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This Review of Long Beach Lodge in Tofino, BC in Canada is from our recent stay. Tofino is on a peninsula in the Clayoquot Sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, reached either by a flight into Tofino Airport (YAZ) from Vancouver on Pacific Coastal Airlines or by car, driving up Highway 4, the Pacific Rim Highway leading into Tofino.
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Long Beach Lodge Lobby and Check-In
It was a fairly long travel day driving from Vancouver to Tofino, so we appreciated a swift check-in process in the lobby when we arrived around 6:30pm. The lobby isn't large, and there's sometimes just one associate on duty, but staff were friendly and efficient. We received three card keys, a parking pass, instructions for WiFi, and a QR code to communicate by chat with staff.
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By the front desk there's infused water as well as apples, a nice touch.
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Long Beach Lodge Rainforest Cottage
We were in one of the lodge's two bedroom Rainforest Cottages that line the road leading up to the lodge. The Cottages are two to one building, but since the shared wall with the adjoining cottage is on the living room and bathroom side, we didn't have any noise issues with the neighbors. The downstairs is open plan, with a cozy living room with a sofa facing a gas fireplace, kitchen, and dining table. We especially liked the vaulted ceilings and being surrounded by trees.
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Each Rainforest Cottage has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The downstairs bedroom is the Master Bedroom, but both bedrooms are about the same size, with a large king bed (or sometimes two beds in the upstairs second bedroom). The beds struck a decent balance between firm and plush; not as comfortable as Four Seasons beds, more comfortable than most Hyatt and Park Hyatt beds, which we find way too firm. The jacuzzi hot tub (which unfortunately we couldn't use due to local water restrictions occasioned by the drought) was outside the bedroom.
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The downstairs master bathroom has a single sink, but does have a separate glass enclosed shower (regular shower head, not a rain shower) and a soaking tub. Bathrobes and compostable cotton slippers were provided, as were cedar and sage scented bath products and citrus scented epsom salts for the bath.
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Brunch in The Great Room
The Great Room is Long Beach Lodge's main restaurant, and well worth visiting for brunch or dinner even if not staying at the lodge, particularly on a sunny day given its stellar ocean views.
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Here was the brunch menu during our visit:
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The eggs benedict dishes comes with a choice of herb and parmesan hash browns or warm black rice and yam salad; I chose the black rice and yam salad to accompany my Salmon Eggs Benedict, which was delicious.
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My husband and son both ordered the Omelette of the Day, with Asiago cheese, mushrooms and arugula, accompanied by the Lodge's housemade sourdough bread. There wasn't any butter or jam served with it, but when we asked, we were brought some berry-apple jam.
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Surf Lesson and Cox Bay Beach at Long Beach Lodge
Long Beach Lodge is on Cox Bay Beach, a long sandy beach enjoyed by beachgoers and surfers alike. The Surf Club offers surf board and wetsuit rentals as well as surfing lessons, and there's also a cafe with coffee and light bites, as well as a pool table.
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The beach is wide and long, with greyish soft sand, and rocks flanking it at both ends. Fortunately for surfers, the ocean bottom is sandy, and there are no sea urchins or sharks to watch out for.
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The waves weren't too high on the day of our teen's surfing lesson (which started with instruction and safety tips on the beach), but it was still very challenging for him when trying to stand up on his board. So between that and carrying his board back to where he could try to catch the waves, it was great exercise.
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After surfing, there's a communal hot tub at the Surf Club to warm up in.
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Reserving Long Beach Lodge
While Long Beach Lodge Resort isn't a member of Virtuoso or one of our preferred partners, we're able to offer TravelSort Clients a resort credit for stays of three or more nights (credit amount depends on the category of room reserved). We highly recommend reserving early, as many months in advance as possible, for the busy late spring, summer, and early fall seasons (May-September).
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The Verdict
We had a great low key stay at Long Beach Lodge in Tofino, especially because we had low expectations given that it's a 4-star hotel in a rather remote location. Our rainforest cottage was comfortable for our family of three and comfortably sleeps up to four in its two bedrooms. The only issue, which was beyond the lodge's control, was that our hot tub wasn't usable due to the regional outdoor water restrictions (which also meant no outdoor showers to rinse off sand), but we were able to use the communal hot tub at the Surf Club.
While we primarily made our own simple meals in the cottage's kitchen (which had all the basics, although don't expect appliances such as a toaster or blender), our brunch at The Great Room restaurant was very good. Pro tip: get there right when it opens at 8am for the excellent daily muffin, since only a few are baked daily.
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