Month: November 2024

Canada’s vast landscapes, rich ecosystems, and incredible natural beauty offer travelers endless opportunities to experience the outdoors beyond the typical hotel stay. Whether you’re looking for the rustic appeal of a forest cabin, the charm of a cozy yurt, or the sensational allure of an ice hotel, Canada’s unique accommodations reflect the diversity of its wilderness. 

These stays strike an ideal balance of comfort and adventure, letting you fully connect with nature while enjoying an unforgettable getaway. Here’s a closer look at some of the most remarkable places to stay in Canada’s extraordinary outdoors.

1. Tofino Cabins, British Columbia – Coastal forest cabins with ocean views perfect for a peaceful, nature-focused getaway.
2. Killarney Lodge – Algonquin Park, Ontario – Classic lakeside cabins in Algonquin’s quiet wilderness, ideal for wildlife enthusiasts and paddlers.
3. Fundy National Park Yurts, New Brunswick – Cozy yurts overlooking the Bay of Fundy, offering easy access to trails and tidal landscapes.
4. Hôtel de Glace, Quebec City, Quebec – Canada’s iconic ice hotel with intricately carved ice rooms and an unforgettable winter atmosphere.
5. Tundra Lodge Adventure, Manitoba – A mobile lodge on the tundra with prime views of polar bears in their natural Arctic habitat.

Read on to uncover more unique accommodations across Canada.

Unique Canadian Accommodations

Staying in a cabin, yurt, or ice hotel offers a far more enriching and immersive experience than a traditional hotel or resort. Whether you’re watching wildlife from a cabin in Algonquin Park, cozying up in a yurt under the Northern Lights, or sipping drinks in an ice bar, these stays allow you to connect with Canada’s natural beauty in a profound and memorable way. 

Each accommodation type offers its own distinct charm, giving you the opportunity to experience Canada in a way that few others do.

Cabin Retreats – Escape to Nature in Cozy Comfort

The quintessential Canadian cabin is the perfect blend of simplicity and comfort, offering an escape from the fast pace of modern life. Whether tucked away in dense forests or perched on the edge of pristine lakes, cabins offer travelers a chance to reconnect with nature without sacrificing comfort.

Tofino Cabins, British Columbia

Imagine waking up to the sound of crashing waves and stepping outside to mist-shrouded rainforests. That’s the experience waiting for you in Tofino, British Columbia, a popular destination for nature lovers. 

The cabins here are located among towering trees and rugged coastlines, offering stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. Whether you’re hiking through the lush rainforests, watching surfers ride the waves, or simply curling up by a wood-burning stove, Tofino’s cabins provide a peaceful, off-the-grid experience.  

Activities: Hiking, whale watching, beachcombing and tide pool exploration, sea kayaking.

Mount Engadine Lodge – Kananaskis, Alberta

Nestled in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Engadine Lodge has rustic cabins that offer a blend of comfort and wilderness with stunning views of Spray Valley. These cozy cabins have large windows and wood interiors, offering an intimate connection with nature.

Activities: Hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, and wildlife viewing.

Killarney Lodge – Algonquin Park, Ontario

Located on a private peninsula in Algonquin Park, Killarney Lodge features log cabins along the shores of Lake of Two Rivers. Each cabin has a rustic charm with pine interiors, and they include fireplaces and waterfront views.

Activities: Canoeing, fishing, hiking, and wildlife watching.

Lac Fiddler Resort – Laurentians, Quebec

Situated in Quebec’s Laurentians, these upscale log cabins blend rustic charm with luxury. Each cabin offers modern amenities like fireplaces, hot tubs, and full kitchens, all surrounded by the tranquil Laurentian forest.

Activities: Kayaking, hiking, skiing, and spa relaxation.

Yurt and Tent Stays – Glamping in the Great Outdoors

For those who love the idea of camping but prefer a few more comforts, yurts offer a unique blend of wilderness living and modern amenities. Originally used by nomadic peoples in Central Asia, yurts have gained popularity in Canada as glamping (glamorous camping) accommodations. These round, sturdy structures are designed to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and many come equipped with modern amenities such as heating, beds, and kitchens.

Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge – Vancouver Island, British Columbia

A luxurious twist on rustic, this remote lodge on Vancouver Island features canvas tents with wooden flooring and antique furniture, plus plenty of amenities. Guests can enjoy stunning rainforest surroundings and five-star service.

Activities: Whale watching, horseback riding, and heli-hiking.

Fundy National Park Yurts, New Brunswick

Located along the Bay of Fundy, which is famous for its record-setting tides, Fundy National Park offers yurts that provide a perfect way to experience the area’s natural wonders. The yurts are cozy and weatherproof, allowing you to stay comfortable while enjoying panoramic views of the bay. Spend your days exploring the park’s waterfalls, forested trails, and rocky beaches, and in the evening, return to your yurt for a peaceful night in nature.  

Activities: Hiking, kayaking and canoeing, birdwatching and wildlife viewing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing.

Yukon Yurts, Yukon Territory

If remote wilderness and Northern Lights are on your bucket list, consider a stay in a Yukon yurt. The Yukon’s expansive, untouched wilderness provides the perfect backdrop for a yurt getaway, especially in the winter months when the Northern Lights dance across the sky. These yurts offer a cozy refuge from the cold, equipped with wood-burning stoves and modern comforts, making them ideal for off-grid adventures.  

Activities: Northern lights viewing, dog sledding, guided photography tours.

Elk Island National Park Yurts, Alberta

Located just outside Edmonton, the yurts in Elk Island National Park allow visitors to experience the tranquility of Alberta’s prairie wilderness. The park is home to bison, elk, and an impressive variety of bird species, making it a great destination for wildlife lovers. As one of Canada’s designated Dark Sky Preserves, Elk Island is also an ideal spot for stargazing, with minimal light pollution and clear skies on most nights.  

Activities: Wildlife viewing, stargazing, hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing, kayaking.

Ice Hotels and Other Winter Wonderland Accommodations – Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences

For a truly out-of-this-world experience, nothing compares to spending the night in a hotel made entirely of ice or in a mobile lodge on the tundra. 

Hôtel de Glace, Quebec City, Quebec

Located just outside Quebec City, the Hôtel de Glace is an iconic Canadian winter experience. Rebuilt each year from ice and snow, the hotel features rooms and suites adorned with ice carvings, an ice bar where you can sip cocktails from glasses made of ice, and even an ice chapel for weddings. 

The temperature inside the hotel hovers just below freezing, but don’t worry—you’ll stay warm in thermal sleeping bags designed for extreme cold. The hotel also offers hot tubs and saunas for guests to warm up after a chilly night.  

Activities: Guided Ice sculpture tour, hot tubs and saunas, snowshoeing. 

Tundra Lodge Adventure, Manitoba

The Tundra Lodge Adventure by Natural Habitat Adventures offers an immersive wildlife experience in the heart of polar bear country. Located outside Churchill, Manitoba, this unique mobile lodge is strategically placed each year on the vast tundra to maximize polar bear sightings. It allows guests to observe polar bears up close from the safety and comfort of specialized accommodations.

Activities: Polar bear viewing, guided wildlife excursions, northern lights viewing, tundra walks.

Things to Consider When Booking Unique Accommodations

When planning a stay in one of these unique Canadian accommodations, there are a few important factors to keep in mind:

Seasonality

Some accommodations, like ice hotels, are only open during the winter months, while others may have limited availability during peak seasons. Be sure to check availability and book well in advance, especially if you’re traveling during busy times of the year.

Location

Decide whether you want a remote experience or something closer to a city. Some accommodations offer complete seclusion, while others are more accessible for those who prefer to stay connected.

Comfort Level

While cabins and yurts often provide a balance between rustic charm and modern amenities, ice hotels are a different experience altogether, with cold temperatures and unique sleeping arrangements. Be sure you’re prepared for the adventure, especially if you’re booking the ice hotel.

Why Choose Unique Accommodations in Canada?

