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Quick Rental Facts

Victoria area:

Victoria Downtown

Accommodation type:

Victoria Bed & Breakfast

From rental price:

€Not specified

Number of rooms:

4

Stars:

***

Number of reviews:

0

Bed & Breakfast Description

A leisurely game of bocce, a glass of amorone, a stroll past the reflection pool and statues of an Italian Renaissance garden, and a tranquil sleep in a lavish suite filled with antiques and fine art. Tuscany or Umbria perhaps? In fact, the exotic Victoria Villa Marco Polo Inn is located in Victoria’s elegant Rockland quarter, just blocks from Craigdarroch Castle and Government House. This classically designed Victoria Inn was built in 1923 as a gift to a young bride, and is now one of Victoria’s most sumptuous inns.

Italian by design, the Villa Marco Polo keeps true to its well-travelled namesake and features an exquisite collection of Middle Eastern keepsakes. The Inn’s proprietor, Eliza Livingston, has lived in the Middle East and showcases her fascination for this rich culture by peppering the Inn with Middle Eastern rugs, collectables, and décor acquired on her travels.

From the moment you enter the Italian Renaissance style Villa, with its four enchanting suites and generous public spaces filled with art and antiques, you’ll want to take life at a gentler pace. From the Tuscan Room with its exquisite Persian carpet, to the formal dining room with its Italian crystal chandelier, or the sun-splashed Orangerie, this is a place where time stands still. The Renaissance-style gardens filled with flowers lure guests outside to a lush lawn, often used to host fairy-tale style wedding receptions. In cooler weather, guests retreat indoors to the wood-panelled Library, a cozy space complete with a wood-burning fireplace and stocked with books, magazines, board games and an iMac for guest use.

The spacious bedrooms -- the Silk Road Suite, the Zanzibar Suite, the Persia Suite and the Alexandria Suite -- each offer their own special charm. Double soaker tubs and separate tiled showers, romantic fireplaces, desks, fine European linens, hardwood floors with Persian carpets, and comfortable king-size beds are found in every room. Special touches are the hand-made books, classical works of art, and antique collectibles. With a nod to the 21st century, each suite features pre-loaded iPods and docking stations, wireless Internet and private telephones.

Guests awaken each morning to the aroma of freshly baked breads wafting through the halls. Breakfast is a memorable affair, with four inspired courses changing daily. Freshly baked muffins, such as ten-grain, pumpkin-pecan, or lemon lavender, are served with butter and preserves made from Island fruits. A savoury course follows, such as Baked eggs Florentine, omelets, soufflés, or West Coast style Eggs Benedict, with avocados and smoked salmon. A sweet finale rounds off the meal, treating guests to pineapple upside down mini-cakes, ricotta-stuffed crêpes with wild berry coulis, or hot lemon soufflés. Ingredients are locally sourced, organic wherever possible, and of the freshest quality imaginable.

The Inn is endorsed by the Select Registry, the North American Guide to Distinguished Inns, Karen Brown's Pacific Northwest Travel Guide, Best Places to Kiss, and Condé Nast Johansens.

About Victoria Downtown

On the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria, BC is an eclectic blend of old world charm and a spectacular natural environment. In 2005, Vancouver Island was voted the “Top North American Island” by Condé Nast Traveler, while Travel and Leisure voted it the “Best Island in the Continental US and Canada.” In 2003, Victoria was voted the “Best City in the Americas” by Condé Nast Traveler.

Opportunities for enjoying Victoria’s natural surroundings abound, including scenic hiking and biking trails, water sports, golfing, and whale watching and garden tours.

Located in a sub-Mediterranean zone, and with an average of 2,185 hours of sunshine a year, Victoria receives substantially less rain than both Vancouver and Seattle. Average annual rainfall is 647 mm (25.5 inches), compared to over 50 inches in New York.

Victoria has a very low humidity ratio and almost constant offshore breezes which keep summer days from becoming too hot and summer evenings cool. The city often enjoys a warm, sunny September, when deciduous trees turn the city to gold, but lawns and golf courses stay green and lush through the winter. Winters are mild, and spring arrives as early as February.

Here the casual intimacy of a small town is enhanced and enriched by the infusion of fine dining, exemplary museums and galleries, world-class performing arts, and banking and business. The capital of British Columbia, Victoria is also host to various provincial government business and events.

Victoria offers a range of biking and hiking opportunities, one of the most popular being The Galloping Goose Regional Trail, named for the gas-powered passenger car that carried mail and 30 passengers twice daily between Victoria and Sooke during the 1920s.

From boat tours to fishing, kayaking, sailing and whale watching, visitors to Victoria will find numerous watersport activities to participate in.

Kayaking and canoeing opportunities abound: guided half day and day trips can take you to other islands groups, where you’ll see a variety of sea life such as dolphins, orcas, and sea lions; and birds such as bald eagles, cormorants, and puffins.

Victoria is a wonderful bird-watching area, with over 388 different species of birds having been recorded in this region.

Bed & Breakfast Amenities

• TV with satellite
• wi-fi
• Air conditioning
• direct dial phone
• iMac for guest use
• business services
• concierge services
• 4-course breakfast
• on-site wedding and events planner
• adult oriented property

Walking & Driving Distances

Notes on Prices

1. Please see web site for packages