After spending a month visiting Washington state, it was time for Shae, Truffles and I to make our way up to state 45 of our 50 state road trip – Alaska. Along the way we stopped for six nights in Osoyoos, Canada to stay at Spirit Ridge Resort – a property I’d had my eye on for years.
I forget exactly when and how I first came across Spirit Ridge, but I was immediately taken by it. All the rooms at the property are 1-3 bedroom condos or villas with a full kitchen, the hotel is home to the first indigenous-owned winery in North America, there’s a museum on site where you can learn more about First Nations history from the local area and more.
Sometimes when you have in mind how great a hotel will be, it can be disappointing if it doesn’t live up to the expectations you’ve hyped up in your mind. Thankfully that wasn’t the case with Spirit Ridge – we had a truly wonderful time.
In addition to those selling points listed above, the grounds were beautiful, service was very good, the food and wine was excellent, views were superb and so much more. Here’s a review of our stay at Spirit Ridge Resort.
Getting To Spirit Ridge
In case you’re not familiar with Osoyoos (I certainly wasn’t before our stay), it’s in British Columbia on the western side of Canada, just a couple of miles across the border from the US. It’s about 3.5 hours northwest of Spokane, 5 hours northeast of Seattle and 4.5 hours east of Vancouver. The closest major airport is Kelowna which is about two hours north of Osoyoos.
When driving up the hill towards Spirit Ridge, you’ll be greeted by the Chief sculpture which looks out over Osoyoos Lake.
Check-In
The hotel’s private road runs through the middle of the resort, so you drive to the end to check-in at Spirit Lodge. The parking area for the lobby is to the right of the Hunter sculpture which also acts as a roundabout.
Don’t unpack your stuff though because that’s just where the lobby is; your suite or villa will be located elsewhere on the property.
Spirit Ridge is part of Hyatt’s brand called The Unbound Collection. I have Globalist status in the World of Hyatt program (which is their top tier of elite status) and as a result I’m eligible for suite upgrades when checking in. I wasn’t sure exactly how that would work at Spirit Ridge seeing as all the room types there are – at a minimum – one bedroom condos, but we were given three different upgrade options by the kind front desk agent.
I can’t remember what the first option was, but the second was a two bedroom penthouse suite with no view and the third was a one bedroom villa with a lake view. We weren’t too sure about the layout of the hotel at that point, but the agent seemed to indicate that the one bedroom villa with a lake view would be his choice, so we decided to go for that. He didn’t steer us wrong as you’ll see shortly!
After giving us a map of the property (you can see that a couple of photos up), he gave us our room keys. At Spirit Ridge, your room key is actually a room wristband. To open your door, you just hold the black part up to the door sensor and it’ll unlock. It was nice and convenient having our keys be wristbands as it meant we always had them on us. They were comfortable to wear and I never noticed it around my wrist when walking around.
One Bedroom Villa With Lake View
There are five buildings containing suites/condos, most of which have been given plant names. There are then several groups of villas, each of which have been named after a type of wine. We were in Villa 14 which was one of the Merlot villas and was on the ground floor.
When entering our villa the kitchen was on the left, the living/dining room was straight ahead and to the right, while the bedroom was also off to the left.
Living Room
The living room had a comfortable sofa, an armchair and coffee table. Opposite the sofa was a desk with another chair, with a wall-mounted TV above a gas fireplace.
There was also a dining table with four chairs at the other end of the living area. A welcome gift awaited us – a glass bottle of still water and a bag of dried apple chips with cinnamon. The welcome note had another guest’s name on it; the front desk agent later came by to apologize because our welcome gift and note had been in our originally-assigned room before we’d chosen the villa as our upgrade. I wasn’t at all sad about that though because it meant we got a second bag of the apple chips which were delicious.
My favorite part of the entire villa wasn’t what was inside though – it was what was outside. The living room opened out on to a patio area that had tremendous views of the hotel’s vineyard and Osoyoos Lake.
The patio itself had an electric grill, outdoor table and chairs and a giant bathtub.
Back inside, there were two closets next to the kitchen. One had an iron, ironing board and dustpan and brush in it…
…while the other had a washer and dryer in it – a fantastic amenity to have in each condo or villa.
