Afternoon “Tee”^™ – Victoria and Chambers Bay

Highlights

England has long held a fascination for people on “this side of the pond”! Visions of the Queen, Buckingham Palace, London’s beautiful gardens, cool summer temperatures, and, to quote Hugo Drax from Moonraker, “England’s one indisputable contribution to Western Civilization”—Afternoon Tea, cause cravings that for many can only be satisfied by crossing the Atlantic. Or so they thought. Because a convenient nonstop flight to Seattle puts you within reach of a place so quaint and charming that it was practically ripped straight from those visions—beautiful Victoria on Canada’s Vancouver Island. Victoria is incredible especially in summer time with generally dry and sunny conditions and cool Pacific Ocean breezes reinvigorating visitors. Victoria is also famous for it’s stunning gardens and indeed a more flowering city could hardly be found anywhere in the world.

Afternoon tea is a time-honored tradition here, whether in grand royal fashion at the famous ivy-leafed Empress Hotel overlooking famous Victoria harbor or in one of the many upscale local tea rooms in nearby neighborhoods like Oak Bay. Traditional English and Scottish-style pubs are in abundance in Victoria and for good measure, Victoria is also home to one of the world’s best Chinatowns. And for Hidden Links enthusiasts everywhere, Afternoon “Tee” is also a tradition as Victoria offers an array of sensationally superb courses that ooze local England-eque class and charm. From the handsome tudor clubhouse and sublime seaside setting at Victoria Golf Club, to the regal and historic tree-lined fairways at Royal Colwood, to the inspiring scenery and wildlife at Olympic View, a Hidden Links tour that combines both tea and tee is a savory one indeed. Just 25 minutes north of Victoria, you can play a course that is practically on the roof of Vancouver Island, Jack Nicklaus’ Bear Mountain, which offers views of distant Victoria harbor so astonishing that they could hardly be equaled from seat 1A. And speaking of flights, what better way to get to and from Victoria than one of the many majestic float-plane flights that take you from Seattle’s Lake Union near the center of the city to Victoria Harbor, and vice-versa, in less than one hour. This is traveling in style. And to complete your trip in even grander style, include a course that we know holds fascination for every golfer, one who’s setting is every bit as stunning as it looked on television—Chambers Bay! With the sun setting over Puget Sound, there’s no better Afternoon Tee (TM) anywhere.