Wickaninnish Inn

The Wickaninnish Inn is a celebrated luxury resort perched on the wild Pacific shoreline of Chesterman Beach in Tofino, British Columbia, approximately 300 kilometres west of Victoria on the outer coast of Vancouver Island. The property sits at the dramatic meeting point of ancient temperate rainforest and the open Pacific Ocean, offering guests an immersive encounter with one of Canada's most elemental coastal landscapes. It regularly appears among the top resort hotels in Canada and has earned international recognition for combining genuine wilderness with refined hospitality.

The inn was established by the McDiarmid family in the 1990s, constructed using salvaged old-growth timber and natural materials from the surrounding landscape. This philosophy of rustic elegance — where the natural environment informs every design choice — remains the defining character of the resort. The name references Captain John Wickaninnish, a historically significant Nuu-chah-nulth leader whose territory included this stretch of Pacific coastline. Today the inn comprises 75 rooms and suites across two buildings: the original Beach Building and the Pointe Building, which occupies the headland between Chesterman Beach and North Chesterman Beach.

Every room at the inn faces the ocean and features floor-to-ceiling windows, a double-sided fireplace between the bedroom and the soaker tub, and a private terrace or balcony. The resort is particularly renowned for its storm-watching programme, offered November through February when powerful Pacific swells sweep in from the open ocean and crash dramatically against the shoreline. This winter season draws guests specifically for the spectacle, and the inn provides storm-watching kits with blankets and hot drinks for guests watching from their terraces.

The Pointe Restaurant occupies the tip of the headland with a panoramic 240-degree view of the Pacific, serving regionally sourced seafood and ingredients from the surrounding coastal environment with an extensive wine cellar. The Ancient Cedars Spa offers a comprehensive treatment menu drawing on indigenous coastal traditions, with hydrotherapy and treatment rooms positioned to look out over the ocean. Tofino's broader offerings — surfing, kayaking, bear-watching, and whale-watching — are all available minutes from the inn's front door, and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve borders the property to the east.