Like many resort hotels, Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa—perched on a sandy lakefront about two hours east of Vancouver, BC&mdash

A few years ago, if you wanted a luxury hotel room in Toronto, ON, you had two choices: make a reservation at the Hazelton, at one time Toronto’s only five-star property, or just forget it and head for Manhattan.

British Columbia’s Whistler has been called “the best ski destination in North America,” but I’ve discovered it’s also one of the best places to explore by bike.

I’ve invited my neighbour Jan on this trip to Victoria, BC, because she used to work in a nursery and can fill me on the common—sometimes the scientific—names of the plants and flowers we’re about to see.

For a nominal daily fee of $25, guests can borrow one of the hotel’s Apple iPads to surf the web (using the hotel’s complimentary high-speed wi-fi), play games, and get the inside scoop on hotel employees’ favorite local restaurants, cultural attractions and shopping destinations with preloaded links.

Back in the late 70s when I was a teenager, the Auberge Lakeview Inn in Knowlton, QC, was home to rhythm and blues, a wild place with a pub at the back and a dance room at the front.

Where to stay in Canada? The options are as varied as the folks looking to stay in our grand hotels and cozy inns. A quaint bed and breakfast on the east coast? A swanky new hotel in a cosmopolitan city? Or maybe something a little more original? (Yurt? Lighthouse?

You’re visiting Vancouver, BC with the kids and you’d like to venture outside the city to see some of the rest of British Columbia.

Early morning, New Year’s Eve day. I’m hiking across a clearing in Alberta’s Banff National Park. In summer it’s a campground. Right now, it belongs to me. High on the wall of a valley just east, I stare out at a view that would make a stoic cry.

 When busy women want to have fun—post-G8 conference or any time—Muskoka, ON is one of Canada’s favourite playgrounds.