Weather 
True luxury in travel is tricky to pin down today.
“It’s not just one thing anymore,” said Abercrombie & Kent’s Kathrin Petty. “Some people want to be pampered — but it’s also deep diving into an adventure other people would not necessarily have.”
But why choose? In Canada, you can have it all — from heart-pumping excitement to heart-melting indulgence. Here’s how to order up a luxurious travel tasting menu with everything on it way up north.
Heart pumping
Start your journey by heading north from British Columbia into the Arctic Circle. The Yukon is a slam dunk spot for chasing the northern lights, as it sits within the so-called auroral oval. The solar maximum continues this winter, which intensifies the brightness and spread of the phenom, making that otherworldly glow easier to spot.
Petty raves about the Northern Lights Resort & Spa, especially the glass-fronted chalets that allow you to watch the display without leaving your room. Then again, you could book in for the thrilling Aurora 360 package, which includes a nighttime flight.
“It uses a Boeing 737 and every guest has a guaranteed window seat,” she said.
The other major winter adventure destination is the prairie province of Manitoba, where barely 1.3 million people live over 250,000 square miles of terrain. You can usually rely on a northern-lights sighting or two in Churchill, there, plus an all-natural bonus: polar bears. Travelers flock to the area around the Hudson Bay-hugging settlement in the winter to see the ursine, which crowd around the water waiting for sea ice to form so they can clamber onto it and go hunting for ringed seals.
SmartFlyer’s Erina Pindar recommended Frontier North Adventures, which has a fleet of near-silent EVs or tundra buggies that can roam the landscape spotting those apex predators plus a hotel-on-wheels, the Tundra Buggy Lodge, which parks at Polar Bear Point for the winter. For an extra jolt of adrenaline, pick one of the fly-in wilderness eco-lodges in the Churchill Wild group, where you can hope for on-foot encounters, albeit with ample safety protocols.
Down in British Columbia’s Rockies, heli-skiing is a luxe adventure staple. Mica Heli, one of the main operators near Revelstoke, is a standout. This winter it’s adding 11,000 square feet of extra space at its anchor lodge, including an exclusive new hideout for its private program, where four guests are hosted by two guides in their own Koala chopper. Revelstoke is a hard recommend for Pindar.
“The mountain itself has more than 400 runs to explore — it’s huge, with nearly limitless options,” she said, adding the “cute little village” there is a tiny, tony riff on Jackson Hole.
Otherwise, of course, there’s Whistler Blackcomb, a superb all-round option for all skill levels, where peak-time congestion should be eased somewhat via the just-installed upgrade on Blackcomb’s Jersey Cream Express chair. Just follow the sunshine on Whistler in the morning, before pivoting to Blackcomb after lunch for the best experience. Stay at its Four Seasons this winter and book the Glacier Table experience, which combines a scenic flight over the mountains to a Dom Perignon- and caviar-powered meal — and massage — right out among the glaciers.
Inland, just across the border to Alberta, this year’s G7 Summit-hosting Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge opened a new hotel-within-a-hotel concept earlier this year dubbed the Black Diamond Club. Guests at the swanky, 71-room property have a dedicated adventure concierge who’ll help wrangle bespoke itineraries around the wilderness here, with more than 46 miles of groomed cross-country trails to ski as well as ready access to Nakiska on Mount Allan, which was built here as part of the hosting efforts for the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Then again, you could head in the opposite direction to BC’s coast, especially the southern reaches around Tofino — often the warmest spot in Canada (yes, it’s still relative). Canadian travel specialist Cari Gray recommends year-round surfing there; try one of the schools on Cox Bay, or Mackenzie Beach when the weather’s more brutal.
“The water is never warm, but it’s fun and big, wide and open,” she said.
Crash after a wave day at the family-owned Wickaninnish Inn, which was designed with every room facing the ocean for winter storm watching, after the McDiarmid family used to wander to the site from their nearby cabin to marvel at the weather.
Heart melting
Want to make a winter trip to Canada that swaps roaming for romance? Head to Québec, specifically the postcard-pretty Québec City.
“It’s romantic as hell in the winter, with the snow falling on the cobblestoned streets,” raved Marc Telio of Entrée Destinations — come for Christmas, and there’s a 97% chance of a snowy wonderland for your snaps.
Telio’s favorite crash pad is the Relais & Châteaux-endorsed Auberge Saint-Antoine, which just scored top marks from Michelin’s inaugural canter through Canada. The restaurants, of course, are a standout, including the brand-new, Lucas Brocheton-headed Coteau, which relies heavily on the hotel’s own farm on the Île d’Orléans nearby. The hotel straddles two buildings, one dating back to 1822 and the other barely 20 years old — constructing the latter unearthed a raft of artifacts which are now displayed throughout the property.
“It feels like Belle in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ just came out of her chalet and is dancing down the street,” said Petty.
She recommended dinner at the new Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Glace, a three-course meal offered at the new dining spot inside the Ice hotel just outside the city.
“It’s a two-hour experience, so they don’t keep you in the ice for too long,” she said.
Glug some glühwein at one of the more than 150 food vendors at the Grand Christmas Market or pick up a souvenir at one of the five sites that form part of its German Christmas Market. Telio often combines a weekend in Québec City with a couple days in Wendake, a 20-minute drive northwest that’s a Huron-Wendat First Nation community. Stay there at the Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations, a boutique property with its own indigenous-inspired restaurant and a cultural museum.
The other swoon-worthy destination for winter is the far east of the country, the Maritimes. Newfoundland-based travel specialist Jill Curran says the small-scale skiing there in untroubled by crowds — try downhill at Marble Mountain — and that there’s nowhere more romantic on a cold winter’s night than the Cliffs Edge Retreat where several of the precipitously perched rooms have their own custom-built private sauna and hot tub facing the ocean.
Artsy, historic St. John’s is buzzing with book readings and live music when the nights are dark, she added, including at the just-opened downtown location of local publisher and store Breakwater Books. Dwell by Sam group, a cluster of small-scale lodgings dotted around town owned by interior designer Susan Drover is her go-to accommodation choice. Drover’s keen to make sure everyone leaves refreshed.
“One of her motivations is that people go on sleep retreats, so when you book in there you can determine the kind of scent you want, and the pillow menu,” said Curran, “It’s all about: How do you unwind?”
If you’d like the ultimate in intimate commune with nature, brave the bitter cold of Nunavik in Québec’s far north above the 55th parallel. Ungava Polar Eco-tours operates a cluster of glamping domes on Tiercel Island and used to focus on summertime adventures but has expanded into winter.
“The luxury is the adventure — who else has done that before?” asked Kathrin Petty. “You can even take a lesson on how to build an igloo.”
If you’d rather take an ice bath, opt for a getaway to the Fairmont Lake Louise, one of the grand old railway hotels that retains its Golden Age-era glamour. That property’s just added a massive new, 18,500-square-foot spa, the oddly named Basin Glacial Waters, with various pools, treatments and saunas — and, thankfully, the option for a glass of Champagne or two if you’re celebrating.
