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Experience an ancient culture, spectacular wildlife viewing, stunning landscapes and reconnect with nature. Immerse yourself in true wilderness on a grand scale, deep in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest. Spirit Bear Lodge is Indigenous owned, offering exclusive access to wildlife viewing areas and cultural sites within the Kitasoo Xai'xais traditional territory.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Modern
Luxury
Languages Spoken
English
Location
300 Spirit Bear Drive General Delivery, Klemtu, Kitimat-Stikine District, British Columbia V0T 1L0 Canada
I’m finding it quite hard to send a review as it might be seen as being unfair. The only reason I say that is because my reason for going to the Spirit Bear Lodge was the 50% chance of seeing a Spirit Bear. However as it turns out that there has not been a Spirit Bear seeing this whole season and last season there was one fleeting glimpse of one. Please see past the Spirit Bear, Because if you want to go to a place with very nice people who treat you exceptionally well, with comfortable accommodation that looks out of the water, you get all of that. Your food Is located for all needs and There is plenty of it. You will meet guides there and staff who are just delightful. If you want to be in the most beautiful of surrounding countryside and happy to see a lot of grizzly bears you will not be disappointed, and we saw at least 15 grizzly bears, with a large number of them being young. We saw one or two black bears, ( This Part of our Vancouver trip ) but no young. Although you have every hope and expectation of seeing spirit bears as I said the beginning of this message you may well be disappointed, they hadn’t been seen there all season. I do believe the guides are already trying to find different areas that they can explore in the hope of trying to see them, Involving treks a bit further into the inland rainforest and the smaller streams. With the presents of more grizzly bears in the area now the black bears have been pushed further in and away from our view. However, we had fabulous dolphin spottings we had wonderful Orca and humpback whales spotting. The boats were comfortable and all had toilets. Obviously, when walking around in the rainforest, you have to find natures bathroom. (Not too easy when you’re in weatherproof boiler suits and wellies) I think the cost is extremely high For just being away a few days, especially with having to take a hotel the night before and the night after back at Vancouver as part of making sure you’re at the airport on time. Our flight was delayed three hours! I did not feel comfortable signing a disclaimer that says even if it’s an error on the part of the lodge or their staff they take no responsibility of either death or injury to the visitor ( So by that, I assume you’re not covered, I would very seriously ask you to check the disclaimer before you sign it. The other thing I found a bit disconcerting was the suggestion of $100 per day per person per tip. My comments are picky because you really do see some lovely bears and all the staff go the extra mile to make you enjoy your holiday. But I feel that the one biggest issue is the disclaimer. The second issue is 50% chance of seeing a white bear.. We met some lovely people on the trip and we have experiences that will never forget. But the visitor has to be prepared for the fact that the possibility of seeing the white bear now, is so reduced it should not be marketed as the highlight of the trip.. I stress all the staff from the lodge were wonderful!
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Spirit Bear Lodge Reservations, Guest Services / Front Office at Spirit Bear Lodge
Responded Dec 12, 2024
Thanks very much for your review Jean. We are glad to hear you not only had some excellent wildlife viewing but found connection with Kitasoo Xai'xais Traditional Territory, our staff and other guests. It is important for us to clarify that although 2024 was our most challenging season for spotting spirit bears in the history of the lodge we generally have a better than 50% success rate for guests spotting a spirit bear. Over the past few years some of our spirit bear viewing areas have experienced changes in salmon availability and wildlife social dynamics that have made spirit bear viewing less predictable but we are excited to be creating access to new spirit bear viewing areas we have scouted with amazing results for our 2025 season. That said we still agree that no guest should plan their trip solely around seeing a spirit bear as things change year to year and week to week in an intact ecosystem where wildlife can roam freely. It was wonderful to host you and we hope you visit us again one day and get the opportunity to see a spirit bear.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
A beautiful welcome as soon as you arrive with music and delicious food. On the trip from the dock to the hotel we saw a few humpback whales which was amazing! Just gliding past the boat!
The room is outstanding. It has every basic function you need and the bedding is lovely and soft, water hot in the shower and a tea and coffee station etc. The real thing to note is that every room has a huge set of windows facing the water meaning every day you wake up to simply the most stunning of views
Food is delicious every single day including the packed lunches but the dinner at night literally made me put on weight as I wanted to eat everything haha! Three delicious courses with all fresh produce! The wine was fab too!
Guides are all knowledgeable and most of all caring about the environment. This shows in bucketloads and makes you have equally so much respect for the land, the traditions, the people and the wildlife! All questions I had were answered well and I really loved meeting all the crew who every day worked so so hard and were always smiling.
