Parksville

Nourishing the body and soul

The Grotto Spa provides a meal beyond the ordinary

by Tanya Laing

A great meal is about more than the food; it’s about the experience. And a truly great meal—one that you’ll reminisce about for years to come—should be part of an experience that you’ll likewise always remember.

Such a meal and experience is what my husband, Rusty, and I enjoyed on our recent honeymoon in Parksville at the Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort. The Grotto Spa at the resort features a detoxifying mineral pool and hot tub in the peaceful cave-like basin of the largest spa in B.C. The spa offers several top-of-the-line treatments following the relaxing soak, and the experience is divine. Cascading waterfalls and gentle music create a peaceful ambience, and the detoxifying effects of the pools had the added bonus of stimulating our appetites while seemingly subtracting inches from our soon-to-be-expanded middles.

But the pools and treatments are just the beginning of the experience. Right about the time your body can be described as al dente, your table in the Treetops Tapas & Grill is ready for you.

From the pool, guests can make themselves gorgeous for the restaurant using the spa’s own shampoos, conditioners and body washes. They provide a fully stocked vanity for men and women with hair products, dryers and straighteners, along with any other amenities you might need to prepare for dinner. And then, looking refreshed and relaxed and smelling heavenly, you take the elevator to the third floor for a most unforgettable meal.

There is a very strict dress code in the West Coast-themed restaurant: only the luxurious robes and sandals provided by the spa are allowed. And on the top floor of the building, among the arbutus and fir trees, you sink even deeper into luxury.

A good meal nourishes the soul as well as the body, and our fantastic server, Aaron, acted as our spiritual guide. We were treated to the Endless Tapas Creations, a multi-course meal that features some of the most amazing and tantalizing dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure to sample. Tapas—or “little dishes” in Spanish—are a means of trying out several epicurean delights without committing to one. Perhaps not an apt metaphor for us newlyweds, but we weren’t complaining. Each new platter introduced a flavour that juxtaposed with the last. And as each new sweet or savoury concoction was brought out, Aaron described the flavours we would be becoming good friends with. We tasted everything from a sweet and surprisingly spicy melon gazpacho to caramelized tequila prawn sauté. sAnd after each new dish, we exclaimed that it couldn’t possibly get better than that.

And then it did.

Oh, delicious and exotic blends, how shall I describe thee? Dungeness crab tien, duck breast roulade, grilled peach and Stilton cheese with local greens, pecan and maple glazed salmon, grilled scallops on a red onion and rhubarb marmalade, porcini-dusted sablefish and the new twist on an old favourite—beer-battered halibut with sweet potato chips, served on newsprint—all that and more danced upon our tastebuds, leaving their unforgettable mark. And the desserts! Oh, the desserts. Aaron explained that most of the ingredients are locally sourced and always of the best quality available. And the menu changes several times throughout the year to reflect the seasonal availability of ingredients and to incorporate new ideas and creations into the menu. It’s true: you can taste the quality.

The entire meal took over three hours to eat, not including the hour-and-a-half soak in the mineral pool. When we finally left the spa—heavy with food and drunk with exhaustion and bliss—we did so with the awareness that we had just had one of the best dining experiences of our lives.

RESOURCES: The Grotto Spa

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