Spies! Intrigue! At the Best Western Lodge?? 21 years ago my husband and I had just settled into our room. It had been a long day. It had been the best day of our lives. We had just gotten married. A knock sounded at our door. We answered it with curiosity as only one other trusted person knew where we were. We received the bottle of champagne with some misgiving. Who could have sent this? Who else knew we were here? Upon inquiry, we learned that a tall, dark, handsome male had requested the champagne to be sent to us. That description fit 3 people who had been part of our wedding. We were sure not one of them would send up champagne just to wish us well. What was going to happen next? A few minutes later, we heard a knock on the neighbouring door, only to be followed by an “Oh, I’m sorry” spoken by none other than my younger brother. Realizing his mistake of incorrectly identifying our room, he proceeded to knock on our door. We opened the door to find, not only my brother with a somewhat sheepish grin on his face, but also two of my bridesmaids, my sister-in-law and my young niece!!!! They had followed us all the way from the reception just to find our wedding night location. They had then positioned themselves strategically throughout each floor of the lodge so they could see which room the champagne would be delivered to. They burst into our room extremely pleased that they had accomplished their mission. Amidst all our laughter, they piled onto our bed for a quick snapshot before they made a hasty but triumphant exit.
Our never –to-be-forgotten stay wasn’t over yet…the next morning as we prepared to join our family for church, I realized I needed to iron my clothes. The bathroom was occupied but I really needed some water for my iron. Conveniently, I thought, there was half a glass of water sitting right there on the table. I dumped the water into my iron and proceeded to iron my clothes. A few minutes later, my new husband came and asked if I had seen a glass of water he had placed on the table. When I told him I had put it in the iron, he carefully examined the glass. I knew there was something wrong when he took the iron and carefully examined that also. Unknown to me, he had placed his contact lenses in that glass of water the night before!! To his credit, he did not say a discouraging word to me—we were, after all, newlyweds!

We are about to celebrate our 6th Anniversary on Nov 7th. We met Ball Room Dancing at group Salsa lessons and by the end of the first lesson Martin asked me for coffee to hear more about my recent trip to Europe. We seemed drawn to one another and at the end of a Friday night lesson some of the group were not ready to call it a night, so we decided to head to the Vernon Lodge for some appetizers and drinks. Martin and I sat next to each other enjoying the company and park-like setting under the trees in the center of the lodge. As the evening went on we all chatted about a new move we had learned in Rumba lessons and next thing you know we were all partnered in the open floor area fine tuning the new move. By the end of the evening we had named that move "The Vernon Lodge" and call it that to this day. We continue to enjoy dancing several dance styles and Martin's project at the moment is making a "Ball Room" in our basement with a disco ball and all.

I was born in Kelowna in 1975 - very close to the time that the Vernon Lodge first opened. When I was a child, my parents were always looking for adventures that we could undertake as a family. During the summer months, adventures abound in the Okanagan with beaches, camping, hiking all but a short drive away. But once the temperatures cooled, finding affordable weekend adventures was a bit more challenging. Sure, we took advantage of the outdoor, wintery playground by cross-country skiing, skating and tobogganing, but my siblings and I knew we had really hit the winter adventure jackpot when our parents whisked us off to the Vernon Lodge for a weekend getaway. I remember that for we three kids, the experience was all about "the jungle". Sure, we loved the cozy rooms and the delicious food, but what nurtured our imaginations and created wonderful lasting memories was the courtyard - with pathways that seemed to run endlessly in every direction and a tropical oasis pool in the middle. From the early 80s on, we enjoyed many weekend escapes at the Vernon Lodge - and now, as I am about to turn 40 this upcoming year, I am settled back in Kelowna with my wife and two daughters, and we have resumed the tradition of family adventures at the Vernon Lodge. As I watch my girls climb into those giant armchairs, giggle in the pool, and explore "the jungle", I can't help but reflect back on my own childhood memories and feel thankful for the precious past and present experiences enjoyed there. It makes me wonder if one day, my daughters might bring yet another generation to escape in the wonderful adventures at the Vernon Lodge.

