A Loft with a View
A Loft with a View
When I was young, the majority of my family’s holidays involved long drives and sleeping in our camper. Even when visiting other cities we often found a local RV park and camped rather than any alternatives. Hotels and motels were not a regular occurrence for us. My memories of those trips are all good—kids like to run around and campgrounds are a more suitable environment for that than a hotel lobby.
Now that I’m the parent, I realize how hard it can be to travel with young children and find the appropriate accommodations. Left to my own devices, I would most likely be searching for the local travel lodge and booking some cheesy, fabricated two bedroom motel room. But I’m blessed with a wife who thinks beyond the norm and she has booked us the perfect places to stay for our past two family holidays.
We recently returned from our latest trip on which we travelled to Kelowna BC. Located on the shores of Okanagan Lake, Kelowna is a beautiful mixture of urban landscape and agriculture. Thanks to my wife, we once again had the perfect place to stay.
During her search, she came across A Loft with a View, a loft style bed and breakfast built upon the garage and workshop of Wulf and Joan Gerhardt. Located on the foothills to the southeast of the city, this idyllic place to stay is nestled amongst orchards and vineyards, giving it a wonderful rural atmosphere, while still being ten minutes away from downtown. Their website describes the space in this vein:
At a Loft with a View, you’ll enjoy 1100 sq. feet of bright, spacious comfort and tranquility in a semi-rural orchard setting.
After one week there, we couldn’t agree more.
View
With a name like “A Loft with a View”, the view better live up to the hype. And it does. The deck in this space is located on the north west corner of the loft, giving a full view of the sweeping orchards before you, with the entire city of Kelowna spread before you along the lake.
Kelowna at dusk.
With a view like this, you could spend a lot of time simply unwinding while gazing over the valley.
The Interior
The attractiveness of this space does not stop with the view. The interior and furnishing of the loft are sure to please any travelers. From the Ikea kitchen to the comfortable mattresses, Wulf and Joan have ensured a pleasant experience for their guests.
The kitchen includes a dishwasher and laundry appliances.
Traveling with Children
Any parent with more than one small child knows how many accommodations do not meet the needs of a family. Traveling with small children can be work—hard enough that a lot of people won’t do it, either not traveling at all or leaving their children behind. We want to include our entire family, so it’s important to us to find a space that makes the stay as comfortable as possible.
The loft comes with plenty of sleeping space.
With a couple of bedrooms plus a hidden bed in the living room, the loft here is a great fit for a young family. And with more traditional bed and breakfasts, it can still be a chore to keep the children at an accommodating volume for the other guests in the house (especially during breakfast). But with the loft, you have your own space where you can let your family be themselves.
The Hosts
Lastly, any good b&b comes with hosts that make you feel welcome. The Loft with a View is no exception. Wulf and Joan do a great job of settling you into the space and then making sure you are comfortable for the duration of your stay.
Thanks Wulf and Joan, for a pleasing holiday experience.
If you’re heading to the Kelowna area anytime soon, I encourage to the give the loft a try. Your family will thank you.
The surrounding countryside is a wonderful view, even in the rain.