I adore the finer things in life, such as: sipping wine by the ocean, sitting in front of a roaring fire and most of all imagining that such romance exists in life that it could challenge that of a novel or movie. Where can you find such a thing though? I've often found myself in beautiful hotels around the globe but alas, that certain romantic element has always eluded me. I recently had the privilege of staying at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort on the Sunshine Coast this past weekend and realized very quickly why this place is consistently nominated as one of the most romantic places in not only BC, but in the world. Imagine staying in a unique and magical place that encompasses two drastically different worlds of both extravagant luxuries within a cozy camping setting in the great outdoors!
This place really is a secret hideaway and an excellent excuse to leave behind the city while immersing oneself into nature, in a private yurt style tent with all the comforts of the city. Nestled on the Sunshine Coast in an actual secret cove, inside the Pacific Northwest rainforest and perched strategically along the coastline above the ocean, is where this stunning romantic resort can be located.
Upon my arrival, I was pleased to see the resort's newest addition to their award collection from the Professional BC Wedding Awards, where they were voted the “Best Wedding Ceremony Location”. It’s no wonder why Rockwater Secret Cove Resort has a reputation of being featured countless times as one of the “Most Romantic Places To Stay” — the entire concept of this resort allows you to not only reconnect with your partner, but with your own heart and soul as well. Brides have been mentioning this beautiful resort for quite sometime to me and I am happy that they won this prestigious and deserving award for this stunning wedding ceremony location. The award winning location is perfectly situated above the ocean on a grassy hill overlooking the Pacific and forested coastline. It truly is a breath taking spot to have a wedding. This really is the ideal place to propose, elope or even celebrate your wedding, as it really is like walking through a romantic wooded fairytale.
Even with us staying in December, the resort was very busy and most of their popular 'Tenthouse Suites' had already booked up far in advance. However, my partner and I were excited to stay in one of their cozy oceanfront cabins for our first night and experience one of the tenthouse suites for the second evening. The cabin was a traditional log style room, which was built in the 50’s and had a quaint woodsy feel to it. It felt almost like we were isolated and staying deep within the forest, it was only listening to the sounds of the ocean right outside that reminded us how close we still were to the resort. It’s a wonderful place for anyone wanting to take a retreat or have some alone time as a couple.
The first night we dined at the Rockwater’s restaurant and the staff was exceptionally helpful and the service was impeccable. While dining at the restaurant, we enjoyed our meal while sipping our wine and overlooking the ocean. We decided to try the steak and seafood bouillabaisse. The steak was cooked to perfection with a shallot and bacon demi-glace and the bouillabaisse featured: mussels, manila clams, fish du jour, prawns, scallops, fennel, garlic & red pepper rouille toast. It was simply delicious.
The next morning, after trying the divine eggs benedict with smoked salmon we moved into out own tenthouse suite, which really was the epitome of romance. The tents were specially created to give a luxury accommodation experience all within a natural setting outdoors, in your own private yurt style tent. It may sound very different to what one might want for an ideal wedding location or romantic getaway, however, once you step inside of your tent and feel the heated stone tiles, warm fireplace on your hands, and see the huge hydrotherapy tub overlooking the ocean inside of each tenthouse suite; you will understand that this is unlike any camping experience. Our tent featured a king-sized bed with plush linens and blankets, private toilet, heated slate floors, gas burning fireplace, stone-tiled shower with a relaxing rainfall style head (and private window overlooking the water) as well as our own waterfront deck and massive hydrotherapy tub that featured an amazing light show.
The unique design of the boardwalk is used to reach each tenthouse suite and allows you to really get quite deep inside of the forest while still maintaining that feeling of walking through the trees. It was really gorgeous walking along from our tent to the resort while peeking out through the trees down to at the rugged ocean. The boardwalk really allowed us to experience all of this, while the natural beauty of the forest and coastline can still flourish and remain untouched. We would leave our tent each evening and walk through the forest along a lighted pathway to arrive at the end out of the trees right at the Rockwater’s own restaurant for our fine dining experience. During our second evening we dined in the restaurant and tried the Antipasto to start with the Kettle River Sauvignon Blanc wine, this was a beautifully combination featuring prosciutto, Quebec artisan cheeses, mixed olives and crostinis. For our mains, we ordered the Prosciutto Wrapped Steelhead Salmon and the Cornish Hen with sundried tomatoes, spinach, herbs, served with cranberry and brie bread pudding; they were both mouth-watering and succulent. The restaurant really is a fine dining establishment, but it is absolutely fabulous and worth experiencing.
It rained during our stay and I was thankful that I could witness this place in its natural state. There was a certain magical feeling in the air while walking through the grounds of the resort with the misty rain surrounding us; you get the feeling that this is very surreal. Even the rain sounds beautiful when you stay inside of a tent (especially when you are in a hot bath tub with jets surrounding you), I could listen to it falling on top of the canvas all evening and never grow tired of that sound. Here in British Columbia, we constantly complain about the weather and rain, but when you have all these warm comforts and luxuries, the rain can make for a very cozy atmosphere inside of your own tent. You really can experience this all year round and I had the pleasure of witnessing a wedding while I was staying here as well. I couldn’t think of a more romantic location to bring someone you love, there really is nowhere like this place on earth, you have to come and live in your own lush tree top heaven to see it and experience it all for yourself.
