Copper Beech House Inn has had a long history of entertaining strangers, and of offering strangers the added pleasure of making instant friends in a relaxed and cozy atmosphere. David Phillips, who was the proprietor for over twenty years, passed on the business to his long-time friend, Susan Musgrave, and her life-partner, Stephen Reid, on July 6, 2010.
Susan, an established Canadian poet, writer and teacher, has lived on Haida Gwaii since the early 70s. She even lived in Copper Beech House, upstairs in “The Secret’s room” back in the day when it cost $1.00 a night, and, if you were lucky, you got a boiled egg for breakfast.
The rates have changed with the times, and so have the pillows, and the fine linens (all new this summer) but the same fine old charismatic atmosphere, a tribute to David’s legacy, remains. Susan and Stephen’s daughter, Sophie, manages the business when the couple is away, and, as one recent guest put it “is making the Copper Beech House Inn over in her most impressive image.”
INFORMATION FOR GUESTS
Our house is wheelchair accessible.
Guests are supplied with a house key so they can come and go at any hour. Check-in time must be confirmed in advance, so we can be at home to meet you.
Check-in time is 3:00 p.m. (We need time to clean rooms, go grocery shopping, do our bookkeeping, etc.) Avoid surprises for yourself and your intrepid hosts by keeping these considerations in mind.
If you require an early or late arrival, we will try to accommodate you. However, it must be pre-arranged. If you arrive earlier you are more then welcome to drop by, introduce yourself(ves) and store your luggage.
Check out time is 12:00 noon.
No smoking in the house otherwise an exorbitant but sadly necessary cleaning fee of Cdn$300 will be charged. But it’s okay to smoke outside on the decks, or on the beach, or by the propane tanks on the docks (just kidding.)
MEALS
We serve an Hundred-Mile-Off-the-Continental Breakfast: coffee, a selection of Murchie’s teas, juice, fresh fruits (including local wild berries, when in season), homemade granola and yoghurt, and a choice of breads, muffins, scones or pastries. Eggs from Meredith’s (Moon Over Naikoon) chickens au naturel - scrambled, poached or fried - are also on the menu.
Breakfast is served between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Please let Sophie know the night before if you wish to have breakfast earlier than 8 a.m.
Sophie will serve a scrumptious three-course seafood dinner for three or more people, upon request (and with advance notice) at a cost of $30 per person. Cory is famous for his crab-fests. Ask about these when you check in (and, of course, if the crab is in season.)
OTHER
In the interest of dispensing with plastic bottles (we have no recycling facilities for these on Haida Gwaii, alas) your bathroom comes equipped with a Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Wash dispenser filled with Sea Wench Naturals – a limited and exclusive (not to mention guilt-free: no small animals lost their eyesight so that we humans could be more beautiful) line of wild and organically grown plants from one of the most stunning gardens in Clayoquot Sound off Tofino, B.C., Sharon Whalen and her partner (a former Haida Gwaiian, Chris Taylor a.k.a. Big Foot - Sharon and Chris met on Haida Gwaii almost thirty years ago) spend their days concocting soaps, shampoo, body oils, pain salves, body lotion, face cream, and much more. Sharon’s also branched out to make a dish soap and a insect repellant ("Bugger Off!") that smells yummy, unless you are a mosquito, a horse fly, a black fly or a no-see’um.
