Where to stay · Tofino & Ucluelet
Long Beach Lodge Resort
Fireside armchairs aimed squarely at Cox Bay's surf break, with hot tubs waiting in the trees.
what it is
oceanfront resort + surf club
the damage
from ~C$344/night in low season; oceanfront rooms typically from ~C$488
rated
★ 4.6 (810)
from Victoria
~4.5 hr by car
Long Beach Lodge planted itself on Cox Bay, Tofino's most consistent surf beach, then built the Great Room, a wall of windows pointed straight at the break. The armchairs by the fire are the best seats in Canadian surfing: you sip something local while wetsuited beginners a hundred metres away discover what the Pacific thinks of their plans.
The 41 lodge rooms look at the ocean; the 20 Rainforest Cottages hide in the trees behind, with two bedrooms, kitchens, gas fireplaces, and private hot tubs, so you can steam yourself beneath actual rainforest. The Surf Club runs lessons and rentals, then finishes you off with a hot pool and a cedar sauna, which after West Coast water feels less like luxury than medicine.
Cox Bay sits about ten minutes south of town, which sounds like a flaw and is really the point: sunset, surf, and dinner in the Great Room without rejoining traffic. In season the SandBar Bistro pours licensed drinks on the beachfront patio Thursday through Monday, noon to eight, in case the armchair queue runs long.
The setting
Beachfront on Cox Bay at 1441 Pacific Rim Highway, between the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve boundary and downtown Tofino, roughly a ten-minute drive from town.
Getting there
Same-island drive from Victoria, no ferry: Highway 1 to Nanaimo, Highway 19 to Parksville, then Highway 4 west through Port Alberni, about five hours all told. The lodge is right off the Pacific Rim Highway just before Tofino. With the regional bus suspended, a car is effectively mandatory out here.
good to know
Why it works
- Great Room windows facing the Cox Bay surf break
- Rainforest Cottages with kitchens and private hot tubs
- Surf Club lessons, hot pool, and cedar sauna
- Seasonal SandBar Bistro on the beachfront patio