Canada's Sonora Resort Season Opens Early for 2012

  • April 28, 2012
Canada's Sonora Resort Season Opens Early for 2012
The Relais & Chateaux Sonora Resort already has significant guest bookings from the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Spain, Mexico and China booked for 2012. These International visitors will have the opportunity to see grizzly bears in their natural habitat, an abundance of Killer Whales, bald eagles and transient wildlife travelling the narrow channels within the Discovery Islands.

"Because of Sonora Island's secluded location within the Discovery Islands, there is a myriad of mammals and birds minutes from the Sonora dock, says Wynne Powell, Sonora Resort president and CEO. "This direct proximity with un-touched nature combined with Sonora's Relais & Chateaux charm is bringing new guests to this destination from around the world."

Highlights in 2012 include rafting and snorkeling with salmon in Campbell River, where guests are able to glide the river's fast rapids with Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, and Pink salmon in the clear waters. Hiking a mature coastal rainforest and seeing 800-year-old red cedars at Blind Channel; rafting whirlpools amongst hundreds of Bonaparte gulls in Arran Passage; viewing 1,000 year-old pictographs in Orford Bay; and exploring the traditional territory of the Kwiakah at Phillips River are more once-in-a-lifetime experiences guests will discover at Sonora this season.

Hiking and cycling trails, tennis, fly-fishing and the Oceanside Island Currents Spa complement the eco-diverse land and sea adventures at Sonora Resort.

In the kitchen, executive chef Terry Pichor will continue his culinary explorations using the highest quality local Vancouver Island and Canadian ingredients and produce. Many of Chef's dishes embody the surrounding rustic appeal of Sonora: special meats and seafood including Salt Spring lamb, Louis Lake Trout, Vancouver Island octopus, Fraser Valley Blue Foot chicken, and Sunshine Coast aquaculture Sturgeon. Unique ingredients include rich Australian black truffles, foraged wild lettuce, and Noble line of aged Sherry vinegars and maple syrups.

Guests will meet Chef Pichor, general manager Sean Ross and Sonora's hospitality team in the oceanfront Tyee dining room at the end of each day, sharing their sea stories, wildlife photographs and sightings, while enjoying Relais & Chateaux-inspired gourmet food and the best-of-breed British Columbia wines and hospitality.

For more information, please visit www.sonoraresort.com.

Hotel Profile, more photos: Sonora Resort