Canada’s vast, varied landscape deserves to be explored in style, and these unique accommodations offer the perfect way to do just that. Whether you’re a nature enthusiast, a winter lover, or simply looking for a one-of-a-kind adventure, Canada’s cabins, yurts, and ice hotels are ready to make your stay unforgettable.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you stayed in a unique accommodation in Canada? Would you stay in one of these accommodations? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

It’s raining and warm, yes warm, in Chicago this first week of November. Does this mean that the coming winter will be as warm as last year? I never wore my sub-zero coat.

Regardless of the weather, books keep us venturing into other worlds. The following books took me to London, Arizona, New Zealand, Denmark, Montana, St. Louis, Maine, South Carolina, Ireland, Italy, and Canada. Authors create their memorable settings that make us forget the local rain, snow, trials, and tribulations. Enjoy the journeys, ladies.

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt (Hyperion, 2000)

Aghhhh, this is a book to love and to question. I enjoyed DeWitt’s novella, The English Understand Wool and wanted to read more by her. The Last Samurai is her first book, originally published in 2000 and reissued in 2016 – both times to critical acclaim.

It’s the story about the education of a linguistic child prodigy by a single, poor, equally intelligent mother. At 530 pages, it requires stamina of the reader. There’s a plot line – single mother conceives a child from a one-night-stand, raises child on a pauper’s income, child finally finds father, the end.

Around this, we are treated to the amazing education of the boy by his mother. Pages of lessons are included in Greek, Latin, French, and other languages. Pages of mathematical sequences are detailed, same with physics and astronomy. As a reader, I felt stupid, and that DeWitt was showing off her intellect, not enriching mine. However, I do recommend this book. Just skim over the lesson plans and realize you are not alone doing this.

A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko (Scribner, 2024)

Why is it so enjoyable to learn about people who bite off more than they can chew and end up in the soup? Such is the tale of Kevin Fedarko, who with his friend, set off to walk the length of the Grand Canyon. They try it once with flip flops, little water, no sunscreen, and the wrong food. That fails after two days.

Years later they try again. This time they are prepared – or so they think. Nothing can really prepare them for the Grand Canyon environment. Even with guidance from famous hikers who completed the journey, every trip is different.

I particularly enjoyed this because almost 40 years ago, I hiked down and up the Canyon. But even if your greatest hike was to the grocery store, you will likely enjoy this humorous, well written and engaging tale.

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman (Viking, 2023)

Fourth in The Thursday Murder Club series, it’s fun – just like it’s three companions. Written for and about seniors, Osman gives us wry wit, fun plots, delightful characters, and a thirst for more of his books. If you need a break from heavy reading (like The Last Samurai) give Mr. Osman a try. It pays to read the series in sequence, but it’s not required.

The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Europa, 2024)

Interesting, dark little book about a talking Magpie on a New Zealand sheep farm. The writing is so clever that it does not take much suspension of disbelief to assume that a bird can be the protagonist. Tama, the magpie, is found and raised by Marnie, battered wife of The Axeman (so called because he wins the axe throwing contest each year).

On New Zealand sheep farms, magpies are considered pests, and they are trapped and killed. Tama leads a charmed life, becomes a social media star. This enables Marnie to start a business selling Tama gear with newfound confidence. Of course, all does not end well, but this is a short book and worth reading.

Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike (Ballentine, 2000)

Gleaned from our Laundry Room book swap shelf, Updike takes Shakespeare’s Hamlet and gives us a prequel. This is the story of Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, and Claudius, Hamlet’s stepfather. It’s an interesting fable and written so well that I can still picture the writer’s vision of young Gertrude, her first husband (King Hamlet, Claudius’s brother), and their arranged marriage, that is not by any means loveless.

If you are a fan of Hamlet, this will broaden your enjoyment of Prince Hamlet as a bitter young man. You learn the backstory of the unexpected death of his father and the ascendence of King Claudius.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (First Grove Atlantic, 2021)

A sad story beautifully told. In 70 pages you get a slice into the underbelly of Ireland. Not The Troubles, but the role of the Catholic Church exploiting young women who conceive out of wedlock and are forced to work in industrial laundries run by nuns. The children are adopted out by these nuns. Recommended.  A movie of this book is out.

Ordinary Love & Good Will – Two Novellas by Jane Smiley (Ivy Books, 1989)

Picked this book up on a cruise (take a book; leave a book). What a joy! Almost Jane Smiley at her best because some of her full novels get a bit wordy. These read like butter. Highly recommended.

