Resort History

Born from humble beginnings in 1946, Tigh-Na-Mara, Gaelic for “House By The Sea,” has evolved from a single tent into one of the premier all-season destination resorts on Vancouver Island. The picturesque 22-acre property with towering Douglas fir, cedar and arbutus forest, is perched above three kilometres of sandy beach with panoramic views of the Strait of Georgia.

Today, our unique property features rustic charm in the heart of nature with 192 handcrafted log guestrooms, full service Grotto Spa, awarding winning dining in our two signature restaurants, fitness facilities, and the most extensive resort Recreation Program on Vancouver Island. If business in the heart of nature is on your agenda, come utilize one of our 12 meeting rooms offering 10,000 square feet of flexible event space, featuring both indoor and outdoor venues.

Throughout the years, we have listened to our guests in order to further enhance their experiences and we are extremely excited by what the future holds. In June 2016, we completed a milestone renovation of the Ballenas Oceanview building and the Gabriola Oceanview building was completed in July of 2017. Our renovations continued in 2018 in the heart of our house with a 1.5 million dollar renovation of our Cedars Restaurant kitchen. The new layout and stone oven  add to the culinary offerings including take out stone oven pizza and rotisserie chicken. In 2021 we renovated the exterior of the Texada Building and by July 1st 2023 we will have completed renovations on the interior of the Texada Oceanview Rooms.  All Oceanview rooms have air conditioning.

There is excitement among our team members as we continue to enhance our resort, focus on our guests’ experiences and create lifelong memories for many years to come.