BCBusiness

BCB MayJune 2022_LR

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

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Which beach? That's the question we ask on summer days in Nanaimo. The sweet, small cove near the parking lot at Neck Point is perfect at daybreak. Sure, the morning might be cold and the water dark, but once you get in your skin will turn fiery with nerve endings. Soon the slanting rays of the rising sun will let you see the coloured pebbles and starfish on the ocean floor, and you'll know you have already aced the day. Around noon, it's time to hit Departure Bay Beach, where you can tread choppy water while you watch the ferries nose in and out of the terminal. If you like a little show-off with your cool-down, you can swim to the little dock and demo your glorious belly flops. VANCOUVER ISLAND e Beach of the Hour A Victoria Hotel for Every Type of Design Lover Everybody knows about Victoria's historical side—and, if you ever forget, the flanking classical beacons of the Empress and the Legislature (both the handiwork of Samuel Maclure) are always there to remind you. But with a little exploring, the creative visitor can find lodging to suit any architectural style. L THE CLASSICIST Ok, there's the Empress—that's a given. And it's great (and frequently priced for greatness). But if the Grand Old Dame is not in the cards, might we suggest The Inn at the Union Club, the kitty-corner lodging that has arguably more history—the attached club saw powerbrokers guiding B.C. policy for decades—and also a quirky patina and charm (the billiards room, for example) that you don't get in a big chain. unionclub.com L THE MID-CENTURYIST This is the architectural style of the people, and it doesn't get more open-to-all than the motor hotel. Luckily the team at Hotel Zed know how to jazz the expected into unexpected moments: bold colours, free bikes, ping pong! hotelzed.com L THE MODERNIST The legendary Arthur Erickson only designed one hotel in his illustrious career, and that's The Inn at Laurel Point—a perfectly situated masterpiece gazing out at the Pacific. Make sure you request a room in the Erickson wing... that way you'll be rewarded with the Japanese-inflected rooms and huge hallways studded with art displays, just as Erickson meticulously planned. laurelpoint.com When you're done, hit one of the food trucks that line the road above you. Hot tip: get the mini sliders. On a hot afternoon at low tide, head to Invermere Beach at the base of the Blueback Stairs, all two hundred of them. You'll have earned every second of bliss when the water comes in over the great expanse of warm sand, leaving you feeling like you're paddling around in the Mediterranean. Teenagers skimboard in long shallow pools and little kids totter about in their best sun protection finery and you can't quite believe it's all real. Evenings are for Pipers Lagoon, where the water and the south-facing evening sky turn the exact same shade of grey- blue. People are nestled all up and down the beach but there's plenty of room for everyone. Kids splash just one more somersault before bed and when you look at the driftwood line behind you, you'll probably spot people kissing in the electric pink glow of the setting sun.—Susan Juby Spit Take The beach at Departure Bay in Nanaimo (top), and the almost- tropical Pipers Lagoon (left). 50 BCBUSINESS MAY/JUNE 2022

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