(We actually stayed at The Old Courthouse Inn in Feb of 2010. That date was not an option on the pull down menu.)
I decided to take my husband for a holiday at home. I planned it for Valentine's Day weekend and based it on staying at the Courthouse Inn. I decided that we would not leave the Townsite for anything during the weekend as everything we could possibly need was right there. So, I booked the room with Lilia (one half of the owners). I wanted to have the kingsize bed room but, it wasn't available. Not to be detered in my plan, I settled for the next best room. All the rooms are wonderfully appointed with treasured retro furnishings lovingly collected by Lilia. When we arrived on Saturday to go to our room, Lilia informed us that - lo and behold - the king size bed room was now available and was ours for the weekend. Happily we followed her to the room and got ourselves settled in. The Inn has a restaurant as part of the building but, for the Saturday night we went across the street to The Granada restaurant for dinner. Then we came back to our room and watched TV for a while. The bed was marvelous and the room was spotless.
I had booked reservations for the Valentine's Brunch in the restaurant - Manzanita - as they have the best Eggs Benedict in town and both my spouse and I love that particular dish. The difference at Manzanita is that you can get your Eggs Bennie with lox instead of ham and my hubby loves that the best. I on the other hand am a purest and they accomodated my preference with no problem. We enjoyed our brunch out on the deck - truly an amazing possibility in February ! ! ! It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and it made for a magical meal.
The rest of the day was spent with friends on their boat which they dock at the Powell Lake Marina, beside the Shinglemill Restaurant. It is all part of the Historic Townsite also. I hadn't really planned where we were going to have dinner, thought we would go to the Shinglemill, but we shared the meal aboard our friend's boat.
The evening concluded with a movie at the Historic Patricia Theatre (the longest continually operating theatre in Canada) and then back to the Inn - virtually kitty-corner to each other. When we got back to the Inn, the second seating for the Valentine's Dinner was just coming to a close and we could hear Zia Salehian serenading the couples with his wonderful voice while Walter Martella accompanied him on keyboard. The jazz was koooool that evening. Once in our room, we found we were just a bit hungry and it was too late to go to the Granada, they were already closed. Sooooo, I went to the staff at Manzanita and asked if it would be possible for us to maybe, just perhaps, hopefully, order something to eat? Well, they were wonderful. They gave us the set menu for the evening and asked us to let them know our choices. I took it back to the room and hubby and I decided. When I went back to order, I said I could wait for it and take it back to the room myself. They said no way, they would deliver (there is no room service per se at this Inn - this is a separate restaurant that is run independently from the Inn). I was so very impressed with this generosity on their part. So, I returned to the room and set up a table for us to eat at.
When there was a knock at the door, I expected to see one of the waitresses from the restaurant. Instead, it was the restaurant owner and the head waitress, each bearing dishes for us PLUS a special dessert - Creme Brulee - just one (that was all that they had on hand it not being on the menu for that evening) for us to share with each other. I was overcome with the unexpected service which gave us such a sense of being special. It set the mood for the rest of the evening ;).
When we had checked in on the Saturday, Lilia had shown us the Kitchen/Breakfast Room that is at the end of the hall, across from our room. It has all the amenities and food, too. Supplies for making a quick breakie (eggs, toast, oranges, coffee/tea, etc.) all provided as part of the room charge. It is open all the time for the guests to avail themselves of if they need it. So, on the Monday, the last thing we did was make ourselves breakfast and hubby went off to work while I packed up and took everything back home.
It was a magical weekend in a magical place with fairies and angels sprinkling their pixie dust over us. What a treasure we have here in Powell River. If you ever have reason to come and visit this quaint city then be sure to plan to stay at the Old Courthouse Inn. And be sure to book at least one meal at Manzanita Restaurant. You will be impressed by both.
The room rates at the Inn are quite reasonable and, as I said, the rooms are spotless. Lilia and Ian run a first class place and are always willing to do whatever they can to make your stay one filled with joy and pleasure. I would recommend it to anyone - and do ! ! !
