A Magical Weekend Getaway to Nimmo Bay

If you follow me on social media, you may have seen that a few weeks ago, I escaped Kelowna for a little getaway to the west coast for a beautiful stay at Nimmo Bay Resort! We have been trying to get to Nimmo Bay for the last three years, but for us, international travel always outweighed Canadian travel (we love escaping to Hawaii when we can!). However, one good thing that came out of COVID was that we were finally able to visit this magical place!

Before we get into all of the good stuff, I do want to preface this blog post by warning you that it’s going to be a long one! I had such a hard time narrowing down our entire experience. So, instead, I thought I would document it all! LOL! This special resort has soo much to offer that I want to be able to recount every detail. That way, if you can visit, you know what to expect, and if you are unable, you can live vicariously through our experience, here!

I do want to share one disclaimer! Nimmo Bay is not your ordinary run of the mill destination. It’s expensive. The reason why I wanted to address this before getting into all of the details is that, when I first posted about this gifted experience, I received quite a few negative comments about how expensive the resort is, so I wanted to address this first. However, this resort was like nothing I’ve experienced before. It was pure magic, and I want to share with you today what makes it so unique and separates itself from other destinations (hence the price tag!).

Having said that, lets dig into all of the magical details, shall we?

What’s so special about Nimmo Bay?

1. Location

Location is everything! Nimmo Bay is located in the Southern Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia (doesn’t that just sound magical✨)! The area is so remote that it is only accessible by air or sea, which means that along with you, everything from food, supplies, and anything they cannot purchase locally has to be chartered in!

2. Capacity

The resort itself has only a handful of cabins and, at most, can hold up to 18 guests. This feature alone made us feel especially safe while travelling during a pandemic.

3. Team

I will touch more on the team in the rest of the post, but during their regular operating hours (and not during a pandemic), they have at least 2 team members per guest. They really make it a priority that you are taken care of during your entire stay.

On top of that, the entire team prioritized wearing masks and made sure that all of the guests followed suit. If and when any of the team members wanted to take off their mask to share a story, they made sure to stand more than 6 feet away to ensure everyone was safe. This was just another added measure that made me feel extremely safe while travelling during COVID!

4. Environmental Impact

If you know me, you know that I am all about reducing plastic waste, composting, gardening, eating ethical and local foods. What honestly blew me away about this resort was that the entire time I was there, I did not see one disposable item. There were no sugar packets, plastic water bottles, or shampoo and conditioner bottles.

5. High End

From the moment you arrive, you realize just how special this place is. What took our experience to the next level was the food and drinks! They are home to an award-winning chef, who cooks the most decadent meals. Our plates were filled with top-notch local, organic, and sustainable foods. I believe that food (and drinks!) have an enormous impact on the enjoyment of a trip, and I will be the first to tell you that our palettes were dancing with every bite (and sip 🤪)!

6. Curated Experience

The overall experience was curated and customized for us. I genuinely believe that even if you don’t book any additional excursions and just explored the resort, your experience would still be top-notch! The entire team is excellent and are always seeing what they can do to make your stay that much better!

It was such a beautiful experience that upon our departure, my eyes swelled up with tears; they were by far the happiest tears that I have ever felt. I really can’t put into words the rush of emotions, but if you have the chance to visit this resort, it will all make sense.

The history of Nimmo Bay

Now that you know why Nimmo Bay is not like any other resort, I wanted to fill you in on the history of the resort. This family-run business all started when Mr. Murray in the 80s decided to start a fishing lodge. When his son Fraser and his siblings grew up they had a vision and wanted to turn the lodge into a lux eco-resort. Mr. Murray wasn’t on board, but his kids finally convinced him and turned it into what it is today. Not only did they manage to do just that, but it is also rated the number one place in the world to go heli-fishing!!

Itinerary

Day 1:

We made the trek from Kelowna to Vancouver, and once we arrived in Vancouver, we headed for our plane. The company that we chartered our floatplane with was Private Sky Aviation. In full transparency, we were given a media rate for our flights, but the overall cost was still quite substantial. We were responsible for getting ourselves to and from Nimmo Bay Resort and the flights alone ended up costing us around $5500 for Justin and I!

We decided to charter a private plane, as we all felt more comfortable while travelling during COVID. However, I have also since discovered that you can fly there roughly for $1500.

After a long day of travelling, we were looking forward to sitting back, kicking our feet up and just taking in the views and magic of Nimmo Bay! We were treated to the most amazing dinner and the drinks were flowing. We kept it pretty tame the first night and let’s be honest … Justin and I had the best sleep ever, no kids, no dogs and in the middle of nowhere!

Day 2:

Our first morning in Nimmo Bay we had breakfast in the main lodge. The main lodge is full of character and so cozy! As soon as you enter the lodge you are welcomed by friendly team members and the smell (and sounds!) of a crackling fire. If you are having breakfast in the main lodges they have new specials every morning that you can choose from!

After our amazing breakfast, we headed out on a boat excursion with our guides, Chris and Sammy. Funny story actually, Sammy and Justin went to school together, so you can imagine how happy they were to see one another! During the excursion, we spotted a few whales, dolphins, salmon, bears, and an insane amount of wildlife! What took the cake on this tour for me especially was the sighting of a few original indigenous pictographs. With all of the work that I am doing in my personal and professional life, I never thought that I would get experience this! I seriously had goosebumps running up my arms and tears streaming down my face. I was overwhelmed with all of the emotions and felt so lucky that I was able to experience this!

