If you’ve spent any time in the Pacific Northwest food scene over the last forty years, you know the name. Sooke Harbour House. It wasn't just a hotel. It was a pilgrimage. People flew from London and New York just to eat carrots that had been pulled from the dirt twenty minutes before dinner.
But then, it vanished. Sorta.
The white clapboard house at the end of Whiffin Spit Road became more famous for lawsuits than for its legendary copper-pot-cooked seafood. For four years, the windows were dark. The gardens, where Sinclair Philip once grew every edible weed imaginable, went quiet. Honestly, most people thought it was gone for good, a victim of the kind of "garden-variety bullying" and financial chaos that usually kills legendary institutions.
It’s back now.
But it’s different. If you’re looking for the 1980s version of this place—the one where you’d spend six hours on a "Gastronomic Adventure" tasting sea urchin and gooseneck barnacles—you need to adjust your expectations. The new era of Sooke Harbour House is a $14 million bet that people still want luxury on the edge of the world, even if the original founders are no longer at the helm.
The Wild Rise and Ugly Fall
You can't understand why people are so obsessed with this place without knowing about Sinclair and Frederique Philip. They bought the 1929 farmhouse in 1979. Back then, "farm-to-table" wasn't a marketing buzzword; it was just how they lived. Sinclair had a doctorate in political economics from France and a flat-out refusal to serve anything that didn't grow on Vancouver Island. No lemons. No olive oil. If it couldn't survive a B.C. winter or be plucked from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it wasn't on the menu.
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It worked. The New York Times called it one of the best restaurants in the world.
Then the 2014 financial crisis ripples finally hit. Debt piled up. They tried to sell, and that’s when things got weird. A man named Timothy Durkin entered the picture. What followed was a "six-year odyssey of lies" (the judge's actual words, not mine) that eventually saw the Philips evicted from their own home by an interim injunction.
By the time the courts finally awarded the Philips $4 million in damages in 2020, the hotel had been sold in a foreclosure. The couple who built the legend walked away with basically nothing after taxes and legal fees. It’s a heartbreaking story that still hangs over the property for many locals.
What the $14 Million Renovation Actually Bought
The new owners, IAG Enterprises (and more recently a partnership with Krystal Growth Partners and Catalog Hospitality), didn't just slap a coat of paint on the walls. They spent three years gutting the place.
The Sooke Harbour House resort reopened in late 2024 with 28 rooms that feel less like your "grandmother’s cozy attic" and more like a high-end West Coast boutique.
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- The Rooms: Almost all of them (27 out of 28) face the ocean. They kept the wood-burning fireplaces, which is a huge win. There is nothing like the smell of real cedar smoke while watching a storm roll in over the Olympic Mountains.
- The Tech: They added voice-activated controls and high-speed Wi-Fi. It’s a far cry from the "no smoking, no phones, just nature" vibe of the old days.
- The Layout: There’s a new wedding pavilion and a massive outdoor patio that can seat 125 people.
One thing that hasn't changed? The view. You’re still looking across the water at the jagged peaks of Washington State. You can still see bald eagles hunting from the Douglas firs on the property.
The Food: Is it Still "The" Sooke Harbour House?
This is the part everyone argues about on Reddit and in local coffee shops. The signature restaurant is now called The Copper Room.
In the Philip era, the menu was a challenge. It was experimental. Today, it’s more accessible. You’ll find sockeye salmon crudo and Dungeness crab bisque, but you’ll also find a really good burger and fries with black garlic aioli.
For some purists, this is a betrayal. They want the five-hour tasting menus that felt like a religious experience. For the new owners, it’s about survival. You can’t run a massive resort in 2026 on sea cucumber and lichen alone. They’ve added "Buck-a-Shuck" Tuesdays for oysters and "Wine Wednesdays" with half-off bottles. It’s a move to bring in the locals, not just the wealthy tourists from Toronto.
The kitchen is state-of-the-art now. They’re still sourcing from Metchosin farms and using Vancouver Island meats (shout out to Two Rivers), but the "hardcore" locavore restrictions have softened. You can get a lemon in your drink now.
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Should You Actually Go?
Honestly, it depends on what you’re looking for.
If you want a museum of 1980s culinary history, you’ll be disappointed. That era ended in 2020. But if you want a luxury basecamp for exploring the rugged west coast of the island, it’s hard to beat.
The Whiffin Spit trail is right outside the door. It’s a 1.5km gravel path that sticks out into the harbor. It’s the best place in Sooke to watch the sunset. You walk past the hotel's garden—which they are working to restore to its former glory—and out toward the lighthouse.
Pro tip: Book a second-floor Deluxe Suite. The views are better than the ground floor, and you get the soaker tubs. If you're bringing a dog, the first-floor rooms have direct garden access, which is way more convenient for those 6:00 AM walks.
Actionable Steps for Your Trip
Don't just book a room and hope for the best. Sooke is a specific kind of place, and you need to play it right.
- Check the Fireplace Status: They offer "fireplace service" where the staff helps set up the wood-burning fires. Use it. It’s the best feature of the rooms.
- Reservations are Non-Negotiable: Even if you’re staying at the resort, The Copper Room fills up fast, especially on Tuesday (oyster night) and Sunday. Book your table when you book your room.
- Explore the "Old" Sooke: If you want a taste of that hyper-local, wild food vibe that the Philips started, head over to Wild Mountain restaurant nearby. Many locals feel they’ve picked up the torch that Sooke Harbour House dropped during its closure.
- Timing Matters: Sooke is legendary for its "fog-ust." If you want those clear views of the Olympic Mountains, aim for late September or early October. The light is incredible, and the summer crowds have thinned out.
The Sooke Harbour House resort has survived more drama than most hotels see in a century. It’s not the same place it was in 1995, but in a world of generic glass-and-steel hotels, a 1920s farmhouse with wood fires and a view of the Pacific is still something worth visiting.
Check the current seasonal menus on their official site before you head out, as the kitchen is still heavily influenced by what's coming off the boats that week. If you’re planning a wedding, the new pavilion is a massive upgrade over the old "tents on the lawn" setup.