St. Louis Noir, edited by Scott Phillips (Akashic Books, 2016)

Akashic Books publishes the Noir Collection, 123 books and more coming. It’s a successful formula – hire a good writer/editor to build a collection of stories around a location, usually a city. The editor recruits writers to produce a new story set in the collection location. Voila, you have a book to publish.

St. Louis Noir did not have a big payoff. I enjoy reading stories set in locations with which I am familiar, but these stories are not great. But, why not read stories set in your hometown, or current town, or city you will be visiting. It’s fun.

The Throne: The Machiavelli Trilogy, Book 1 by Franco Bernini (Europa, 2024)

You remember Machiavelli, author of The Prince. We know a lot more about the Borgias than we do about Machiavelli. The Throne Trilogy seeks to right that.

I love good historical novels, but this one never captured my imagination. I sense the research is accurate, but some of the surrounding plot felt forced. It was interesting to learn that Machiavelli, a junior administrator and poet in Florence, was sent to spy on Borgia and write reports back to Florence. Spies are everywhere among the Italian city states, as Borgia wars against them. Death is everywhere – from wars, plague, influenza, crime, and politics.

Borgia takes Machiavelli under his wing and hires him to write the book that will become The Prince, extolling Borgia’s greatness and his philosophy that might makes right. As the story develops, we sense that philosophical Florence will fall to Borgia as he seeks to unify central Italy. Book 1 ends before that takeover.

What I did not enjoy was the love story. No spoilers here, but it read like a dark fairy tale. I’ll try Book 2 because I enjoyed learning about Machiavelli.

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (Random House, 2024)

Elizabeth Strout takes us into the heart of Crosby, Maine, and its citizens. You know them if you read Strout’s books: Bob Burgess, Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge. Like us, they are older now. The plot is built around a murder. But the spice of this book is the stories the characters tell one another, about themselves, friends, and family.

Most are revealing, but not malicious. It’s the way we communicate, sharing a true story with a friend. When we are older and make new friends, we both lack the years of history that make up long-term relationships. We share stories to paint these past pictures. They fill in holes and reveal our character. Recommended – quick read.

Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deidre Madden (Picador, 2010)

A deftly written book set in Dublin where the nameless narrator, a playwright, housesits for her friend, Molly Fox, who is in London appearing in a play. They have been great friends since university. In a single day, Molly’s birthday, the narrator reminisces and projects about their relationship. I scooted right through this short book, captured by the theme that we don’t and can’t know everything about our closest friends. Recommended.

A Great Marriage by Frances Mayes (Ballentine, 2024)

You know Frances Mayes, the author of A Year in Provence, and all the books that followed her love affair with France. Her new book, set in South Carolina, New York, Washington D.C., and London, deals with how great marriages are built. Her young protagonists are oh so beautiful and in love. But the wedding is called off at the last minute when Dara finds out about Clark’s unforgivable sin.

We, the readers, know about the sin, but for most of the book, the family members and friends who surround this couple are in the dark. This required tremendous suspension of disbelief on my part. If you can live with this, then A Great Marriage is an ok quick read. I particularly like the setting in Pawleys Island, SC, as I vacationed there several times.

Runaway by Alica Munro (Borzoi, 2004)

Tired of reading “current best sellers” that leave you feeling “where’s the meat?” Pick up any Alice Munro book of stories and get that satisfied feeling. Unlike many short story writers, Munro creates satisfaction within her tales. If there is more to learn about a character, she will continue into another story that can stand on its own but picks up the theme of the first story. There’s not a lot of violence, she’s Canadian, after all. But the stories are so compelling that I read this book in two sittings. (I had an unscheduled Saturday morning, so luxuriated in bed with coffee and a great book.)

Let’s Have a Conversation:

So, there you have my list of fall reads. What could you squeeze in the last couple of months? Do you enjoy stories that take you places? Have you read a story set in your hometown or a town you have visited?

Plus, you can get an additional $10 off!

Plus, you can get an additional $10 off!

Brianna LaPaglia says she was asked to sign an NDA in exchange for a hefty sum.