After our tour, we bellied up on a beach and Chris and Sammy pulled out a few Yeti coolers. I thought there would be a few drinks and snacks in there. But to our surprise, they actually pulled out an entire meal!! We had the most amazing chilli and cornbread on the beach. They also had reusable plates, cutlery, and cups with them, there was not a disposable item in sight! As we got ready to leave, Chris and Sammy made sure there wasn’t a morsel left behind, not even a bean from the chilli. I was SO impressed with the ecological impact of this resort and this example just goes to show you how top of mind this is for all of the team members at the resort!

Once we arrived back at the lodge, we were surprised with a helicopter trip on the glacial. Ok, this entire day was SO magical! This experience brought me back to my bachelor days. The overall experience was jaw-dropping and had everyone in tears! At the top of the mountain, the chef served fresh oysters, with capers, and champagne. I truly didn’t want to get back in the helicopter and leave, I just wanted to freeze this moment in time and soak it all up.

Back at the resort, for dinner, we had surf and turf! Justin and Charles were all about the turf and Tori and I were in love with the surf, a win-win if you ask me! The drinks were flowing and we just enjoyed every single moment!

Day 3:

This day was all about rest and relaxation! Tori and Charles, Justin and I actually ended up splitting up for half of the day. Justin and I started our morning on the floating dock with a couple’s meditation followed by a couple’s massage. We had their “Back to Nature” kelp treatment, and body scrub followed by a plunge in the ocean. Let me tell you, that was a chilly one, but we jumped out and headed into the sauna to warm up! When our massage was done, we met up with Tori and Charles for lunch! Then we swapped activities, so Tori and Charles had a couple’s meditation and massage, and Justin and I went for a hike!

This moment is when I completely fell in love with the Team! Justin and I had the pleasure of meeting our guide, Irvin. During the hike, we learned that Irvin was raised in a small village called Hopetown near where Nimmo Bay is located. What I was told was that in the late 80s, Irvin’s family was being told by the authorities that the children could not live in their remote village home as they were not receiving a “proper education”. The children either had to leave their home or prove that they were receiving an education that qualified as proper to the authorities.  That’s when Fraser’s mum, Deborah Murray stepped in. Mrs. Murray took on the responsibility of homeschooling her children along with Irvin and his siblings so they were not forced to leave their home and so that their family could stay together. As they got older, Irvin ended up leaving his territory to do his own thing, actually, most of the community members left to live in the bigger cities. Once Fraser transitioned Nimmo Bay from a fishing lodge to now an eco lux resort, he really longed for Irvin’s contribution. Fraser always kept the door open for Irvin to work at Nimmo Bay and kept the offer on the table for many years before Irvin finally accepted. He has now been with Nimmo Bay for three years and is also working to set up a guardian program in his territory! As this progresses Irvin will be able to monitor activities in his home territory and gain knowledge of the movements of wildlife, traditional food harvests, and any sort of illegal poaching that may be occurring.  His hope is that his work will begin to offer more and more ways for members of his community to return home again. 

Then we came back to the resort and had dinner outside by the crackling fire! We had smoked sablefish (the most amazing fish we have ever had), ratatouille dish, and braised short rib. As most of you know, I eat prominently vegetarian and vegan dishes. But on this trip, I told the chef that I would eat anything that we were served. I knew all of the ingredients were local, organic, and sustainable and I wanted to be respectful and at least try each dish. This meal was by far one of the best meals I have had in a very long time, all of the ingredients were so fresh and the gin cedar cocktails were flowing!

Day 4:

Day 4 was our last day at the resort, we weren’t planning on doing anything, but Nimmo Bay surprised us with another boat ride and the most amazing picnic! During our boat ride, we went ocean foraging. Fraser met us on the island and showed us all of the ocean life. We saw sea cucumber, muscle, and uni. If anyone has had uni on sushi it actually comes from sea urchin, it is the animal’s gonads. I was skeptical about eating it but I did try it and to my surprise it was delicious. At the end of the excursion, I sabered a bottle of champagne. We toasted to the most amazing trip we have ever been on!

When I was standing on the dock I had tears pouring down my face. Not only was it overall such a magical experience, but it was a trip of a lifetime! We made so many amazing connections with the owners and all of the team, I care so deeply for all of them!

For anyone thinking about this trip, I have since heard from some of my followers that have also experienced Nimmo Bay and they have all raved about their experience as well! Whether you are able to visit for a milestone birthday, an engagement, a honeymoon, or if you are a corporation and able to bring your employees that I would highly recommend you do so! I have to say, it’s also the best place to make a baby 😏

Last, but not least, you can check out the video below for a behind the scenes video recap of our 4-day trip to Nimmo Bay!

xo

Jilly

To the team at Nimmo Bay thank you from the bottom of my heart for this experience! While this trip was gifted we did pay for our transportation to and from Nimmo Bay. I am so grateful that they felt comfortable and allowed me to share my journey with all of you!