Memories, hmmm, got to Love them, ha ha
My best and most wonderful memory of my stay at the Best Western Lodge, would have to be when my best buddy got married, oh say about 24 years ago, wowsers I am getting old, haha.
Anyway I was part of the wedding party, and you can imagine what the dresses looked like back then, shoulder pads and all, lol, and home made to boot. haha
At least the color, Royal blue satin was awsome, the bow, pretty funky, haha
but a fun night was had by all, haha.
My friend had her wedding and reception at the lodge as well we all had rooms there, no drinking n driving there, haha.
everything was a smashing success, the lodge was so professional and courteous, a great time was had by all. The ceramony was nice, the food was terrific, and the party, yahoo, haha I really Loved the courtyard with the pool and all the plants, spectacular, and so that is where we did the photographs,
Best night ever at the lodge, memories to last forever,

My wife and I have 2young boys and not much of a social life. 2 years ago we decided to rent a room at the lodge for new years. Since we couldn't get a babysitter we brought the kids with us as well as a few friends and their kids. We rented courtyard level rooms and had a blast. The kids got to go swimming and hottubbing and when bedtime came about, we were able to put them down and socialize outside the room as there are patio tables everywhere. The staff was great to us and let us ring in the New year in the courtyard so as not to wake up the kids, but we were still close enough to deal with them if any issues arrived. It was the first new years we rang in with friends in almost 2 years and we had a blast. Can't wait to do it again!

My husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary on Sept 2. Well actually, we didnt get to celebrate as he works out of town and wasnt here. When we got married in 1989, the place we chose to stay on our wedding night was the Vernon Lodge. We thought it was such a great place to stay. Wouldnt it be great when he gets back to go spend the night there again and celebrate 25 years of marriage???
Thanks for this great contest
Gisele

My husband and I have many fond memories of the Vernon Lodge! We have been regular customers for 15 years or so! We used to come for drinks with our volleyball teams after games. We have spent countless hours having fun at various events in the ballrooms. From Suds N Cider, to Christmas parties, to Pamper Your Palate and many luncheons. The staff are always very friendly and efficient. Recently my husband surprised me with friends in the restaurant for my birthday! The day before our 5th wedding anniversary we had an enjoyable lunch at Checkers. Later that afternoon I went into labour and our son was born the next day (on our anniversary, which also was his due date!) This year we are celebrating our 10th anniversary. We would love a night out at the Vernon Lodge to help celebrate this milestone!

About 6years ago my boyfriend and I were enjoying a dinner at the Best Western Vernon Lodge.I left the table for a moment .While I was away two ladies from a table close by asked my boyfriend , "Did you just propose?" His response was "No." Those two ladies must have saw something special there because a couple months later he proposed. We just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on September 5th 2014.

I was born and raised in Vernon and had many dinners and brunches at the Vernon Lodge throughout my lifetime. I celebrated many milestones there including my high school graduation, going away parties, friends weddings and even had dinner with my family there to celebrate my graduation from University. When I was little we would have dinner in the restaurant and I would always imagine what it would be like to swim in the pool there. In all these years I have never had the opportunity to spend the night at the hotel or swim in the amazing pool! I would love the chance to check that wish of my list!!!

Our 42nd anniversary is coming up on July 29th and we would love an opportunity to enjoy all that the Vernon Lodge has to offer. My husband won a weekend pool side guest room stay there for Valentine's Day in 2000, but for various reasons, we were never able to make use of the gift certificate (it is now a bookmark in one of my cook books), so a stay at the Vernon Lodge would be wonderful.

I remember this was my dads favourite place for Sunday brunch when we were growing up.
We loved that they would bring out the chef to your table to whip up the caesar salad fresh in front of you. Doesn't take too much to impress the kids! Lol.
We would wander around in the "jungle" while we waited for the rest of our meal.