I cannot express how many beautiful bears I saw in their habitat. Even some baby cubs! They got so close and I could see them swimming, strolling on the beach, just being safe and in nature. Photos do not do it justice of how wonderful it is! At no point did I feel unsafe even if they were close and you do see how huge they are!
Loved seeing whales every single day as well! Every single day and I was there for the 4 nights package I saw bears and whales!
This is the trip of a lifetime and as a solo traveller a good place to feel safe and looked after.
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip:Every room faces the water so every room is perfect.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Spirit Bear Lodge Reservations, Guest Services / Front Office at Spirit Bear Lodge
Responded Sep 26, 2023
Thanks very much for your review! We are so glad you enjoyed your visit.
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Spirit Bear Lodge is a most wonderful location accessible only by small plane to Bella Bella and then private boat . The lodge is owned and run by the One Nation . The lodge is beautiful and everything on the trip is of the highest caliber. Our grizzly and whale sitings were breathtaking. Only problem- I felt the possibility of seeing a Spirit Bear was very low - our guides refused to tell us when and how many they had seen - all we could get was ‘ not this season’ If you go understanding this then it’s a magical experience and I would definitely recommend it.
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Date of stay: March 2025Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Don’t bother carrying rain gear / boots / rucksacks etc. everything is provided and of the...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It’s so hard to try and put into words our experience at Spirit Bear Lodge.
We knew it was going to be something magically but we never imagined how magical it would be.
Our transfer from plane to boat was smooth and within no time at all we had our first experience of humpback wales, mother and calf playing.
The lodge itself is fantastic, the bedrooms are large, well equipped, the bed is so comfy and all with views of the ocean. Every member of the Spirit Bear Lodge team are fantastic, friendly and nothing was too much trouble and the food was superb.
Each day was an adventure, our guides were excellent, their knowledge of the area and the history of the Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nation was excellent, their knowledge of bears, wales, eagles and all the other wildlife made each day an education.
There really are no words to describe our experiences with the bears, our first full day we had the honour and privilege to watch grizzly mums keeping a watching eye on their cubs playing before a very special little bear walked out from behind a tree and spent the next hour or so showing off his fishing skills and happily played in the water. Thinking about him now brings a tear. We didn’t think the day would get any better but on the way back to the lodge by boat we saw a humpback whale breaching.
Each day was magical.
We left the lodge with memories that will last a life time, photos galore and friends for life.
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Date of stay: September 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If you want something extraordinary this is the trip to take. Getting there is an adventure in itself and from the minute staff meet you in Bella Bella you are in safe hands. We didn’t see as many bears as I would have liked but when we did the proximity was astounding. The whales were quite unbelievably- I’ve done whale watching tours before but nothing compares to being so close to the water and the way the staff know how to position the boat. The lodge itself was fabulous- I loved our room but looking around every room was just as good. The staff really want you to understand the history and sanctity of the area - their stories are wonderful. We finished in the ‘ big house ‘ - what an honour. The farewell ceremony was very emotional. Just want to mention that I think it attracts like minded people so everyone in our group was a joy to be around- our small boat group and everyone together for meals - just wonderful company. Thank you for allowing us to share your magnificent lands and history
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:If I went back I would go a little later - maybe mid September . The weather gear they provide is...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is a very special place and we felt priviledged to be able to share the experience of life in the Great Bear Rainforest. The entire SBL team are passionate, professional and dedicated to giving guests the best chance of seeing wonderful wildlife in spectacular surroundings. The recent transport issue was not the fault of SBL but the airline and the SBL team worked tirelessly to get everyone, us included, in and out of what is a very remote spot as efficiently as possible. This is a lifetime experience and we could not recommend it highly enough.
