posted 06-11-2003 08:32               

In Vancouver, the Worldmark would be a good choice. On Vancouver Island, lok at Pacific Shores and anything in Victoria.

posted 06-11-2003 16:02               

Hope you're able to plan a fantastic September stay in one of the most beautiful areas on earth :-)

posted 06-11-2003 18:51               

If you want the names of some specific resorts in that area, I'd be happy to oblige.

Also, Kelowna (more in the interior of B.C., Okanagan valley) would be nice and there are some nice resorts there, too.

(Nothing against Whistler here - just also mentioning other possibilities in western Canada)

posted 06-11-2003 23:24               

quote:

---

Originally posted by barto:
…(Nothing against Whistler here - just also mentioning other possibilities in western Canada)

Bart

---

thanks for the added note - I didn't mention any Okanogan or eastern BC resorts because I am not familiar with them. I was hoping someone such as you with more knowledge of those areas would add their comments.

posted 06-12-2003 13:00               

Canmore:

If you can, get into the Grand Canadian something-or-other. It's an II resort, very new, very nice-looking, a little up the hill above the town. We've never stayed there but poked around a little once and were impressed.

Chateau Canmore - units are fairly nice, location is much closer to the action, but that also means more noise, particularly from the trains that come past (pretty close - 50 feet or so) every few hours, even overnight. We got used to it after the first night or two, but it's there. And some road noise from the other side as it's the busy tourist road. Another annoyance now is that you check-in at the Banff Gate Lodge & Spa down the road at Harvie Heights, and can use the facilities there free of charge. To use the facilities at the Chateau Canmore location, you have to pay a daily fee of $7 or something. That being said, we're exchanging into there over New Year's this year through Donita's Dial-an-Exchange. Better to be in the mountains at the CC than not be in the mountains at all!

Banff Gate Mountain Lodge & Spa - this is where you check in for the CC above, located between Canmore and the Banff park gates. This also is fairly new, all 2-bedroom units. They're pushing RCI Points at this place. No pool and no trains right next to it, should be much quieter.

Banff Gate Mountain Resort (formerly Alpine Resort Haven) - this is back a little east of Canmore near Dead Man's Flats. If you want a more secluded resort, this is your best bet. You have to drive up a gravel road a short ways up Pigeon Mountain, where each unit is a separate standalone cabin. The owners have taken this one over and it's now managed by Royal Host, so things have improved lately (new pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs). The one time we looked in a unit it hadn't been cleaned very well at all, but that was a year ago. We're staying here in July and in August for a week each, so I can give a much better update after that. (the July week is also through Donita's DAE!)

Banff:

Banff Rocky Mountain Resort - this is the only timeshare in a national park (in the world?). It's been around for quite a while, and the units show it a bit. We own here so we're most familiar with it, but still love to go there. In fact, we're going this weekend using some 'bonus days'. Can you tell we love this area?? ;-) Anyway, it's mostly little things like peeling paint around the window sills & such that detract a little from its niceness, but we use the pool a lot (8-yr-old daughter!) and they've recently re-done the outdoor hot tub. Quite a few activities that are free for timeshare guests, including one children's activity pretty much every day. Squash courts, weight room, tennis courts, horseshoes, volleyball all on-site. This resort is just out of the town by 2-3 minutes, so it's fairly quiet that way, too. Just try for a 2-bedroom unit if you can, as the 1-bedroom units are pretty small and also are below the 2-bdrm units so you get to hear the squeaking and thumping of the floor by the people above you.

Whew! There are one or two others I don't know anything about (Three Sisters something or other), but feel free to ask about any of the others if you have more questions.

I can't say if Northwest flies into Kelowna, but you could easily catch a Westjet flight there from Calgary if you wanted.

Good luck!

posted 06-12-2003 14:17               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Carol C:
Thank you everyone. And Barto, I would love names of specific resorts in that area, ones you'd recommend highly. I'm just starting to research where Northwest flies...I wouldn't want to get too far afield, but a 100 mi drive from a major airport is perfectly fine. I'm a nature buff so I'm most interested in hiking, birding and general sightseeing in natural areas. (I do not go fishing and do not golf.) Thanks again!

---

Based on this, you should also look into Snowater, in Glacier, WA, just a bit south of the US-CAN border.

posted 06-12-2003 14:29               

How much nature can you take? Our 2nd (soon to be 1st) home is on the SW coast of Vancouver Island about 75 min drive from Victoria. It's 10 acres of heavily forested oceanfront - Whales, Bald Eagles, Deer, the odd Bear and very rarely, a Cougar. Near the West Coast, Galloping Goose and Juan de Fuca Trails. We'll be in China for most of Sept and France for all Oct. We need a 'guinea pig' to test drive our guest cottage which we will put into service next year. If you are interested email me and I'll tell you all about it.

Max

quote:

---

Originally posted by Carol C:
Thank you everyone. And Barto, I would love names of specific resorts in that area, ones you'd recommend highly. I'm just starting to research where Northwest flies...I wouldn't want to get too far afield, but a 100 mi drive from a major airport is perfectly fine. I'm a nature buff so I'm most interested in hiking, birding and general sightseeing in natural areas. (I do not go fishing and do not golf.) Thanks again!

---