Klahoose Wilderness Resort — Hotel in Area A (Malaspina/Toba)

We recently travelled to Homfray Lodge for our honeymoon. We ended up being mixed on the experience, and wanted to share how it went.

First of all the location is beautiful. There is history, whales, bears, and complete serenity at your fingertips. You can’t argue with that.

Secondly, the onsite staff are great. Lovely, friendly and down to earth people who do their best to run the lodge. Hats off to Greg (boat driver), Chris (chef), Dave (winter caretaker), and Pam & Kat (they do a bit of everything).

Third, as a couple in our 30s, Homfray kind of feels like summer camp (in a nostalgic way). It was fun to have access to the dock, kayaks, SUP boards, etc. Even with the cool ocean temps, we got out on the water everyday, hung out on the dock, etc. It was great I have a bonfire & marshmallows one night too.

Where Homfray fell short for us:

Management of the lodge seemed non-existent. Lance was onsite briefly for one day, but after that no one seemed to be in charge (or it wasn’t clear who was in charge). It felt like Homfray’s management just sends a group of people up the Sunshine Coast and hopes for the best. We were told we would sign waivers when we got to the lodge but it was never mentioned & our guess was there is no process for knowing if a guest completed one or not.

No overview or communication about what to do in an emergency. Homfray is truly in the middle of no where and also has older clientele. As young people (but with ongoing health issues), we had no idea what they would do in a medical emergency and didn’t have confidence in Homfray’s management team in setting up the onsite staff to handle medical issues, natural disaster or evacuation.

We picked Homfray to celebrate our marriage and let the booking coordinator know why we were booking. No one mentioned it when we arrived and we thought that was a bit strange. We later learned that no one onsite knew, and if they had known, that would have done something special. Considering how kind & thoughtful many places can be when celebrating special occasions, we were disappointed.

My husband has celiac disease and I’m vegetarian. We were asked our food allergies/preferences in the booking process but they were not communicated to the onsite staff. The chef was super flexible & understanding, and there was always plenty to eat. We wished we had brought some gluten-free basics like bread, granola, bars, etc. As all Homfray’s food gets ordered & sent in by boat, we did question and wonder how they would have handled a last minute surprise of a vegan diet, nut allergy, and/or any severe allergy. To us, it’s on the management team to ensure that their onsite team is prepped with guest preferences, allergies, etc.

Lastly, we went to the lodge for peace, quiet and a time out from our day to day. What we forgot was that our peace and quiet would really depend on the other guests at the lodge 😅. Each meal is family-style and there is a lot of small talk and social interaction. If you are also peace & quiet seekers, just keep it top of mind to go find it (go for a walk out to the point, get in a kayak, get up early & read on the dock, etc).

Homfray is a special spot - and we truly hope that George and his team will take our review seriously and continue to work towards making the lodge a destination spot on the Sunshine Coast.

If you are booking at Homfray in the future, we recommend that you be explicit about your food allergies/preferences and ask how they will handle it, share any mobility issues you might have, and make sure to dig into how they handle medical...

The lodge is in a beautiful setting and is clean with opportunities to interact with nature and Klahoose culture. ||Communication prior and the booking process were seamless.The pick up and drop off process to and from Lund was excellent. The boat transfers to the lodge and to the bear viewing area was top notch and we felt safe. The captain took great pleasure in sharing information and taking us to waterfalls, pictograph sites, and beautiful spots on route. Our accommodation was excellent with lots of space. It was chilly at night so we had them turn on our gas heater. One of the cabins in the group had a broken heater (gas pipe capped) and had to use a noisy electric heater. The main lodge was spacious and comfortable. Food was excellent, as was the selection of beer and wine.||Bear viewing - Make sure you use bathrooms on the boat prior to transfer to the platforms. The viewing of bears was safe but at a distance and regular cameras / phones will not get excellent photos, and binoculars are necessary. There are tours that come over from Campbell River that also share the platforms putting pressure on this experience. Bears tended to move away slowly and if a day tour was at the platform previous, then this will lessen your experience. These days tours in my opinion are not fair to guests of Klahoose who have paid a large sum of money. Management should schedule Campbell River day tours only on Klahoose transfer days or every 3rd day. ||All employees were friendly and professional. The people of Klahoose are proud people and enjoy sharing their culture. ||PS we parked our vehicle @ Lund Parking which we booked online. We phoned when we arrived and he came right away as he is not there 24/7. He also had the car ready for us at the dock when we...

Absolutely incredible experience!

First off, I want to be transparent about the fact that I was there on a work trip to capture the experience that the Klahoose Wilderness Resort offers through photo and video, so take this review with a grain of salt if you so choose. Despite it being a job I felt compelled to share my experience here.

The resort itself sits in an amazing location, being (relatively) simple to access yet still feeling incredibly remote while you're there. Even in the peak of summer it was rare to see any sign of other people in the area. The waters of Homfray Channel are warm, clear, and filled with wildlife. In our short stay we say Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, Humpbacks, Grizzly Bears, sealions, seals, all sorts of birds and more.

The staff was all very kind and hospitable and I really appreciated the authenticity of the cultural interpreters!! Right away it felt as-though they were friends showing you around their home rather than any sort of performance or show. It really was an honour to be in their presence, listen to their stories, and to learn about their traditional practices. Amir was cooking up some incredible meals in the kitchen and the passion for his craft was shining through in each dish.

The new addition of a sauna on the dock is amazing! I'm a fan of saunas regardless but having it right on the ocean makes for an incredible experience, especially at night. A group of us stayed up late to swim in the bioluminescence and having that to warm up before and after made the experience even more spectacular than it otherwise would be.

All in all I can't say enough about my time there, it was truly special and will be something that I will cherish for...