Day 252, 13 March 2013, Sparkling Hill Resort and Gray Monk Winery - Near Vernon, B.C. www.sparklinghill.com.
Well you might ask - how does a hill sparkle? Hmm? Quartz? Sparkly granite? Maybe they're being poetic and are talking about the diamonds on the water effect of a sunny day near a lake (and that could well be true... the resort does overlook the last reaches of Lake Okanagan). But nope. Basically you build a massive luxury hotel and spa complex on the top of a hill and infuse the building with over 3.5 million Austrian crystals. Not just any crystals either - the marketing phenomenon that is Swarovski crystals. It was a stunning drive to Vernon and it seems they received more than their fair share of snow the other day - the Predator Ridge Golf course and Villa estate was thoroughly blanketed in the white stuff as we wended our way up to Sparkling Hill for a look around. Swish. Very swish. And sparkly. There were places they could have added more crystals.... maybe the floor. But the public areas, the chandeliers, the stair rail... all blinged up. Gorgeous place. We even had a roam around the spa and enjoyed the views through the floor to ceiling windows. An absolutely coruscating spot to air out your bank account and freshen your lungs with stunning mountain and lake views. (See picture of stairwell leading to restaurant!) Thoroughly bedazzled we then headed to Gray Monk winery - which has won the honour of actually not having a single wine we didn't like and also lovely views - sooner or later we'll get tired of the mountains and lakes. Probably. We finished the day starving at the Shady Rest - also known as the British Fish & Chip shop. Not a bad job... but not British that's for sure - but we were so hungry they could have served almost anything - Big day all round - and we finished it off with a walk down to the lake front for "Crantinis" with our hosts. I'm truly not sure all this fresh air can be good for us! Rest day tomorrow.