Where to stay · Nelson
Hume Hotel & Spa
An 1898 grand hotel where the jazz is live, the breakfast is hot, and the spa is downstairs.
what it is
historic boutique hotel (romantic)
the damage
from ~$130/night
rated
★ 4.4 (937)
from Vancouver
~7.5 hours
The Hume has been taking guests since 1898, and after a twelve year renovation that wrapped in 2017 it has settled into the sweet spot between heritage and habitable: original woodwork and artwork on display, air conditioning and dependable WiFi in the rooms. No two of the 43 rooms are quite alike, which makes booking feel pleasantly like a raffle.
You never actually need to leave. Breakfast, cooked hot and free when you book direct, happens in the General Store Restaurant; jazz happens in the Library Lounge; burgers happen at Mike's Place Pub; and the Aura Spa will knead the eight hour drive out of your shoulders. There is also a seasonal beer garden, presumably for anyone who found three venues limiting.
For a date weekend this is the maximal option: you sleep directly above the evening's entertainment and commute zero metres to bed. The one wrinkle is parking, which guests reliably describe as confusing, so ask the front desk before abandoning the car. Rooms run roughly $130 to $220 a night, which for a building older than the highway you arrived on feels about fair.
The setting
Corner of Vernon and Ward streets in downtown Nelson, one block up from Baker Street, with Touchstones Museum steps away and the whole heritage downtown inside a five minute walk.
Getting there
Drive Highway 1 to Hope, then Highway 3 east through Manning Park, Osoyoos and Salmo: about 660 km and 8 to 8.5 hours over seven mountain passes, winter tires legally required east of Hope in season. No ferries involved. Hotel parking confuses people, so ask the desk when you book.
good to know
Why it works
- Free hot breakfast at the General Store when booked direct
- Live jazz in the Library Lounge
- Aura Spa massages one floor from your bed
- 43 individually renovated heritage rooms
- Mike's Place Pub and a seasonal beer garden