreal and it’s easy to pass by the hotel. But step inside and you find yourself transported back in time 280 years.

The Calvet house was built in 1725 with castle-like stone walls and majestic wood beams in the ceilings. It became a home for Gaetan Trottier, the present co-owner and artist, 45 years ago but it wasn’t until 1993 that the doors of this historic abode opened to the public as a restaurant and hotel.

The words grand and stately do nothing to describe the Hotel Pierre du Calvet. Every last piece of furniture is heavily ornate. Chandeliers glint in the light of the gas fireplace and Persian carpets soften ancient hardwood floors. The stone walls lead to narrow passageways, mysterious doorways and unexpected sitting areas. Our favourite room quickly becomes the greenhouse, where a glass roof creates a warm ambience that nourishes a symphony of creeping plants, and the soft purr of caged budgies and nesting doves fills the air.

Stately furnishings and an undeniable aura of yesteryear move guests rapidly back in time at the Hotel, while a circuitous staircase straight out of a fairy tale leads to a parlour overlooking the terrace. Once the bedroom door is closed we are reinvented as king and queen of a faraway castle, ensconced in a four-poster canopy bed with luxurious linens. Almost everything feels steeped in history and the only hints that modernity has touched this room lie in the telephone, internet access and gas fireplace.

From Montreal, we fly west to Calgary to catch the Rocky Mountaineer Railroad luxury train back to Vancouver, a trip that offers amazing glimpses of the country and its wildlife coupled with divine meals and comfy seating.
The train leaves the station in the early hours of the morning, so we spend the night at the Hotel Arts, a few blocks from the station.

You’d never expect a place like the Hotel Arts in a city like Cowtown. Step off the street into the grand lobby and you find yourself in a chic establishment where modern art makes a stunning backdrop, a decorative theme that pervades the entire hotel. From the lighting to walls, furniture, the Raw Bar restaurant and everything in-between, Hotel Arts is about contemporary
design.

We can’t resist curling up in the lobby’s egg chairs when we arrive. Circular chairs perfect for hiding from the crowd and catching a few moments of solitude, these chairs are unique little pods that add character and charm to the
hotel.

Upstairs our massive bed is decked out in gorgeous, umpteen-thread-count linens and accentuated by dark furniture and dim lighting. Everything about the room says ‘chic’ and ‘stylish,’ especially the Romanesque, marble-tiled
bathroom. We nibble on tuna tataki and arctic char at the Raw Bar, sipping on Green Eyed Blonde martinis with the fashionable crowd of 30-somethings before retiring for the night.

Then it’s off to Vancouver in a luxury train car, part of Rocky Mountaineer Railtours’ Gold Leaf service. Here, magnificent scenery soon helps shake off any morning bleariness. Within a few hours the mountain ranges surround the train track, their silhouettes highlighted by the blue sky of a perfectly clear morning.

Gold Leaf means raspberry scones and quiches to take the edge off any hunger before the formal breakfast, and Champagne and orange juice to toast the voyage. It means white table cloths and exquisitely presented gourmet meals cooked in a swaying kitchen carriage.

Passengers are plied all day long with offerings of wine and beverages, chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven and snacks and canapés to add flavour to the scenery. There are warm blankets for those who need a quiet nap, fruit at-the-ready and that extra level of care and attention that comes with first class travel.

Outside the window, mountain ranges flash by and we pass glacier-fed rivers tumbling down sheer mountain faces, as well as bears, elk, moose, deer and bighorn sheep. The view on this 600-mile ourney is certainly an exquisite sight, a visual journey through Canada’s vast landscape. Within a matter of hours, snowcapped mountains give way to desert country, with bald, dry hills. Then the barren desert yields to the maples and Douglas fir forests of British Columbia’s temperate rainforests, where the leaves are turning that magical fall colour of yellow and gold.

When the trail rolls into Vancouver, we head to the Opus Hotel, a boutique contemporary property in the fashionable Yaletown district. The Opus is a magnet for the trendy and affluent. Its Opus Bar fills to the hilt at night and pulses with music, while upstairs the 96 guest suites feature vibrant colours and lifestyle-inspired themes decorated according to various personalities. Choose ‘modern and minimalist’ or ‘artful and eclectic;’ the rooms are stocked with books and music according to the personalities they represent.

Large, floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the trendy stores and restaurants below, while gas fireplaces and spa bathrooms with heated floors make it tempting to curl up inside and stay put.

A nice touch at the Opus is that you can leave your car behind. The hotel offers a choice of mountain or city bikes free of charge, which means you never have to worry about parking.
We spent a sunny afternoon cycling along the waterfront, picking up a picnic lunch at Granville Island and enjoying it on a quiet grassy spot overlooking the water. Back at the Opus, we dined at the French bistro Elixir before walking around downtown, where Vancouver’s nightlife was at our fingertips.

The clubs were throbbing with a steady beat and long lines of eager clubbers waited for entry. Around us the streets were full of people, a palpable energy filling the hot summer night. The coolness of the Opus drew us back, and after cocktails, O-bites and music, and surrounded by local sophisticates, it was hard to resist the lure of the bedroom’s white linens and soothing ambience.

Travel east, west or central Canada, it’s never hard to come home to Vancouver. On this trip, though, we returned inspired by art, nature and history, a grand complement to a cross-country honeymoon.

If You Go:

Rocky Mountaineer Vacations
Jasper and Banff from April through October. Passengers have the option of traveling economy or RedLeaf Service, or opting for first class, GoldLeaf Service. Prices start at $579 per person; for more information call 877 460-3200 or visit www.rockymountaineer.com

The Opus Hotel(www.opushotel.com) offers a summer fling romance package where overnight guests receive champagne, strawberries and an intimacy kit in their rooms and a lie-in-late extended checkout. Room rates range from $269 to $329; for more information call 866 642-6787.

Room rates at Hotel Arts range from $139 to $399 per night. For information call 800 661-9378 or visit www.hotelarts.ca

Rooms at Hotel Pierre du Calvet start at $265 per night and include a continental breakfast. For more information call 866 544-1725 or surf to www.pierreducalvet.ca