Kitchen
The kitchen was a great size, with a full-size fridge-freezer, microwave, oven, dishwasher and double sinks.
The kitchen was also incredibly well-equipped with everything you could possibly need. Pots and pans, many plates and bowls, silverware, cookware, cooking utensils, grilling items, blender, etc. There was even a teapot which, being British, I appreciated as that’s not something you’d find at resorts in the US (or none that we’ve ever been to anyway).
Bathroom 1
Our villa had two full bathrooms. One was just off the kitchen and featured a walk-in shower.
Bedroom
Also just off the kitchen was our bedroom which had two queen beds.
The beds were very comfortable and the blackout curtains did a good job keeping things dark.
Opposite the beds was a small dresser with a TV on top.
To the right of that was a closet which contained a safe, luggage rack and a couple of soft bathrobes.
Bathroom 2
The bedroom area had its own sink.
To the right of that was the second bathroom which featured a bath tub with a shower. Both bathrooms had large bottles of wall-mounted toiletries.
Overall, we absolutely loved the villa. It was extremely spacious for the two of us; even if there were four of you, I imagine it would be plenty comfortable. It was very clean, the views of the lake were stunning and I was particularly impressed with how well-equipped the kitchen was. Some hotel suites that feature kitchens only provide two place settings, but this contained six place settings – not to mention all the other cookware available.
Breakfast
Spirit Ridge has one restaurant. It’s called The Bear, The Root, The Fish & The Berry and is named after the Four Food Chiefs of the Syilx People. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but we only ever ate there for breakfast seeing as we had our own kitchen.
Breakfast is available from 8am-11am, something I adored as I tend to be a late riser. Breakfast isn’t complimentary for guests unless you book a room rate with that included or you have Globalist status with Hyatt. I have the latter, so when checking in we were provided with six breakfast coupons – one for each morning of our stay. Those were valid for up to two adults and two children and included a breakfast entrée each as well as non-alcoholic beverages. One of the nice things about complimentary breakfasts for Globalist members is that it also includes a gratuity for your server.
Due to how long we stayed – and the dates that we stayed – there were three different breakfast menus during our time there. n.b. the prices you’ll see on the menus are in Canadian dollars; at the time of our visit in May 2024, $10 CAD = ~$7.25 USD.
At the weekend, there’s a brunch menu:
On that day both Shae and I were tempted by all kinds of options on the brunch menu. After chatting to the server, the steak and eggs won out for both of us as he mentioned that it wasn’t an option on the weekday menu. This was delicious and our steaks were cooked to perfection. The restaurant also provides house-made jelly to go with your toast.
During the week there’s a regular breakfast menu.
Most mornings I ordered The Big, Kind of Big, Somewhat Really Big, Good Breakfast. With sausage, bacon, beans, eggs, potatoes, salad and toast, it always set us up for the day. It also meant oftentimes I didn’t need lunch as we ate a late breakfast.
I had a work meeting one morning during breakfast time, so I asked Shae to order me their Farm’ouse omelet to bring back to our room for me to reheat later. This was very tasty as well.
We also happened to stay at Spirit Ridge over Mother’s Day. On that Sunday the restaurant had a brunch buffet which was fairly pricey. Thankfully those with Globalist status get that free too!
Nk’Mip Cellars
As mentioned at the start of the review, Spirit Ridge Resort is home to North America’s first indigenous-owned winery. It’s called Nk’Mip Cellars (pronounced Inkameep) and is at the far end of the resort next to the hotel lobby.
You check in at the winery desk (not the hotel front desk) when entering, but pay later on once you’ve done your tasting. On the way over to the tasting area we spotted a mosaic on the floor representing the Four Food Chiefs – The Bear, The Root, The Fish & The Berry.
The wine tasting experience costs $5 CAD (~$3.65 USD) and includes your selection of four 1oz pours. Something that’s nice about doing the wine tasting is that proceeds go to the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre (more about that later) to help preserve the Okanagan language.
Shae and I picked four wines different from each other so that we could try each other’s, thereby trying eight wines total. All the wines were very good, with the Syrah being our favorite.