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Date of stay: September 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Warning! These guys don't offer accountability or honesty as they state on their website. They have abandoned passengers/customers. Flight was cancelled due to a technical issue. They they said they were full and unable to accept them on the next days flight or following. They said claim off your insurance. So they've taken the money and genuinely don't care. Would strongly advise against them. Considering its a package holiday and they booked everything. They're surely liable! Incident September 2023
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Date of stay: September 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Spirit Bear Lodge Reservations, Guest Services / Front Office at Spirit Bear Lodge
Responded Sep 26, 2023
Hi GF217, Thanks for your review. We absolutely pride ourselves on our honesty and accountability. Unfortunately we have no control over the airline that services the route from Vancouver to Bella Bella as they are a third party provider and are not owned or controlled by Spirit Bear Lodge. We do our best to ensure every guest is informed that they should give themselves an extra day in Vancouver on each side of their trip and get travel insurance as travel on the coast of British Columbia can be challenging for various reasons. The airline was full and could not accommodate our guests the following day, however our team has put as much pressure on Pacific Coastal Airlines as we can and they have allocated a plane to bring you and the other guests due to arrive on September 25th in today on the 26th. We cannot extend the trip of those who will lose a day of their time with us because we are fully booked and we understand that is upsetting. We have compassion and understanding for the guests meant to depart and those meant to arrive on the 25th, it is not ideal for anyone involved. To say we genuinely don't care is not accurate, many people have worked many hours to try to find a solution and get our guests in and out safely as soon as possible. We have also advised our guests that they may want to make a travel insurance claim for the missed day or their entire trip. As we are still offering you an opportunity to come for the remainder of your trip and we send clear messaging about travel insurance and our cancelation policy we do not offer refunds in this situation as it was out of our control. We understand that you feel because we booked the flights we are responsible for sorting it out, we can confidently say we have done everything we possibly can to rectify the situation. We hope you and all of our future guests recognize the flights are provided by a third party and travel on the coast is challenging and travel insurance is a must.
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Truly an adventure of a life time. Not only seeing these beautiful animals in the wild and visiting special places in this pristine wilderness, but also hearing the stories and sharing the rich cultural heritage of the Kitasoo and Xai'xais. When our flight out was canceled, they took good care of us, putting us up, feeding us, and working hard on our behalf to get each of us home. Thank you SpiritBear Lodge for a trip of a lifetime.
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Originally we had scheduled a 3-night stay at Spirit Bear back in 2020, but the pandemic delayed that trip until just this past month. Thankfully, it was more than worth the wait! We saw tons of wildlife (especially bears!), not only on our two full day outings with the tour guides, but also on the boat rides to and from the lodge from Bella Bella. The lodge was very comfortable, the food was excellent, and all of the staff were exceptional. We learned a lot of the history of the indigenous people who live in that area, our evening in the Big House was definitely a highlight. I would absolutely recommend Spirit Bear to anyone with an interest in wildlife and the First Nations people, and we would love to be able to come back for another visit.
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Date of stay: September 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Have a day or more buffer before and after your stay, as well as travel insurance, given the...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Coastal Rain Forest of B.C. is absolutely stunning, but do expect to be wet and in rain gear for your trip. In being there for a week, we saw sunshine only on the morning we departed. As for the Spirit Bear, when I initially contacted the management about sightings, I was told they had seen Spirit Bear for the past three weeks in September and that October should provide good opportunity to see Spirit Bear because of the Salmon runs. Based on this information, we booked a six night package at a cost of over $10K which we now feel was not a good value for what was provided. What we did experience was one black bear and one grizzly sow with a cub and that's it. When I inquired of the guide about Spirit Bear sightings, it turns out these 3 weeks of sightings in September was the same bear, in the same spot, gorging on Salmon and that was it - period. NOT multiple sightings as it was made to sound. In fact, this guide told me there had only been four bears sighted for the entire season. This sort of puts things in a clearer perspective. Overall, staff were nice, food was good, there is no bar, so expect to drink cheap wine with dinner which is included and the insulation between rooms is poor, so it is very noisy since staff and guests are up and about very early, it is not easy to sleep. If one is on the lower floor, the noise of the guests in the room above is incredible when they walk across the floor. Also, there is no fireplace in the great room - a terrible oversight in such a cold and damp environment. They advise a stay of five or more nights to optimize chances of Spirit Bear sightings, but what you don't find out is that you continually are taken back to the same two or three inlets, not new spots, so while a stay this long is good for the lodge's bottom line, it is not necessarily worth the expense, especially in foul weather and very long boat rides over what can be very rough water, depending on the conditions. IF you go, DO NOT spend the first night in Shearwater as part of your package - this is a total ripoff! Terrible accommodation and a waste o the entire day for which you are paying a premium cost, as this is considered the first night of your package. Fly instead directly to the lodge - they don't push this option, but it is available. Another issue I had was the "suggestion" of gratuities being $20 per person per day, but it is put in an envelope and who knows what happens to the money and how it gets distributed. When I said I felt the boat drivers and the guides, who were responsible for our well being and safety should be the recipients of the bulk of the gratuity, the manager specifically discouraged me about this and said it is not their policy to promote individual tipping, and that everyone employed there shares the gratuities equally. HMMMM.....makes me wonder how this gratuity actually gets distributed...... So, fly in if you go and know that three or four days you'll get a chance to see what is on offer in the surroundings. And, if you see a Spirit Bear, you are indeed very very lucky!
