Long before barnacles and nettles and sea asparagus became a thing on every trendy menu, Sinclair and Frederique Philip had already gone full-on locavore. It was 1979 when they bought this clapboard farmhouse on a scenic spit in the village of Sooke, about a half-hour drive from Victoria, and welcomed their first guests with goodies foraged from forest, sea, and their vast, fragrant herb garden. Since then, the international accolades have showered down, and in 35 years, the quality and inventiveness have never wavered. The bright rustic-elegant guest rooms are filled with art, stone fireplaces, soaker tubs, and sumptuously comfortable furnishings. Breakfast is served in your room while you enjoy the ocean view. And then there is the incomparable local cuisine. This, right here, is exactly what life on the West Coast was meant to be.