T+L’s Assessment of Rosemead Home in Victoria, British Columbia

The magnetism of Rosemead Home begins not inside, however at road stage. To achieve the hilltop lodge in Esquimalt, British Columbia, visitors go via the precise Buckingham Palace gates used on the London set of Netflix’s The Crown and climb the tree-lined driveway to a regal porte-cochère and a big manor door.

The Edwardian mansion, initially designed as a personal house in 1906 by architect Samuel Maclure, has lived many lives. Most lately it was the Outdated English Inn: cherished by locals who acquired married or honeymooned there, chastised by a couple of because the Fawlty Towers of the world, and universally identified to be displaying its age. In 2015, Lenny Moy, president and founding father of actual property improvement firm Aragon Properties, bought it and the encompassing land for a master-planned group of heritage-inspired condos referred to as Oakwoods, positioned behind the manor.

Seems, the lodge restoration would turn out to be Moy’s decade-long, antique-fueled ardour undertaking, and it started whereas visiting one in every of his daughters in London who was attending style faculty there. “I began going to auctions, principally just about, and shopping for furnishings slowly,” Moy says. “At first, it was only a few 18th- and Nineteenth-century accent items.” Ultimately, he’d bought from greater than 50 manor estates, film set gross sales, and legendary London accommodations The Dorchester and The Savoy. “I knew I had to purchase 130 p.c to get to a strong 100%.” Crate by rigorously packaged crate, a pair thousand treasures crossed the pond, filling an 8,000-square-foot warehouse at the very least twice over. At this time, round 1,500 of those antiques enhance Rosemead Home the place Moy and inside designer Karen Wichert adopted the phrase “Heritage Meets Discovery” as their north star, mixing previous with current in every single place. The result’s a decadent, fearless, money-is-no-object historic rebirth painted with a maximalist brush.

I’m Rosemead’s very first visitor, staying within the Lancaster Room, which I attain by climbing two units of staircases, one thrillingly slender. With maze-like hallways and no elevator, a information to at least one’s room is crucial at first. (“This fashion, Miss Nanton…”) With peekaboo ocean views, a studying nook, and numerous antiques—together with a tiny classic Royal Crown Derby China seal paperweight from England that I desperately need to take house to my toddler—the 433-square-foot room is comfortable, not stuffy, regardless of its heirloom touches and historic bones.

Without delay I’m wrapped up within the step-back-in-time fantasy of all of it. That vitality hits deepest within the Crown Mezzanine library, simply above the foyer. I sink right into a coral-hued chesterfield chair and search for at a gargantuan fake Seventeenth-century Rembrandt, which doesn’t look faux in any respect. The crimson curtains and podiums adjoining, in addition to my seat, are all from the unique Queen’s bed room set of The Crown. (As Moy tells me later, the portray was additionally bought from a set; Kevin Hart’s 2024 heist movie, Elevate, I study.)

Rapidly at house in my new manor life, I discover the manicured grounds—full with a small amphitheatre that can seemingly host future music performances—earlier than pulling up a barstool at in-house restaurant Janevca’s busy lounge for a pre-dinner cocktail. Sipping a vibrant Amalfi Stone Bitter combined with London dry gin and limoncello, a restored stained-glass window to my left catches the golden hour gentle. It’s one of many authentic manor home windows, making it straightforward to think about a century’s price of visitors sitting proper right here earlier than me doing simply the identical.

Right here, my full assessment and all the pieces it’s essential to learn about Rosemead Home. 

The Rooms

There are 14 rooms within the Manor Assortment, positioned contained in the historic constructing, and one other 14 within the Grove Assortment, in a brand new constructing behind the principle home. The latter are barely extra accessibly priced and 5 are pet-friendly. Lengthy-stay suites with kitchens will open sooner or later. Essentially the most opulent room at Rosemead? The Manor Assortment’s Dynasty Suite, embellished in a full Chinoiserie theme with a vaulted ceiling, staircase main as much as a second-floor bed room, and personal balcony.

“Every suite is sort of a real-life museum,” says Moy whereas touring me via a handful of the 28 rooms, every with its personal UK-inspired title. Edwardian writing desks with intricate inlays, gilded-framed mirrors, and reupholstered classic furnishings dwell in tandem with patterned William Morris wallpaper on the partitions, Ann Sacks basketweave motif tiles on the toilet flooring, and minibars hid inside sideboards from The Dorchester public sale (this fashion, you don’t hear them hum). It’s an in depth mash-up of hues, textures, and patterns, however does not really feel overwhelming. “We actually got down to respect the unique design, including trendy components and layers of shade to evolve it,” Moy provides. To that finish, every room’s distinctive, generally quirky, structure is taken under consideration, just like the Oxford Loft’s sharply slanted ceiling balanced by adjoining bell-shaped chandeliers, or Canterbury Nook’s uncovered timber trusses complemented by a classic wood globe (open it as much as discover a secret bar inside).