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Date of stay: October 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Upper floor should be less noisy but not near the stairway - ask for end of hall to avoid people...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from spiritbearlodge, General Manager at Spirit Bear Lodge
Responded Nov 12, 2013
Judydeco, we deeply regret that your experience didn’t match your expectations. We’ve been proudly operating lodge based bear viewing since 2007 and operating tours in our traditional territory since 1996. We have no desire to be anything but candid and transparent with any potential guests about our programs in the Great Bear Rainforest. You’ve been quite detailed in your critique and so I would like to respond specifically and in an equally detailed manner to some of the points you raise. We believe our value proposition is quite clear in our literature and in our personal communications with our guests. We offer the opportunity to view bears and other wildlife in one of the most remote, untouched corners of the planet. These are wild animals who move to their own rhythms and our excursions are subject to the vagaries of north Pacific weather systems that can be as unpredictable as the animals we view. The Spirit Bear in particular is one of the most elusive animals on earth with numbers far lower than the estimates you will read about on the Internet. We believe there may be fewer than 200 of these animals remaining. We support our viewing program with an extensive remote infra-red camera network which we pull data from regularly to provide accurate information on where and when animals are active in over 30 rivers. In a territory the size of a small European country with hundreds of rivers, we are typically able to narrow down the most active systems to a handful of between 5-10 rivers that offer us the best chances of viewing wild bears –both grizzly and Spirit Bears - in their natural habitat. Typically, our cameras reveal between 3-5 Spirit Bears that are active in our territory, as they did in 2013, with one or two of these that will allow themselves to be viewed by humans. In any given year, and 2013 was no exception, only about 50% of our guests will have the rare privilege of a Spirit Bear sighting. This past season we had 2 adult female Spirit Bears in two different locations and one adult female with a newborn cub that we saw just twice. We also saw over 20 different grizzly bears during our 2013 season including extraordinary sightings of a mother with triplets and two sets of females with cubs. I simply cannot account for your claim that your guides told you we saw only 4 bears the entire season. We have many spectacular photos sent to us by our guests this season, which we have posted to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/spiritbearadventures. The week you were at the lodge the weather was just plain nasty with lots of rain and high winds. This can unfortunately impact viewing and guest comfort, which it clearly did in your case. That unpredictability in weather and viewing is also unfortunately part of the package. The Shearwater pre-night, contrary to your suggestion, is not optional. We do acknowledge that many of our guests would prefer to simply arrive directly to the lodge. However, just as the weather can impact guest comfort, it also can delay the arrival and departure of the aircraft that transport our guests from Vancouver. By building in a pre-night in Shearwater we have effectively insulated our guests and our complex logistics from the majority of the weather delays that can plague the central coast of BC. We are quite proud of the fact that since implementing our Shearwater pre-night, it is now exceedingly rare for our guests to miss flight connections or miss out on any of the activities we promise as part of our packages. We are actively working with Shearwater Resort to improve this component of our program. I should also note that it is for these same reasons noted above that we do not offer a float plane ‘fly in’ option directly to the lodge. Floatplanes are simply unreliable in the face of often tight international flight connections. Finally, judydeco, I would like to comment on the concern you raise with respect to the distribution of the gratuities. As with many First Nations communities, our business has a strong communal work ethic. While the guides and skippers are all guest-facing and see all the action and adventure, our housekeeping and kitchen staff work tirelessly behind the scenes to support them. Our staff all support the notion of a shared tip pool which gets equitably distributed to all staff at the end of the season in a process which is audited by other staff. Again we sincerely regret your experience didn’t match your expectations. We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with feedback and we will take what we can from it to continue our process of kaizen – continuous improvement.
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There were some teenagers when we were there and they enjoyed it, there is wifi at the lodge. Its not just about bears, it's the whole eco -system, as well as bears we saw salmon, whales, orca, porpoise, eagles, loons, kingfishers, seals etc. Oh and grizzlies, black bear and Spirit bear, we were honoured.
Also the First Nation people, their stories and history, indeed the history of Canada, coming from Australia maybe they can relate to that.
Mid-September was perfect as the salmon are running and the bears are getting fat ready for hibernation, so they are out and about. Good time to see the Spirit Bears. We saw more than one. Also saw lots of cubs trying to fish. However, we did have to book 18 months in advance to get a room in September.
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