Friday, March 6, 2009

Inncredible

As I mentioned before, right when we got off the ferry, we headed to our hotel, the Inn at Laurel Point, literally just steps away from the dock.
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Mr. Monkey had booked a lovely Terrace Suite for us. I was already excited about this from the photos I'd seen on the hotel website. When we got there, however, we didn't get the Terrace Suite.

We got a complimentary upgrade to the Mayrs Suite! Penthouse! Two stories!
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Best. Hotel. Room. Of. Our. Lives.

Here's floor one.
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Have you ever stayed in a hotel room with its own spiral staircase? We hadn't.
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On to the second floor! So expansive that a king-sized bed looked tiny!
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Biggest bathroom ever.
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More Molton Brown than you can shake a stick at. This was only a sampling.
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Apparently you're supposed to spray this for restful healing sleep.
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The almost 360-degree daytime view from the enormous second-floor balcony.
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Mr. Monkey was so excited about the balconies (yes, floor one had an ample balcony, too). He wanted to get in on the camera action as well and took these photos of the seaplane and ferry that we'd board the next day. Meanwhile, I relaxed. Everywhere. I tried all the couches and chaises and chairs and ottomans.
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As you know, Mr. Monkey is the master trip planner. I don't lift a finger; he is that good. He just tells me our destination, I pack a suitcase, and I go along for the ride. And it's always a fabulous ride.

I am, however, in charge of one thing when we travel -- food!
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Notwithstanding my pre-trip restaurant research, which unearthed the Dine Around and Stay in Town program (i.e., Victoria's equivalent of dineLA), we decided to stay in to maximize our time in the gigantic suite.

Can you blame us? Have you looked through these pictures?

Before we settled in for dinner in our contemporary palace, we went out again to see the Parliament Building and The Fairmont Empress Hotel all lit up. Definitely sights to see!
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As pretty as Victoria is at night, it was great to get back to the warmth of our hotel, which was not only modern but also had a touch of Asian flair.
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The hotel restaurant, Aura, was a place we'd like to go if we were eating out.
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Lucky us -- we had it brought to our effing enormous suite.

Creamy Cortes Island clam and oyster chowder with local little neck clams from Cortes Island and smoked oysters ($10). Smooth and steeped with tons of clams and oysters. Scaldingly hot, just how I like it!
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Sesame calamari with fresh orange segments, baby tatsoi greens, tobiko, and cucumber ginger yogurt ($14). Delicately fried. Clean. Fresh.
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Aura crusted wonton prawns with togorashi mayonnaise, warm edamame, and lime salt ($15). Nom nom nom! Man, the crunch!
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Aura-style fish and chips with house cut fries, yuzu remoulade sauce, and Asian coleslaw ($18). Yummy for my tummy.
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It's sort of hard to see, but the two pieces of fish were gigantic. Quite good.
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Aura vanilla pudding with caramelized puffed rice, sour cherry compote, and Japanese red plum wine sorbet ($10). Light and sweet paired with icy and tart.
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After dinner, I took even more pictures of our room and its view. I was that enamored. We went out on the balcony. Again. I wish we lived there. The parties we would throw on that sprawling balcony!
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Of course, we made good use of the huge jacuzzi.
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Molton, take me away!

Next: Snapping a sunrise, soaring on a seaplane, and sailing to Seattle.

23 comments:

  1. W.O.W. I can't believe that hotel room.

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  2. holler for the alliteration at the end - that looks so wonderful, and I feel like I was there! I loved Mr. Monkey waving from the bathroom.

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  3. What an amazing suite! Wow! Love the view from the bathroom.

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  4. Wow. You're soooo lucky!!! That suite is bigger than our apartment.

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  5. That hotel room is amazing. I'm not sure I could have been lured out of there when it was time to leave.

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  6. Wow, inncredible is right. I am in love with that room, especially the bathroom.

    Looks like you had an amazing anniversary trip, complete with a racy photo of Mr Monkey in the tub, lol.

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  7. Amazing suite. Lucky you. I'd never be able to leave. Two thumbs up for sneaky mr. monkey.

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  8. I am dying laughing at Mr. Monkey in all those bubbles. That clam chowder looks fantastic!

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  9. Ballers. And I'm cracking up at Mr. Monkey in the tub.

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  10. GORGEOUS!!! mr. monkey in the bathtub AND the room ;)

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  11. I have never seen a hotel room like this - looks like a very nice trip! I may just have to start having lots of anniversaries until I too find two-story hotel bliss :)

    Also, I'm looking at a hotel and wondering whether it's worth it to use Priceline. It's only one night, so even if it's not the best hotel it wouldn't be too awful, but location is important (getting a ride to an event, so we need to be convenient for the people driving). You're probably the person I "know" with my Priceline experience - would you mind sharing? Have you ever had a problem, how much do you usually save over listed prices, any tips? My email is dontcallmegringa at gmail or it might make a useful blog post for others with questions! Thanks so much, WeeMo :)

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  12. really good food photos! beautiful.

    i need to borrow mr. monkey for our next trip, please. i've got the food part down, too, but not so much the other parts.

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  13. Ah-maze-ing! So jealous!! That place is gorgeous!

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  14. I think this is the first time that "other" photos impressed me more than your food photos. Drooling. Mostly over the hotel room. I wouldn't mind the food, either, though.

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  15. I'm so blown away, I really am. Was this a room through Priceline or Hotwire? Seriously those views took my breath away. I'm going to get follow up comments on this post so if you update with how Mr.M went about scoring this deal, I'm in the know. Amazing.

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  16. omg. i just got to see these because flickr is blocked at work. beyond amazing!

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  17. Drooling...drooling more, and just speechless! I can't believe you left that room!!! Amazing!

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  18. DUDE! that is an effing sweet room! i wouldn't have left for dinner either. :)

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  19. um, that might be the most beautiful room i have ever seen! what an incredible view!

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  20. wow that room is absolutely incredible!!!

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