Cowichan Bay is a charming little community nestled on the East Coast of Vancouver Island, well off the highway and a little South of Duncan. To get there, one has to drive down back roads past rolling farms and miles of trees. The community itself has no chain stores. No Starbucks. No McDonalds. Nothing franchised. They actually don't allow them. In their place are quaint little shops that serve the tourists and little shops for the locals.

Oceanfront Suites. The hotel itself is right on the water and almost all of the suites face out into the bay. The waterway is very tranquil with trees filling the hill across the bay.

We needed a quick getaway from Victoria. Nanaimo is nice, but we wanted to go somewhere quiet, close to Victoria but not Victoria. The waterfront stay in Cowichan seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. Oceanfront Suites has a dining room space for people who don't want cook in their suites. And most of the suites feature kitchens for guests who want to cook in their rooms. As almost all of the suites look into Cowichan Bay with the hall connecting the suites on the opposite and less scenic side of the building. Our family of four booked into the Oceanfront suites. We got a two bedroom suite. One kid took the couch. Another one took the smaller bedroom. We took the bedroom on the far side of the bathroom-- it was less picturesque (overlooking the parking lot), but it was decent and away from the kids. In the morning, I used the full kitchen to make us a breakfast. What a great getaway.