The wineries are busy crushing their new harvest and, of course, there's the Shaw Festival. Buckets of money were spent on everything from tassels and tapestries to stone floors and arches that give it a chateau-like feel. The staff is attired to a tittle from waiter and sommelier to bus boy.
Pomp is aplenty as mains roll out under huge silver domes then lifted in unison.
Upon arrival you're treated like royalty. The lovely and totally reconstructed hotel is replete with red-coated footmen. The lobby's restaurant doors are festooned with a large brass fixture of a chef holding a pot and a chicken. And lucky for us, Chef Lee Parsons is in the house. The theatricality is worth the price alone.