It appeared as an anomaly at first, nestled there in its small creek valley, surrounded by an oasis of green grass, flower gardens and graceful poplars.  After driving through miles of rugged ranch country, sage bedecked and dotted with gnarly ponderosa pine, the sudden appearance of an elegant, Victorian mansion overlooking Nicola Lake came as a welcome surprise. 

 The Quilchena Hotel, established 1908, the sign read.  An excellent road stop, we thought.  We'd found our accommodation for the night.  Little did we know we'd still be there three nights later.

 The wonderful smells of old wood, lemon oil polish, and something delicious from an unseen kitchen greeted us as we entered the cool, silent foyer.  A grand staircase swept up to the guestrooms above.  Through the glass-panelled doors to our right I caught a glimpse of an intimate, perfectly set Victorian dining room awaiting the evening's guests, bunches of fresh wildflowers gracing the crisp linen of every table.  To our right, an antiques-stuffed parlour, dominated by an old piano, evoked images of afternoon tea and crumpets.  Delicate lace curtains billowed in the breeze from tall windows. 

 The resonant clang of an antique (of course!) service bell on the tiny reception desk summoned friendly staff and began one of the best get-away breaks we've ever had.

 The Quilchena Hotel celebrated its 90th anniversary in May 1998.  Built on speculation that the BC rail line would roll by en-route to Kamloops (it didn't) the Hotel closed in 1921. It re-opened in 1958 and has catered to guests since then -- providing 16 spacious, spotless, period-decorated guest rooms (a cosy ranch house can be rented too), excellent service, and delicious food prepared by European chefs.

 Located right on the Quilchena Ranch, one of the largest working cattle ranches in B.C., the Hotel's ambience is a curious mixture of Victorian elegance, resort fun, and working ranch life.  Guests from all over North America and as far away as Europe enjoy top-notch hospitality right along with the locals and cowboys who frequent the Hotel's charming Saloon.  Rowdier days from the Hotel's frontier past are evident in the bullet holes scarring the saloon's huge mahogany bar -- perhaps involving the legendary outlaw, Bill Miner.

 But it's not all fine dining and tea drinking.  There are plenty of opportunities to work up both thirst and appetite.  Cowboy horses and a guide took us for a gorgeous morning ride into the backcountry -- so beautiful, in fact, that we repeated it in the afternoon on mountain bikes provided by the Hotel. We also managed a hike up the scenic creek valley and dug for prehistoric tidbits in the fossil beds.  

 For bird watchers, the feathered friends that make their home at Quilchena include osprey, hawks, eagles, red-winged black birds, wild canaries, hummingbirds, various waterfowl, and a number of other colourful species I couldn't identify. 

 There's golf and tennis adjacent to the Hotel and, of course, the lake activities at the marina -- swimming, boating, windsurfing (rentals available) and fishing.  Nicola Lake boasts 29 varieties of fish, more than any other lake in B.C! 

 On our laziest day we happily whiled away one entire afternoon in the gentle breeze on the Hotel's covered porches, sipping lemonade (or something stronger), chatting with other guests, locals, and cowboys, and watching another day of ranch life go by. 

 The elegance of the Quilchena Hotel, the charm of ranch life, and the wide range of activities now make Quilchena a frequent get-away for us.

 Getting There:

 Located on Highway 5A, 15 minutes north of Merritt, BC., an easy and scenic 3.5 hours from Vancouver. Open late April to mid-October. 

Carmen Kurtz Merrells is a B.C. based freelance travel writer This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it