We had a truly marvelous time! Randall’s home was perfect for our family of four; we could have even brought a friend for each of our kiddos and still had plenty of space. The home was exactly as described in the listing and was very comfortable and homey.
Randall made sure that our arrival was an easy one by reaching out ahead of time with the address and door code, and he even stocked the refrigerator with farm-fresh eggs and some beverages, which were very welcome after a day of traveling!
The location of the house couldn’t be more convenient, as it’s an easy drive to Victoria, the Butchart Gardens, the Butterfly Garden, the Malahat Skywalk, and many provincial parks. Sidney is just a few km north of the house and is a perfect jaunt on bikes (available at the home) or a walk for those that like walking along the coastline. If you happen to come in the summer, the Butchart Gardens has live music on both Friday and Saturday evenings, which was a very pleasant surprise!
There is a dock just a few minutes from the house that has a beautiful at both sunrise and sunset. If you walk out to the end of the dock and look back towards the shore, there is a large group/family/pack of otters (12+) that frequent the shore at dusk and can be seen jumping in and out of the water and chittering at one another. If you have children that like seashells, there is a small public access to the beach at the end of Arthur where lots of shells wash up and accumulate. For spending time at the beach, there are plenty of public access points both north and south of the house, not to mention all the provincial parks that border various inlets and lakes.
A few hundred yards from the house is The Marigold Cafe, which we stopped by a couple of mornings. The berry scones are fantastic, just make sure to ask them to warm them up if you want to enjoy them to the fullest, same with the Apple Cake. The Hibiscus Limeade is wonderful and unique, as is the Peach Green Tea. My 11yo swears by their cookies, but he also just loves cookies, so take that for what it’s worth.
All in all, Randall’s home is a truly wonderful place to stay if you’re coming to spend some time on Vancouver Island! I could not recommend it more!