Born and raised in Vernon my earliest memories of The Vernon Lodge were of the stately historical building that used to grace that site - beautiful! In the new Vernon Lodge I remember feeling grown up with magical evenings in the courtyard listening to Pia and Audrey and other artists amongst the tropical setting, in the Disco dancing the night away, attending weddings in the ballrooms, sharing a few jugs with my ball team after games, a few more with my workmates after work. I first saw KD Lang in that very ballroom and was wowed by that performance. I've attended benefit dinners, dropped in on visiting friends and relatives to share the pool and hot tub experience with them. I've won silent auction bids for a nights stay even though we lived right across the street and loved every minute of our stay-vacations in that hotel. I greeted old friends at my 10 year high school reunion in the ballroom. Christmas dinner has become a bit of a tradition for us - amongst the twinkly lights :)
The highlight - my husband Reg and I married on May 5, 2001 in that very magical courtyard. We were told that no one had requested that before but as we love the outdoors but wanted to guarantee the weather - the obvious choice (to us) was the courtyard and the staff went out of their way to make our wedding perfect. Friends reserved a room for the evening prior to on the ground level, Reg and I had only to walk across the street from our home to go and prepare for our moment. I walked down the aisle escorted by my two brothers to meet my husband below and say our vows- it was beautiful. We laughed afterwards because the only hitch in the whole event was the pool was not emptied for the time of the ceremony, which neither Reg or I noticed but our guests had to strain to hear the ceremony over the splashing sounds from the pool. We were married, served a spectacular champaign buffet breakfast and were on our way to Mexico that very afternoon. I'll never forget it and I'm so glad for the opportunity to sing the praises of this hotel.

My grade 3 crush and I were married on August 2, 2009 at the most beautiful Best Western Courtyard in Vernon.

The staff on the amazing day went above and beyond anything we had imagined. The space was set up with chairs awaiting our guests. Our backdrop was the beautiful foilage and lights.

Once the ceremony concluded our wedding party and guests enjoyed drinks around the bar. The staff transformed our space for a fun and loving reception.

My husband and I spent the first night as husband and wife in a gorgeous suite overlooking the pool and courtyard. We took the walk to our suite slowly as we knew that this night was magical and special and time would fly by.

My husband and I will be celebrating our fifth anniversary this August 2. We have tried (time permitting) to enjoy our wedding anniversary and revisit those special memories at the very spot we were married.

The staff will ask "What we are celebrating?" We explain our story of our night and the start of our marriage in the courtyard.

To this day some of the staff remember our wedding day. We were the first wedding to take place in the lower part of the courtyard.

Thank you Best Western, Vernon Lodge, for the memories of our special day and the start of our marriage.

A Night to Remember
at Vernon Lodge
Granny Awards

Two years ago I celebrated my seventieth birthday by inviting only our eight grandchildren, ranging in age from two to eleven to a Granny Award’s birthday
party at the Vernon Lodge. The only adults at the party were my husband Pete and my friend, Ellen and her husband Garth, who was the DJ for the evening.

My birthday is in April so we began preparations for the party in late February around the time of the Academy Awards, which gave us the idea for the Granny awards. Early we decided we would like to have the party at the Vernon Lodge.
I met with Mark Nahirny to made arrangements for the event and confirmed the date and the room for the party.

In early March we sent out invitations to the grandchildren inviting them to the Granny awards dinner and dance at the Vernon Lodge.

During the next two months I often met with Mark, who was most helpful in planning the activities for the party. The chef and the kitchen staff were involved in the planning and a special buffet dinner was arranged for children. Mac and cheese were centre stage at the buffet table.

The night of the party the children dressed in their finery; the boys in shirts and ties, with their hair greased and the girls in party clothes. The children could hardly believe their eyes when a white limousine arrived to pick up them up. When they pulled into the Vernon Lodge they were met by paparazzi (the parents) who took pictures of the famous guests arriving for the Granny Awards.

