The escape by pod, or traveling with pandemic-vetted friends and family, is one of the hottest trends in vacation travel in this time of Covid. The Chilko Experience Wilderness Resort is poised to accommodate the growing demand for full ranch buyouts on this private family estate in a remote and recreationally rich wilderness region of British Columbia.
The estate announces a 2021 June-October season buy-out invitation at $15,000 USD per night for pods of 12 adults. Multi-generational family groups of up to 20 members can be accommodated. This includes access to luxury Canadian hand-crafted log homes, services of a master chef and private activity guides, plus an open bar and the capability to accommodate and arrange for private aircraft.
To help take any worries or uncertainty out of booking for 2021, the offering comes with a client-friendly purchase policy that asks for a 25 percent deposit with balance due 90 days prior to arrival. However, guests will receive a full refund if the Canadian border is closed at time of travel. Full refunds minus a $500 per person fee will be available for cancellations 61 or more days prior to the arrival date. However, there will be no refunds for cancellations 60 days or less prior to arrival date if it is for any reason other than border closure.
Host Phil Huston, founder and owner, assures that all precautions and protocols that have evolved throughout the pandemic will be practiced here to help secure the well-being of guests and staff alike. They operated successfully and safely in 2020 with the assistance of Iridia Medical who made the necessary adjustments to ensure sanitation and guest safety. With a capacity of just 12 guests and their remote, secluded location, this is expected to be a destination in high demand for 2021 travel.
Phil and his wife, Anne Huston, are extending their take on luxury living in the wilderness for the 14th season this year. For them the luxury of The Chilko Experience is about friendly hospitality, complete privacy and wholesome fun in the wilderness. For 20 years Huston has been in a unique position to observe the benefits to friends and families of bonding with nature and each other. “There is a magic to witness in that process that never gets old,” said Huston.
This is British Columbia’s “last frontier”. Phil Huston came upon it almost by accident while backpacking BC over 40 years ago, and he never forgot it. Only a thousand hearty residents inhabit its 32 Million acres equating to one resident per every 50 square miles. This road less region supports 17 unique ecosystems. Mountains, glaciers, rushing rivers and alpine lakes take center stage. So do nature and its healing powers. Here, brown bears, cougars, wolves, mountain goats, eagles and salmon call the Chilcotin home.
Carved from the wilds, this-off-the-grid estate consists of six custom log and timber frame luxury accommodations which were designed and constructed by HGTV’s Timber Kings. Today these one and two-bedroom, artisan-crafted dwellings continue to delight visitors whom their hosts welcome like family to this exclusive estate. Each unique home shares common features: oversized windows for maximum natural light, stone floors, hand-beveled denim (blue toned pine) ceilings, steel roofs, all tastefully furnished with antiques. Anne Huston, a long-time antique dealer, has adorned these classic homes with many of her own collectibles. See: https://thechilkoexperience.
Throughout the early June through mid-October season activities include, among others, fly fishing, kayaking, river rafting, horseback riding and four-wheeling in the never-ending forests of pine, splashed by the vivid turquoise and icy blues of the world-famous Chilko Lake.
Staff include expert guides who make sure that on a daily basis each guest fulfills a dream activity. A professional resident chef will delight you daily with their hearty, home-grown fare, and a masseuse and yoga instructor are also in residence for those in search of an invigorating natural wellness experience.
The Chilko Experience serves only British Columbia-sourced wines, many from Okanagan Valley vintners. Taking center stage in the world of wines, Okanagan is the new star to watch. Many of its over 300 wineries have won international awards.
The geographic features of the wilderness surrounding The Chilko Experience are dominated by Chilko Lake and its out-flowing Chilko River. The lake is the largest alpine lake in North America and its shores are completely uninhabited, making it one of the most striking and unspoiled landscapes in British Columbia today. As the locals like to ponder: Why go to Lake Louise when you can have Chilko Lake all to yourself?
The lake’s horizon is adorned with the majestic snow-capped Coastal Mountains that stretch north into Yukon territory and southerly, morphing into the Cascade Range from British Columbia into Washington and Oregon. Bears, wolves and bald eagles are abundant here, especially from mid-September through October when runs of up to a million salmon attract one of the highest concentrations of Grizzly bears in North America, not to mention hundreds of eagles that soar overhead, scouring for scraps.
“Perhaps even more impressive than artisan log castles and pristine wilderness is the heart of The Chilko Experience – our world-renowned hospitality,” explains Huston. “Sincere, unpretentious and warm are some of the words we hear. Our guests tell us that we are masters in the art of hosting. Real hands-on, laugh-your-tail-off fun is what we do. Boots on the ground, paddles in the water, fish on the line, sights seen by few – that’s what the Chilko Experience is all about.”
Huston goes on to say, “One could not conceive of a more desirable antidote to our current woes than this intimate, untamed adventure. When guests ask for the address of the resort, they get an unusual answer. We are 30 miles off the power grid, 40 miles to the post office and 200 miles to the grocery store but at night you can reach up and touch the stars.”
For additional details please see https://thechilkoexperience.
About The Chilko Experience Wilderness Resort
The estate is a charter member of The Austin Collection and a member of the Mantis Collection, Villas of Distinction and the Chilko Operators Association. It was also included in the 2018 Chad Clark Certified 25™. This is a collection of the most unique, authentic and singular travel experiences to be had throughout the world.