Meals and Drink

Alchemic wood-fired cooking is the culinary core of Janevca Kitchen & Lounge, which opened nicely earlier than the lodge in fall 2024 (and is a portmanteau of Moy’s kids’s names: Janelle, Evan, Cailee). It’s helmed by government chef Andrea Alridge, who beforehand cooked at Vancouver’s coveted Savio Volpe. Downstairs there are two occasion areas in addition to a private-dining Granite Room with a rock wall showcasing racks of advantageous wine in entrance of it. Moy has plans to develop Rosemead’s assortment to upward of 6,000 bottles.

Again at Janevca, chef Alridge’s Filipino and Jamaican roots form the menu and a stainless-steel Argentine-style grill burning maple, alder, and applewood is the genesis of most dishes. Once I head right down to dinner, the absolutely booked restaurant buzzes whereas wine director Jacques Lacoste pours me a easy glass of beaujolais and a fuel fire “crackles” close by. The Hokkaido scallop crudo with calamansi citrus and pops of smoky pyanggang sauce was distinctive, whereas the signature half-chicken with siu haau sauce and Janevca crisp is one in every of chef Alridge’s private favorites. For dessert, the Peach Melba is a candy storytelling triumph, as a result of not solely does pastry chef Brian Bradley encase it in a skinny layer of marzipan to look similar to a peach, full with leaves and a chocolate-formed pit, he serves it on historic dinnerware bought from The Savoy, the place Peach Melba was invented within the late-1800s. Are they, maybe, the identical plates the primary Peach Melbas had been eaten off of? The employees can not affirm nor deny, however as I eat my dessert, I feel sure.

The Spa

Rosemead has a two-story Wellness Centre full with a state-of-the-art health club and Peloton bikes. At Salt & Ivy spa, embellished with Himalayan salt partitions and vintage mirrors, I go for an Oceanic Renewal face and physique remedy utilizing native Seaflora merchandise. My therapist buffs and moisturizes my drained pores and skin with nutrient-rich seaweed physique polish and a firming masks earlier than laying shiver-inducing strands of detoxifying recent seaweed throughout my again. It’s all harvested in close by Sooke, identified for its excessive range of 500+ seaweed varieties. Rosemead has future plans to supply seaweed-foraging experiences there in its pristine intertidal zone with Seaflora.

Close by Experiences

Off-property, a 10-minute drive away, examine into Havn, a WWII-era barge transformed right into a wellness spa docked in Victoria’s Interior Harbour. After checking in, I sip a superfood-based Majik Algae Aloe elixir, flip utterly numb from a four-minute chilly plunge, then slather myself with a ladle stuffed with exfoliating salt to heat up. For the subsequent three hours I rinse, sauna, sizzling tub, lounge, and repeat earlier than strolling to dinner at Rabbit Rabbit wine bar, the place government chef Billy Nguyen ( good friend of Janevca’s chef Alridge) plates wonderful French-Asian fare in a room stuffed with vibes and vinyl. In the event you go, ask for a sales space with a Champagne button.

Accessibility and Sustainability

Given its more-than-100-year pedigree, the manor home itself is a heritage-designated property, so these suites are solely accessible by stairs, however the Mayfair Room within the Grove Assortment is ADA-compliant. As for sustainability, the lodge’s park-like setting with 100-year-old heritage timber had been what first attracted Moy to the land, so it was key to carry on to as many as doable throughout renovations and the apartment improvement. To that finish, Garry Oak meadows had been preserved, an on-site nursery was created to transplant timber, and felled heritage timber had been repurposed for Janevca’s eating room tables, wood accents within the spa, and extra. Reclaimed bricks from the manor’s earlier retaining partitions present up within the driveways and but extra brick was repurposed from a constructing in Victoria.

Location

To get to Rosemead from Vancouver, I like to recommend the quickest and most scenic route, a 35-minute Helijet flight direct from Vancouver Harbour to Victoria Harbour. It flies you over inexperienced Gulf Islands earlier than a shocking, get-your-camera-ready coastal touchdown close to downtown Victoria, from which a automotive or Uber whisks you to Rosemead in quarter-hour. Alternatively, visitors can fly immediately into Victoria Worldwide Airport or take BC Ferries from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Victoria).

Positioned within the quiet Saxe Level neighborhood, a keep at Rosemead lends itself to nature walks, not not like a British nation property. I stroll 5 minutes to achieve the craggy cliffs of Macaulay Level Park the place uncommon maritime meadows develop, discovered solely in a couple of coastal habitats alongside southeastern Vancouver Island. Dense-flowered lupin and purple sanicle pop up amongst long-abandoned gun battlements, and I breathe within the salty Salish Sea air as small fishing boats chug by.

Again in my room later, I play into my historic fairytale by writing a be aware longhand on gentle pink RH-embossed stationery earlier than propping myself up on pillows in my studying nook. Positive, I’m scrolling on my telephone, but it surely looks like I am scrolling whereas time-traveling and I’m very into that.

Tips on how to Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep

Rosemead Home will open absolutely to visitors in July 2025, and bookings at the moment are open on-line. Nightly charges begin at $515 for the Manor Assortment and $440 for the Grove Assortment. The lodge will not be but a part of any loyalty or bank card reward applications.

Each T+L lodge assessment is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed on the property, and every lodge chosen aligns with our core values.