Never before, perhaps, has the “simple life” appealed to the imaginations of people as it does today. Never before apparently have so many people yearned for the happy mean betwixt poverty and wealth as they do today. It would seem that many of these peoples are finding the conditions they long for in the Okanagan Valley, that land of fruit and flowers, of smiling lakes and blue skies, of varied interests and beauty, in which I have wandered for the past week.—“Bruce” in Saturday Sunset, Vancouver.* For more than a century, the Naramata Heritage Inn and Spa, originally the Hotel Naramata, has been the centre of activity in this tiny community north of Penticton. Three years of loving restoration led to its reopening in 2001 and it now stands as a tribute to a past often longed for, and a present to be well and luxuriously lived.
Today, the Naramata Heritage Inn and Spa boasts 12 charming and oh-so-comfortable guest rooms—
complete with original claw-foot bathtubs, gourmet dining in the Cobblestone Wine Bar & Restaurant, Naramata’s only wine bar and the inviting Heirloom Spa, a full service Aveda Concept Spa.
It is hardly a coincidence that the Inn holds such appeal for tourists who are drawn to the Okanagan for its myriad of wineries. The same desire to experience nature’s elixirs and to connect with the land and winemakers makes the Naramata Heritage Inn and Spa a natural home base for those who want to explore by day and then return to rest and rejuvenate. Attentive service and a respectful nod to Naramata history combine to pamper the stressed, soothing a heartfelt longing for calm and quiet and timeless elegance.
In the Cobblestone, guests can sip from a selection of wines sold by the glass, and delight in their pairing with bread baked to order, cheese, pâtés and vegetarian offerings, and a joyful menu of entrees.
Imagine a grilled Alberta Rib Eye Steak dinner paired with Fairview Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon or grilled rare Albacore Tuna served with Laughing Stock Pinot Blanc or, well, you get the idea! On Friday evenings, live music adds to the magic.
Naramata Heritage Inn and Spa is equally appealing to the honeymoon couple or corporate retreat. Step back into the past and start planning for your future! The cosy, restful hotel, surrounded as it is by the most beautiful grounds, with its sunken gardens, shrubbery, flower beds of all designs, fountain, rockery, bowling green and tennis court, and the whole being situated as it is on a point extending out from the shore line into the beautiful Okanagan Lake, makes a picture in the mind not soon forgotten.*
*From a Naramata Hotel brochure, date unknown, republished in Smile of Manitou: The History of Naramata, by Don Salting, 1982.
~ Lorne Eckersley