The children made their way through the Vernon Lodge to the ballroom where there was a red carpet to walk on as the came through a rose covered arbor. The two tables looked elegant, as Vernon Lodge staff had set the tables with white tablecloths and black napkins. There was a dance floor set up and balloons throughout the room. There was a photo booth, where pictures could be taken of the famous guests, a craft table to make special photo frames and a punch table with frothy pink punch, which was a favourite throughout the evening.

The birthday guests circulated throughout the room, dancing, having their pictures taken, doing crafts and sipping punch until dinnertime. Then they enjoyed the buffet dinner often going back for seconds of their favourite dishes. Throughout the evening the staff treated them like very important people.

At 7:30 the parents arrived and the Granny awards ceremony began. Each child was recognized for his/her significant theoretical contribution in our family; i.e. best director, best screen play artist, best playwright, best actor and actress. A drum roll announced the winners for each award. Each contestant was featured in a short video and then they were called to the front and Grandma announced why they were chosen and gave them an engraved trophy. The children were spellbound as they listened for their name and in the middle of the presentations, Leah, the four year old yelled, “Stop Grandma, stop! I have to go pee!” and on the way to the washroom kept looking back and hollering “Stop, wait for me!”

After the party was over the families stayed at the Vernon Lodge for the night so in the morning everyone could enjoy a swim in the beautiful pool at the Vernon Lodge.

Two years later grandchildren still ask me, “Grandma, when are you going to have another birthday party?” Grandma’s birthday party at the Vernon Lodge was a night to remember!

Our family moved here in the 70's and we had stayed at the Vernon Lodge during the move. As a welcome, they had offered our family to enjoy the pool any time that we wanted. We even stayed there other times as a 'staycation'. I would love to have my parents stay there again for a night-away!

I wanted to make my darling's birthday extra special: this was the first one that we celebrated together in our new hometown of Vernon, BC.

We had heard about a restaurant that had a creek running through it and were intrigued. It didn't take long to find the BX Creek Bar and Grill and make a dinner reservation.

They seated us right by the creek. The flowing water was both soothing and invigorating. A live musician played folk and rock songs while we celebrated, dined, and were treated royally. The wine and food was superb, exceeding our expectations.

After dinner we went to Checker's Lounge, where The Shawn Lightfoot Band was rocking out with classic Neil Diamond songs.

Shawn and his band kept digging into the rock and country hits from 10-1:00 without a break! We danced and enjoyed his show: it was one of the best I have seen/heard. He and his mates are a very talented group.

At 1:00 we called a cab home. It was a fabulous birthday and night out. We promised to come back for all birthdays at the Vernon Best Western Lodge.

The creek courtyard to me is the most beautiful place with the loveliest ambiance I have ever been in. In 1974 I graduated in Vernon the year the they built the lodge, I thought then it was a wonderful place not knowing then, that it would be my favorite place in the world to visit. I met my friends in the 70's and 80's their often when I returned to visit, then my special wedding july 1, 1978 was the best time ever. Every time I look up at the rooms a warm glow reminds me of the wonderful times we had. I will definitely be there for my 40 wedding anniversary. The good old summer curling days, it was so much fun. My grad reunions have been in the ball rooms and this year being our 40 year celebration, everyone is booking in. I have since moved back to Vernon in the late 80's and every chance I get I meet friends in checkers and ever anniversary and celebration I enjoy my special times in the courtyard. I look around at the most beautiful place in the world to me, and it is right here in VErnon. My favorite time is December when I now take my grand daughter and we have our birthday lunch together. She is also in awe as to how beautiful, and I tell her it will always be a special place to remember and for many years to come.

