Having opened in 1996 on Chesterman Beach, the Wickaninnish Inn is widely credited for putting Tofino on the tourism map. Since then, the resort gave rise to a whole new wave of visitors to the west coast of Vancouver Island by enticing people with captivating views of crashing waves and horizontal rains during what it dubbed storm-watching season.  

Now, the beachfront hotel has earned a top spot in Condé Nast Traveler’s 31st  annual Readers’ Choice Awards. It was recognized as the #1 Resort in Canada, according to input from nearly half a million travellers.

This is the third time the “Wick” has earned the nod, after also securing it in 2013 and 2014. Earlier this year, Conde Nast editors added it to their Gold List Award, which highlights their picks among the best hotels around the world.

The inn became a Relais & Châteaux property in 1997 and is still owned and managed by the McDiarmid family, who first started it.

Other B.C. properties fared well on the same list; among them, Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside was voted 2nd place for best resort in Canada, followed by the Westin Resort and Spa in Whistler, and Sonora Island’s Sonora Resort.

In other results, the Loden Hotel came in 2nd in the best hotels in Canada category; also making an appearance on the list was Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Victoria’s Magnolia Hotel & Spa, Opus Hotel, and Fairmont Vancouver Airport, among other local accommodations.

Victoria ranked 14 out of the world’s 20 best small cities, while Vancouver was came in 10th on the list of 20 best big cities around the globe.  (San Miguel de Allende and Tokyo came in first respectively.)