After doing the tasting, we both decided to get a glass to enjoy outside overlooking Osoyoos Lake.
Amenities
Swimming Pools
There are two separate swimming pools. There’s an adults-only pool and whirlpool at the end of the resort near Spirit Lodge and the winery. Both the adults-only pool and the family pool were nice and warm.
On the other side of the private road running through the property there’s a family pool available. This features not only a pool, but a whirlpool and water slide too.
The family pool area is open from 7am-10pm and has a stand with plenty of towels available, as well as a drinking water dispenser to help stay hydrated.
Games
Just outside of the family pool area are some table tennis tables and cornhole boards.
Fitness Rooms
There’s a fitness room next to the adults-only pool. To be honest, I was a little surprised at how small it was because there were only a few pieces of cardio equipment inside and no weights.
However, when exploring the property a bit more I noticed that there was a second fitness room by the family pool too. This one had a teenie bit more equipment as well as weights.
Bikes & Electric Scooters
Next to Spirit Lodge (the building where the lobby and restaurant are located), there were Sparrow bikes and electric scooters available for rent. The QR code on the stand links to sparrowscooters.ca which then redirects to wwwsparrowscooters.com which is missing a period after www, so the website you want is here if you want to find out more.
Solterra Desert Spa
Spirit Ridge has a spa called Solterra Desert Spa. We didn’t get any treatments during our stay, so I can’t attest to the price and quality of the treatments.
Fire Pit
Another feature just outside of the family pool area is an ornate fire pit (something the hotel calls a ‘fire cauldron’ which is much more impressive sounding!) and some outdoor seating.
Market
If you need any snacks, freshly brewed coffee, souvenirs, etc. during your stay, there’s a small store on site called The Market at Spirit Ridge.
Sonora Dunes Golf Course
For those of you who like golfing, there’s also a golf course on site called Sonora Dunes. I’m not much of a golfer and so I didn’t play a round, but I imagine that it’s a pretty course to play on considering its setting.
ATM
In case you need any cash during your stay, there’s an ATM in the lobby.
Grounds
One of the many lovely things about Spirit Ridge Resort is how pretty the grounds are. It has a mountain backdrop, with a vineyard out front with views leading down to Lake Osoyoos. Guests are free to walk through the vineyard whenever they want.
There are several gateways into the vineyard as you walk through the property. Some of these gates can be fairly heavy, so you might need to give a stronger push or pull to enter/exit than you might originally anticipate.
Although the buildings are somewhat spread out, it’s not an enormous resort. It therefore only takes something like 3-4 minutes to walk from one end to the other.
Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre
I mentioned earlier that proceeds from the winery’s tasting fees go towards language preservation at the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre. That’s a museum located at the entrance of the hotel and is open every day from 9am-4pm.
The museum offers self-guided tours where you can learn more about the Okanagan people.
In addition to all the exhibits you can read, there’s a video that plays inside a replica pit house that tells about a legend of the coyote.
There’s then an expansive area outside with trails leading around, a pit house, tipi and more. Be careful though – there were signs warning that rattlesnakes could be around.
Northern Lights
We got incredibly lucky with the timing of our stay. Back in May 2024, many locations in the northern hemisphere were treated to the Northern Lights as a result of a geomagnetic/solar storm. The fact that we were so far north meant that we were particularly fortunate with the experience.
Shae and I arrived at Spirit Ridge in the afternoon before the Northern Lights would become visible. We weren’t sure if we’d be able to see anything, but we headed out into the vineyard at about 10pm in the hopes we’d catch something. Boy, were we treated!
At about 10:15pm, we were able to catch some of the effects on our phone. At 10:50pm though, the full display began. It started off with what looked like a waterfall of color cascading overhead. The colors were more vibrant on our phones than we saw with the naked eye but despite that, both Shae and I were wowed by what we saw pouring down above us.
The display went on for at least two hours, with different colors, patterns and effects.
While we were out in the vineyard, we noticed that our Google Pixel 6 phones (affiliate link) have an astrophotography setting that lets you capture time-lapse images. We put that to work and managed to take some short footage as an additional memory from the spectacular evening.
