# Pacific Shores Resort or Sooke Harbour Resort?



## Steve (Jul 29, 2010)

Hi all,

We are thinking of adding a few days on Vancouver Island to a trip we have planned to Washington State.  Both of these resorts look very nice and are available via RCI Points.  Pacific Shores has been around for a number of years while Sooke Harbour appears to be pretty new.  Sooke is closer to Victoria and Butchart Gardens...but the area around Pacific Shores looks pretty cool.  

Has anyone been to both resorts?  Know the area?  Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Steve


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## Glenna (Jul 30, 2010)

Parksville/Qualicum (where the Pacific Shores Resort is located) is gorgeous! It's one of the areas where affluent Canadians retire ... ;-)

Neither area is all that close to Victoria (and keep in mind that Butchart Gardens are actually in Swartz Bay, about 20 minutes north of Victoria on a peninsula that isn't accessible directly from Sooke. You'd have to drive south almost to downtown Victoria, then drive back up north on the peninsula.

I believe there's a Worldmark resort in Victoria. If you're interested in exploring the city (and I highly recommend it!), you'd do well to stay there or at a hotel. The trip from the mainland to Vancouver Island is rather long and a bit expensive and I don't think it's terribly worth it for a couple of nights in a resort that's similar to what you can find on the mainland.

Sorry if this post is unclear. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have. My mom lives in Nanaimo (about 15 miles south of Parksville/Qualicum), and I have some idea of the area.


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## Laurie (Jul 30, 2010)

It would be very worth it to add a few days at both locations, or actually at all 3, if you can do it!  

We've stayed at Pacific Shores once, and in Sooke a few times, though not at that resort... and in Victoria. (My sister lives in Victoria, and co-owns a private beach house in Sooke.) 

The island's too big to see it all in a few days. Nearer Sooke, but farther up the west coast you have Botanical Beach which is wonderful, and also Fossil Beach. 

Onsite at Pacific Shores itself, if you can get a waterfront unit, is amazingly gorgeous (one of our favorite exchanges of all time, actually). And from there you can get to some more stunning places, including Cathedral Grove (or something like that), and even up to Tofino and more beauty spots in Pacific Rim NP.

We liked Butchart a lot, and Victoria too, but honestly not quite as much as the wilder natural places.

Maybe this doesn't help narrow it down... sorry!  

Glenna - if I were Canadian, I'd think of retiring in Parksville/Qualicum/Nanaimo too!


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## SciTchr (Jul 30, 2010)

We have stayed at Pacific Grove and it is a wonderful resort.we had an oceanfront unit and that is what I would suggest. Call RCI and find the unit # then call PS to check. The area is lovely for exploring.


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## Steve (Jul 31, 2010)

Thanks for the responses!  I'm not sure that you all are helping me choose where to stay...as all three areas sound great...but you all are definitely increasing my excitement for the trip.  Vancouver Island sounds really cool.

I wasn't sure how the area around Sooke compares to the area around Nanoose Bay.  Both sound beautiful and well worth visiting based on your responses.  I have visited Victoria once before, but I was only eleven years old and we didn't go to Buchart Gardens.  So I definitely want to visit there.

Thanks again,

Steve


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## BevL (Jul 31, 2010)

I think it depends on the focus of your trip.  I can't comment on either resort.  Pacific Shores is pretty well known but I've never heard of the other one.

If you're going to be basing your trip around Victoria and the sightseeing stuff there, Sooke is going to be a better choice.

Personally I'd stay in Parksville.  From halfway up island, a day trip to Tofino/Ucluelet is doable, although it's a fairly long day.  It's not a long distance, but the road is not a fast road.

You can head off to Coombs, kind of a funky little place.  Head up Island to the Comox/Courtenay area and still make it back to your resort.  And Victoria is still doable as a day trip.

But if you're planning on spending quite a bit of time in and around Victoria, you'll be spending a lot of time back and forth on the road.

Sorry I can't comment on the actual resorts.


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## BlindBat (Aug 2, 2010)

I too cannot comment on the actual resorts but I know both areas quite well and it is a bit of a toss up. If Victoria is important to you then Sooke is much closer and also much more accesible if you are coming from/returning to Washington State.

The real gem on Vancouver Island however is Tofino and the Pacific Rim National Park. If you can somehow swing that you will not forget it. It is a tough, but gorgeous, day trip from Nanaimo area so you would be best to try and spend a night there in the town of Tofino or, if more budget conscious, the town of Ucluelet.

If you opt for Sooke I would recommend driving up the road past town (away from Victoria) and you come to some pretty wild coast and a provincial park whose name escapes me. That, BTW, is a very easy day trip with a drive as well.

This thread is making me homesick.


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## skulipeg (Aug 2, 2010)

I know this won't help you make a decision, but you'll be happy wherever you stay.  My parents live in Arbutus Ridge, roughly halfway between Victoria and Nanaimo.  We go there every summer for two weeks, and have been doing so for the last five years.  We have yet to run out of new things to do and new places to see.  Vancouver Island is beautiful wherever you go.


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## Steve (Aug 17, 2010)

*Update*

After much consideration, we have decided on Pacific Shores.  We'll have to do more driving, but I really want to see that part of the island in addition to Victoria.  The resort also looks nicer than the one in Sooke.  

Thanks to everyone for your input.  It was very helpful, and I think we'll be happy with our choice.

Steve


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## Jaybee (Aug 17, 2010)

I don't think you'll be sorry about your choice.  We've stayed at Pacific Shores 3 times, and every one has been a delight. We've done day trips to Victoria, and once a Tugger was kind enough to get us a penthouse 2 Br at the Wyndham on the harbor.  Another wonderful experience.


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