Strolling along the Valley Trail, dog in one hand, coffee in the other, distracted by the glorious scent from the towering pines to the left and gaze arrested by the glacier reflections on the glass-like Nita Lake to the right, one might think you’d just stepped inside a picture on a postcard.
And when the Canadian icon that is the Rocky Mountaineer train emerged from behind the equally idealic Nita Lake Lodge, if there’s a picture moment more perfect, then I’d love to see it.
By the time we’d ambled our way back to the lodge, which is now considered by Tripadvisor as one of Whistler’s best hotels, the Mountaineer had departed the village’s only station, en route for Jasper and Banff.
As well as the train station being on the lodge’s doorstep, the White Dog Whistler Gallery is adjoined to the building, which has, you guessed it, a resident white husky and many canine-themed, local works of art and crafts. Your dog is also very welcome to peruse the creations.
Nita Lake Lodge also has, on a regular basis, its own resident dog, belonging to a staff member. Dogs, as you may now be aware, feature prominently at the lodge and there isn’t too many places in the hotel that your furry family member isn’t welcome; he/she is even allowed to join you in the outdoor, mountain-view hot-tub and plunge pool area.
Many hotels purport to be pet-friendly, but few are as genuinely happy to see your dog as the staff at Nita Lake. And, a five-minute walk through the neighbouring residential area is an amazing, brand new off-leash park on Alpha Lake, complete with a diving dock for the more adventurous mutt.
Size matters
They don’t do things in half measures at Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler’s Creekside, 500 metres from the base of Whistler Mountain. Whether it’s the king-sized, wooden armchairs in the foyer, the giant cushions and throws on the fireside sofas in the Cure Lounge or the ridiculously oversized suites — most with room-sized, glass-enclosed rain showers — that seem to stretch out forever.
Talking of stretching out, Hershey (our part Daschund/Scots terrier/Labrador creation) couldn’t have made herself any bigger on her giant, Nita Lake-provided, luxurious, doggy cushion.
The lodge is surrounded by incredible vistas, Nita Lake out front and Whistler’s Olympic downhill run out back. So many of the 77 luxurious suites are designed to make the absolute most of those views, with yawning, floor-to-ceiling windows pouring in daylight.
You are in the heart of alpine country and it won’t surprise you to hear wood, (thick, comforting chunky beams) features almost everywhere at the lodge, either in the foyer, in the lounge, in your room or on your balcony.
If you’re not on your aforementioned balcony, enjoying a morning, French-press coffee or sipping on a late afternoon glass a bubbly while soaking in the views, then there’s every chance you’ll be partaking of something similar in the Cure Lounge’s sink-in sofas or, weather permitting, lake view patio.
Pooch’s paradise
I did enthuse earlier about the wonderful manner in which your dog is welcomed at Nita Lake and, indeed, Whistler in general. Case in point, was the visit of the Dock Dogs travelling circus in the village, where trained, family pets tour the continent, taking runs off a constructed dock and leaping as far as they can into a giant plunge pool.
It has to be emphasized that the lodge, and the resort as a whole, places few restrictions on your family pet and are welcomed, or catered to, most places you’ll frequent.
There was one early morning walk in particular when I took the dog down to the off-leash park, within barking distance of the lodge, when the sun was just starting to peak over Whistler Mountain.
The two of us stood together on the off-leash park’s dock at Alpha Lake, as the sun slowly began to bathe the valley with a warm glow, producing more picture postcard reflections off the flat-calm water. You could have heard a pin drop, save for the odd scurry of a squirrel darting up and down the nearby, huge pines.
If Hershey could talk, I’m certain she would have been speechless at the moment of tranquility. There was just enough time in the dawning of that new day to slip onto the suite’s balcony with a fresh cup of coffee and witness the sunlight throwing a blanket of mist over the side of the mountain.
To do
There would be little point in Nita Lake Lodge wowing you with the stature of its fixtures and fittings if it didn’t back it up with amenities and recreational opportunities to match. After all, Whistler is THE place in B.C. where people come for fun, exercise and the great outdoors.
The lodge does not disappoint. They supply canoes and kayaks (including lifejackets), fishing rods and tackle — all complimentary — for use on Nita Lake, which is 19, maybe 20, steps from the lodge’s lakeside entrance.
And if you’re feeling a bit more energetic, they also have complimentary, high-quality mountain bikes if you fancy cycling the four kilometres or so along the stunning Valley Trail — a little up, a little down, but mostly flat — into Whistler Village.
We did all of the above, with several trips on the twin-seater canoe out onto Nita Lake’s deep, dark-green, glacier-fed waters. You can’t beat the feeling of paddling under your own steam and my son and I felt like we’d been lost for days, gliding around the small, two-kilometre or so perimeter lake.
And if you’re not in town to rip it up; that’s OK, the lodge has a free shuttle at your beck and call to ferry you in and out of the village.
The village itself, needs little introduction, but for those that haven’t had the pleasure or haven’t been in a while, the lasting legacies of the 2010 Winter Olympics still rank high on photo opps, not least the giant Olympic Rings at the Olympic Plaza.
The winter is a no-brainer at Whistler; it’s one of the best resorts in North America. But summer play is a close second, with world-class downhill and cross-country mountain biking and tons of family entertainment, not least at the Blackcomb family zone, complete with a dry luge track, trampoline bungee, mini-golf and go-karts. And don’t forget the impressive Peak2Peak gondola, as well.
If none of the above takes your fancy, there’s absolute nothing wrong with a casual stroll past the plethora of Whistler Village’s boutiques, restaurants, buzzing bars and winter sports stores.
In the winter season, Nita Lake Lodge guests can enjoy a complimentary shuttle, ski valet and ski storage lockers at the base of Whistler Mountain, in the Creekside Village.
Nita Lake food
It’s easy for restaurants these days to boast “local sourced produce” on their menus, with the definition stretching the realms of credibility and freshness of ingredients from as far afield as Penticton and Prince George.
At Nika Lake Lodge, it really could not be more local unless they grew their supplies in their kitchen.
The lodge has its own rooftop garden. Not just a wee tomato plant; a fully-fledged vegetable, herb and flower plot, which a member of the kitchen staff, including executive chef Paul Moran, who regularly forages through the crops to flavour his tantalizing menu in the lodge’s Aura fine dining restaurant.
During a brief stroll through the garden with Moran, I tried the sorrel plant, which lends his lemon sorbet its zing; before moving over to the violas and chocolate mint plants, which can invariably be found lacing desserts or baked goods in either Aura, Cure Lounge or the informal Fix Cafe out front.
And when they can’t source ingredients “locally,” Moran and his team leave no stone unturned in finding fresh food as close to Whistler as humanly possible.
Less than two hours after sampling the lodge’s home-grown herbs, we were sitting on Aura’s lakeside patio, as the dying embers of the day flickered off Nita Lake, perusing menu items inspired from their own garden.
A Pemberton beet baked in an amazing salt crust was cracked open at our table, sliced and then laced with sherry vinegar to “cut” the salinity, I was told. It was a fascinating appetizer, which still has me salivating as I write. The ingredients were simple, the taste was genial, as was everything else that followed, including the sorrel sorbet, flavoured, of course, from the garden up top.
The sun may have set and a few yards away the last kayak was being pulled out of the lake on the lodge’s private dock. But the day wasn’t over and there was still time for one last fireside, sofa cocktail across the path in Cure Lounge.
If you go
During the summer, a two-bedroom suite costs between $419 and $549 per night; during the winter it costs between $579 and $749 per night. Lake views and holiday seasons will be higher. Log on to nitelakelodge.com for the latest deals.