Almost 26 years ago my husband and I married and combined our families, consisting of my 4 children and his 1 daughter. We married on a budget, obtaining permission to be wed in a tiny church whose use has changed hands many times over the ensuing years. We had our reception in our back yard and managed all the food ourselves (I made a large carrot cake for our wedding cake!) As the evening wore on in our living room, my brother in law and my husband's parents passed us a card in which was a confirmation of our night in a suite overlooking the pool for that night! What a wonderful surprise! Our plan had been to get the kids to bed and get up early enough to head out to the cabin we had rented on OK Lake for the ensuing week. This also included my sister and brother in law and their 2 kids as well as my parents, so a large gathering in said cabin, with neither indoor plumbing nor electricity! It was such a treat to spend this last night before our "honeymoon" in such absolute luxury! Totally unexpected and completely enjoyed! Since then we have celebrated many special occasions over the years with dinner among the beautiful plants and stream in The Lodge. (And we now have 9 beautiful grandchildren to adore, as an extra bonus!)

Honestly my best memory of the Vernon Lodge was a few years back when my daughter graduated and I took my family including my mom and gramma for the big Graduation Dinner. It will be a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life, My grandmother passed away shortly after that and one of my sons who was present at the celebration recently passed away too., So that was one of the few times we were all together, very greatful for this memory.

I have so many Beautiful Memories of taking the family for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinners. Also the romantic dates with the wife at the pub and restaurant. We love the botanical garden, water stream, and sunlight in there. As well as always wanted to go in the pool. That would be very cool to win this Prize. Gotta love love and nights at your hotel would be So Nice. Hope it's a jacuzzi suit. But I say baggers can't be choosers. Love that place. Thank you.

Carly and I booked our wedding at the Vernon Lodge ballrooms. Sept 2002. 140 friends and family. It was an amazing evening. The food was excellent. A friend, who worked there at the time, attended bar and nailed all the drinks perfectly. To cap it off we had a suite there. Was a great evening altogether.

Since arriving here July of 2003, The Vernon Lodge is our hideaway from the world! My hubby and I have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and come for work dinner/dances here. We migrated here to Vernon from the Coast in 2003, to assist my husband's parents and when they moved to their apartment, Mom donated her very large plants to your Lodge. It is very sentimental for us, as Mom as now passed away, so every time we come to celebrate we often think of her and how she loved tending to her plants with such care, just like everyone else in her life.

On Valentine’s Day 23 years ago, my now husband took me out for a “wonderful” seafood dinner in the Best Western’s restaurant. He pulled out a wind-up heart that came across the table to me.
Robyn was our server and still a friend.
We were going to leave and he said “I want to show you something!”
He took me to a wonderful room overlooking the garden and creek. He had gone to my place and packed an overnight case for me. What an amazing surprise! The staff were great.
We now have been married 21 years and always go back to the Best Western.
I recommend the hotel to all our friends and family and eat there often.
Thank you Best Western for being there for us!

Lesley Clark

11 years ago tomorrow I had a life altering experience at the Best Western (PLUS) Vernon Lodge. It was Saturday April 26, 2003. In Ballroom #3 there was a charity bachelor auction to benefit a camp for local hearing impaired children.

I owned a pet sitting business and had a 65 year old client who was a widow with an incredible sense of adventure and humour. Mrs. M thought this might be a good way to meet a new companion and I thought it would be a great source of entertainment. Together with two girlfriends who were vet assistants we headed out for the evening. And what an evening it was!

Mrs. M got the party started when she won the bid on one of the first bachelors on the block. For $50 spent she received a rose, a date for the rest of the evening and a gift certificate at a local restaurant to share with her bachelor, if they both chose to see each other a second time.

Mrs. M was then bound and determined that I also needed a companion especially as I was recently divorced. Having no desire to "go there" I was content to watch the action and share a lot of laughs with my friends. That was until the second last bachelor of the auction made his appearance on the cat walk and as cheesy as it sounds, it was love at first sight. After a heated bidding war for which I had to borrow the cash from my girlfriends to pay, I won bachelor #40!

We immediately hit if off and had our first date the very next morning for breakfast. During the last 11 years we cohabited, got engaged and then got married, and it still feels like love at first sight!

Thanks Best Western (PLUS) Vernon Lodge for my destiny!