By Allen Cox for “Local Roads”

Path to Beach (Photo by Roger Ward)

If you’ve never been to Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island, chances are you’ve at least heard tales. If you have rested your head on one of its pillows, strolled its edible gardens, or embarked on its epic culinary journey called “dinner,” then you know the tales are true.

An eco-friendly inn is usually – and thankfully – an eco-friendly inn, but at this auberge the experience is somehow much more. As you stroll the gardens, ask yourself why it is that any plant in sight might appear in some form on your dinner plate. Ask why the chef won’t use a lemon in or on any dish. Ask why, after your stay, you feel as though you’ve taken part, even unknowingly, in a long and deliberate struggle to leave this particular spot on this bluff above the Strait of Juan de Fuca – which empties into the vast Pacific to the west whose waters far outreach this tiny but majestic corner of the planet – pristine.

Even if you haven’t met the passionate and environmentally committed owners of Sooke Harbour House, you sense – and witness – what they have striven to achieve since opening the doors in 1979.

Wild Strawberry Tarts (Photo by Roger Ward)

Granted, you’ve come a long way to shrug off a little stress, and luckily the Sooke Harbour House experience is far from preachy. There’s no in-your-face environmental drill sergeant hammering a message home. The message is quieter than that; in fact, if you’re not listening, you might not even hear it. You can bask in the inn’s luxury and never give a thought to what owners Sinclair and Frederique Philip call “luxury with a conscience.” But why would you, when there’s so much within easy reach to appreciate and learn?

The Five Ingredients - Earning prestigious awards and garnering top editorial mention has been a way of life at Sooke Harbour House for years. But none of this happens by accident. Five essential ingredients make this property the world-class green destination that it has become.

Environment - Just gaze at the view and you need look no further to understand why environmental consciousness is part of the soul of Sooke Harbour House. Here, stewardship reaches far beyond the property lines. The inn’s surroundings – beach, bluff, forest, water – are sensitive environments and require conscious protection. This translates into action for the owners and their staff, who long ago proactively adopted eco-positive operational practices, such as a water reclamation system, non-chemical housekeeping products and a commitment to locally sourced purchasing.

View from Sooke Harbour House (Photo by Roger Ward)

Gardens - There are two. Earth and sea. The land garden surrounds the inn . Herbs and flowers trim trails, border bluffs, fill fields and climb from cracks. “Everything we grow is organic and edible,” says Sinclair on a tour of the garden. I gaze up at a giant fir and wonder whether I should take him literally.

He proves his point that evening when grand fir-infused oil scents my soup course.

The wild seaweed garden on the beach is the domain of Diane Bernard, aka the seaweed lady, a third-generation seaweed harvester. An educational few hours with her at low tide had me eating raw seaweed off the beach and liking it.

Local Crayfish and Lovage Appetizer (Photo by Roger Ward)

Food – This ain’t no diner, but haute cuisine with a conscience. Sinclair Philip is a pioneer of Slow Food in Canada; he and a few others ushered in the movement from Italy. When he says, “Food must be good, clean and fair,” he simplifies Slow Food greatly. He’s actually talking about well-being, community and justice. Up the road from the inn, the Philips own an organic farm that supplies much of restaurant’s produce and eggs. With the strong commitment to locally sourced, top quality food, Sinclair has been able to influence many local farmers and artisan food producers to go organic, and to supplement his kitchen with what his farm cannot produce. What’s truly remarkable about Sooke Harbor House’s restaurant is that the menu changes daily – and it’s no short menu. I had a nine-course chef’s choice dinner with wine pairings, and I am not exaggerating when I claim it was the most epic and exciting culinary adventure of my life – and the ingredients were 100% local and organic. As we dined, Sinclair pointed out the farm across the harbor where the lamb on my plate had originated. “He jumped in the water and swam across just to end up on your plate,” he said.

Art - Even the art is locally sourced. The lobby, parlors, lounges, guest suites, hallways and gardens are filled with local art. It’s impossible for the eyes to rest unless they are closed. Frederique is a curator extraordinaire and has an uncanny taste for pieces that seem to fit the spirit of the place, no matter how quirky. The art reflects nature, often speaks with humor and whimsy, and veers into the abstract. I could have spent my entire stay walking the halls, taking it all in.

A Place to Be - Lodging can be a place to sleep or a place to be. At Sooke Harbour House, I didn’t want to leave my suite. First Peoples art pieces gave the space a brilliant authenticity of place. The sweeping view of the wide Strait and the Olympic range beyond drew the gaze outdoors. Each guest suite is different from the next. Most furnishings are artisan crafted, some with astounding individuality. Amenities are luxurious, but never with the cookie-cutter ambiance of a chain hotel.

Sooke Harbour House is approximately a one-hour drive from Victoria, B.C.

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