To get a true picture of everything Canada has to offer, then it is best seen by rail, says Barnaby Dracup, and there’s no better way than with the Rocky Mountaineer.
From ultra-modern clean cities by the sea to beautiful mountain towns surrounded by snow-capped peaks, Canada embraces the most modern of societal trends, luxury living and natural wilderness – and somehow manages to cogently blend them all into one satisfying mix of experiences.
Litter-free metropolis on the seashore. Check. Hipster-run microbrewery in a Wild West town. Check. Bear-watching while enjoying a five-star dining service onboard a luxury train carriage. Check.
And the best way to see all this? By rail, of course.
Famed for its hospitality, service and scenery, to tour Canada on the famous Rocky Mountaineer
is to experience a more refined style of travel, something elegantly wrapped in history and romance.
To journey in luxurious comfort and service through the rugged terrain of Canada’s Rocky Mountains is a juxtaposition that one cannot fail to notice. It certainly adds to the feeling of privilege for its lucky passengers.
If you are looking for a restful yet exciting adventure, you need to look no further.
The Rocky Mountaineer offers a wide range of unique vacation packages and four distinctive rail routes, rich in history and natural wonders, through British Columbia and Alberta. Featuring a top-level observation deck, this train travels by daylight through the wild beauty of Canada’s mid-west. It’s the best way to experience the majestic Canadian Rockies, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Over the past 30 years, Rocky Mountaineer has grown to become the world’s largest privately owned luxury tourist train company and has welcomed over 1.7 million guests onboard.
Flying into Vancouver from London via the excellent Air Canada premium economy service was the perfect way to begin this unique adventure. For the uninitiated, a premium economy flight to the west coast of Canada involves a similar experience to sitting in your favourite reclining armchair for nine hours while being fed and watered at regular intervals while somebody changes the view outside the window. Splendid stuff and cheaper than business class.
On arriving in Vancouver, the first item on my agenda was to get checked into the hotel and catch up on a little bit of beauty sleep before exploring the metropolitan surrounds of downtown ‘couver (as the locals seemed to be calling it).
Fairmont Hotels is a Canadian-based operator of luxury hotels and resorts and currently operates properties in nineteen countries worldwide. Its Hotel Vancouver is situated in the heart of downtown and stands at an imposing seventeen stories high. Opened in May 1939, the dramatic design of architects John S. Archibald and John Schofield has meant that this building has been as much a star of stage and screen, and even computer games, as it has five-star accommodation and service.
The room was spacious and well-appointed and was sensitively decorated to maintain a feel of the 1940s-era style and elegance – think marble sinks and gold taps with modern versions of period radiators and thick drapes and carpets – all really rather nice.
The following day I undertook a cycle tour of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. This 1,000-acre public park borders the downtown area and is almost entirely surrounded by the waters of Vancouver Harbour and English Bay. Indigenous peoples originally used the land for thousands of years before greedy Brits colonised British Columbia during the 1858 gold rush.
Cycle hire was quick and very reasonable, and cruising the easy inclines of Stanley Park was a great way to relax. After taking in the sites along the waterfront, freewheeling at speed down the steep hills across downtown was a great way to blow out the cobwebs.
The following day it was time for the main event – the inaugural departure of Rocky Mountaineer’s 25th Anniversary Year, followed by an overnight stay in Kamloops, an old fur trading post at 1,132ft up on the cusp of the Rocky Mountain range.
Despite its ‘frontier’ image, something which Kamloops still trades on, the area is being rapidly gentrified just like many areas of most major cities these days – except it is in the mountains, and the local denizens are all cowboys. The combination has led to an interesting mix of emergent fine dining and winemaking; suffice it to say, they have not quite got it right. Still, one thing they did excel at was microbrewing.
The Noble Pig Brewhouse is Kamloops’ first and only microbrewery that combines craft beer and unique ‘beer fusion’ cuisine. It is an unpretentious neighbourhood business with a welcoming, comfortable atmosphere – and it must be said the beer was absolutely first-rate.
In the morning, it was back aboard the Rocky Mountaineer to head onwards and upwards to Banff, Alberta, for an overnight stay at a hotel set in one of the prettiest locations you could imagine.
Located in the heart of Banff National Park – another UNESCO World Heritage Site – the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel has been providing legendary hospitality to its guests for more than 125 years and was to prove a fitting end to the trip. It was an ideal environment to relax in before departing for Calgary and the flight home the following morning.
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