With the year nearing to an end, you might be ready to get away for the upcoming holidays! Let us help you with a complimentary two-night stay at one of our beautiful British Columbia properties.
Prestige Property of the Month – November 2019: Prince Rupert
When you think about exploring British Columbia, there are a lot of options. You usually hear about Vancouver Island, the Okanagan or the Kootenays. But less discussed is Northern BC, a hidden treasure just waiting to be discovered. Nestled on the coast of Northern BC is the quaint port city of Prince Rupert. Although dubbed one of the rainiest cities in Canada, the misty atmosphere complements the colourful buildings surrounding the waterfront and downtown. It allows you to simply step back and just take it slow.
Prince Rupert – Image by northtoalaska.com
Along with encouraging you to visit Prince Rupert, we are using November as an opportunity to showcase our Prestige Hotel Prince Rupert for this month’s Prestige Property of the Month promotion. This Prestige hotel is conveniently located in the heart of historic Prince Rupert, close to shopping locations, museums, and a variety of great local restaurants. Additionally, the hotel is only a short stroll to Prince Rupert’s Inner Harbour where you can enjoy local attractions, events and entertainment, as well as local artists’ specialty shops and so much more.
Guests can indulge in a complimentary deluxe breakfast buffet with a hot waffle and pancake bar. Enjoy the convenience of staying at Prince Rupert’s only hotel hosting an airport shuttle.
We have compiled a list of our favourite spots to make the most of your time exploring Prince Rupert:
1. Explore Cow’s Bay
The walkable town is centered around the deepest natural harbour in North America.
Cow’s Bay
Along the waterfront, enjoy the quaint shopping district made up of historic buildings, outstanding restaurants, boutiques and the local coffee shop fittingly named Cowpaccinos. The aesthetics of the town is yet another unique feature with its colourful painted buildings and quirky cow references. Exploring the town makes for a fun yet relaxing time, and is a great place to find unique gifts and souvenirs from the area.
A little fun fact: The district is officially named Cameron Bay but it got its nickname of Cow Bay in 1909 when the first herd of dairy cows being delivered to the area had to swim ashore because no docks had yet been built.
2. North Pacific Cannery
The North Pacific Cannery is a National Heritage Site and a fascinating part of the history of BC’s fishing industry. Built in 1888, the cannery is the oldest remaining salmon cannery on the west coast of North America.
North Pacific Cannery
The cannery offers visitors a chance to walk through history by touring through the cannery and village buildings. It’s hard not to feel a part of history when getting insight into how the village and salmon production ran, and all the incredible artifacts still held on-site today! Definitely one of our favorite activities and it can make for some beautiful photos along the water!
3. Seeing things a little differently from a SeaPlane
Ocean Pacific Air specializes in showcasing Prince Rupert from the sky.
Image by Ocean Pacific Air
Featuring four different tours, you can see the best that BC has to offer. From whale watching by seaplane to landing near waterfalls or flying through beautiful coastal mountain ranges. See immense, serene glaciers and perhaps spot some grizzlies or black bears before returning to Prince Rupert. All tours begin and end from the Prince Rupert harbour making it easy to begin the adventure. For more details on the tours offered, click here.
4. Hiking to the Butze Rapids
The Butze Rapids Park and Trail is an easy-going path with the reward of seeing the impressive reversing tidal rapids. Butze Rapids is a natural feature, formed from the ebb and flow of the tide around Kaien Island causing the narrow body of water to reverse or change direction on the flood and ebb of each tide. This phenomenon of the reversing tidal rapids is most dramatic when there are extreme tide ranges and during peak flows between high and low water.
Butze Rapids
The 5km trail is a loop hike and is ideal for the whole family. Enjoy the change of terrains and environments with old-growth forests, swamps, and wetlands. And finally, stop to overlook the rapids from the viewing platform on the main trail. Make sure to wear appropriate footwear, as some of the trails’ boardwalks can be slippery.
5. Whale watching
The waters surrounding Prince Rupert are filled with plenty of marine life, including humpback and orca whales, sea lions and dolphins.
Image by Tourism Prince Rupert
With the waters so abundant in marine life, going out on a boat tour is an incredible experience. The tours leave right from the Prince Rupert Harbour through various operators and are offered during August and September when whale viewing is at its peak.
6. Take a paddleboard tour with Skeena Kayaking
Skeena Kayaking has been providing kayaking adventures in Prince Rupert for over 15 years, assisting visitors and residents on their adventures north, south and west to Haida Gwaii! All trips are typically started from the beautiful Kloyia Bay which is just a short distance from the downtown core of Prince Rupert. It is the perfect starting point for beginners and great for an afternoon paddle where you will get the opportunity to see fish, eagles, starfish, seals and other incredible marine life. The peace and serenity of the surrounding mountains while paddling is worth the experience alone!
Image by skeenakayaking.ca
As noted above, Prince Rupert has a lot to offer but it is the untouched and raw surroundings that keep us wanting to come back to explore more! If this sounds like a short vacation or stay-cation you want to win, make sure to enter our competition this month to be in the running!
TO ENTER:
1. LIKE the photo labelled Prestige Property of the Month on our Instagram feed
2. FOLLOW @PrestigeResorts on Instagram
3. TAG a friend who you would like to join you
4. TAG as many friends as you want for additional entries. No limit.
The greatest aspect of the competition is that we are running it across both our Instagram and Facebook platforms, so for an even greater chance of winning, visit both social media sites and REPEAT steps 1-4. The winner will be announced on the last day of each month.
Click to enter via Facebook.
Click to enter via Instagram.
Competition fine print: Transportation to and from the hotel is not included in the prize package. The prize is not transferable and must be used within 12 months from the draw date. The winner must still be following Prestige Hotels and Resorts at the time of the draw to be eligible, otherwise, a redraw will be performed until a winner is found.
Make sure to follow our Instagram @PrestigeResorts and Facebook to stay updated.