Spirit Ridge Pet Policy
Spirit Ridge is a pet-friendly hotel. Only some of their rooms allow dogs though, so you have to select a pet-friendly one or two bedroom suite or a pet-friendly villa when booking.
The pet fee at Spirit Ridge is $33.90 CAD with tax (~$24.65 USD) per night. That’s a little higher than we would’ve liked to pay for having Truffles with us seeing as we stayed six nights and so it cost us close to $150 USD. Having said that, it’s not extortionate either. If you only stay one or two nights, your pet fee would be lower than at properties that charge a higher pet fee per stay rather than per night.
The property is great for walking your pup around, with many grassy areas along sidewalks. Dogs are even allowed in the vineyard; just be sure to keep them away from the vines when doing their business as no one wants to drink pee-not noir 😉
On the western side of the property there’s an enclosed dog park where you can let your dog off leash.
When checking in we were also given a small bag for Truffles containing a ball and treat.
Service
The service at Spirit Ridge was very good. The servers at breakfast were all kind, as were the front desk agents. We declined housekeeping during the stay, so I can’t comment on that for during our stay, but our villa was perfectly clean when we arrived.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is complimentary for all guests. The speed was very good and I don’t think we ever had any connectivity issues. I don’t know if it’s the same for suites, but inside our villa there was a Wi-Fi network specific for our villa (Merlot 14) with a password for us to access it.
Check-In & Check-Out Times
Check-in at Spirit Ridge is from 4pm, while checkout is at 11am.
Location
Osoyoos has an almost-desert climate, although it gets a little too much precipitation each year to officially be classed as a desert. However, it does mean that it ends up being the warmest place in Canada, with summer temperatures reaching 100°F at times. Even when we visited in the first half of May, it ranged from 76°-87° every day for all six days that we were there.
The resort is only a short drive from Osoyoos Lake. The town of Osoyoos is also much larger than I’d anticipated, with several grocery stores, many restaurants and an abundance of wineries. Osoyoos is therefore a popular location for Canadians to visit, with tourist season apparently picking up from Victoria Day in the second half of May. It therefore seemed like we visited at the perfect time – perfect weather during our stay, but before tons more people descended on the town.
Parking
Parking is complimentary for all guests. There are a few different parking lots, so which one you use will depend on which part of the resort you stay in.
Cost
Spirit Ridge Resort is part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt. It’s a category 4 property in the World of Hyatt program which means it costs 12,000, 15,000 or 18,000 points per night depending on if it’s at off-peak, standard or peak pricing respectively.
For our dates it was 15,000 points per night for the first two nights (it was nice that it was standard pricing even though it was Mother’s Day weekend), with the remaining four nights being 12,000 points per night. For the first night we redeemed a category 1-4 free night certificate from my Hyatt credit card, then used points to pay for the rest.
The cash cost of our stay would’ve been $234.24 per night with tax for the one bedroom suite we’d initially booked. That means we got 1.8cpp (cents per point) of value by using points which is good value, but not as high as we might sometimes look to get from Hyatt points. It looks like the villa we were upgraded to would’ve cost ~$100 per night more.
Final Thoughts
Spirit Ridge is a wonderful property. Our villa was fantastic, with plenty of space and it was extremely well-equipped. The views all around the hotel are lovely, there are both adults-only and family pools, the on-site winery is excellent, service is good and its location puts you close to everything to do around Osoyoos.
We’d happily return there in the future; we just need to find an excuse to come out that way again.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles gives the hotel four paws out of four – pawfect! Although the pet fee was a little higher than we would’ve liked for a longer stay, it was a nice, quiet hotel with all kinds of space to walk Truffles around in.
Our Rating
Room = 5 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.9 / 5
Food = 4.6 /5
Location = 4.7 / 5
Service = 4.5 / 5
Overall Value = 4.4 / 5
Total = 4.68 / 5
Address
Spirit Ridge Resort, Rancher Creek Rd, Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V6, Canada
The bears are out in Snowmass and Aspen Colorado!!
What is the monthly cost day from mid Feb – mid April for a 1 bedroom condo.
You can check prices here https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/canada/spirit-ridge/ylwub