Travel

Accent Inns Vancouver Airport hotel shuttle van
Accent Inns Vancouver Airport hotel offers free shuttle service

At Accent Inns we are in the travel business. We thought it might be fun to provide stories about our travels, our guests travel experiences, tips and tricks. You never know what you might learn or where you might want to go.

 
 

Taking the Plunge in a Turkish Bath

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

Part One - Jordan

Olive Baptista is a Specialty Tour, Luxury Trains & Cruise Consultant at UNIGLOBE Geo Travel in Nanaimo as well as an intrepid traveler and adventurer.  Olive shares her adventures on a recent trip to Jordan and Turkey.

Ephesus Gals

I just returned from a great tour of Jordan and Turkey where I traveled with a group of lady friends who are very adventurous and always eager to see and do things. Both countries offer a wide range of places to visit and explore,a  variety of food and fabulous  shopping . Some of us had visited India together in 2011 and hence I was aware of the things to add in the itinerary for each day.

Our flights were out of Vancouver so we headed out the night prior and stayed at the Accent Inn Vancouver Airport . The friendly and helpful staff makes it very convenient for a stopover.

Soon after our arrival Wadi Rum and a ride in the desert up and down the dunes in an open jeep got the adrenaline flowing. Some of us jumped out of the jeep and tried to walk up the dunes. The sand was heavy and the trudge up was exhausting. It was fascinating to see the young guide run up. We felt age was definitely catching up with us as our steps were slow but sure.  Read more about this amazing trip

 

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The Blue Roof Believes in Green

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

We are all trying to be “greener” at home but what about when you travel? Staying in a Hotel like the Accent Inn in Victoria BC  can be a real treat but Hotels are often culprits of excessive waste production. Serving thousands of guests a year, it’s hard to provide the amenities that people want and expect without sacrificing the environment. However, hotels can take action to make operations more sustainable, resulting in large-scale waste reduction.

 

“It’s a family belief that we just don’t waste”, Mandy Farmer, President & CEO of Accent Inns

 

Green hotel actions include:

  1. Offer recycle bins throughout the hotel, including in guests’ room
  2. Provide our guests with reusable items such as ceramic cups for coffee
  3. Educate our guests so that we don’t wash towels after every use via good signage that express our water saving effort.
  4. Install low flow showerheads, toilets and faucet aerators
  5. Use non-toxic cleaners that are natural and biodegradable
  6. Use soap dispensers instead of individually packaged soap (saves on packaging waste)
  7. Install energy efficient LED lighting throughout the hotel (LED bulbs use a fraction of the energy and save on costs)
  8. Use bike racks and employee engagement to encourage ridership by both staff and customers. Biking is one of the best ways to tour and experience a new town
  9. Educate our staff about sustainability!

 

So the Accent Inns with our famous blue roofs sincerely believes in being GREEN.

 

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Hash House Harriers

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

Have you ever seen a group of totally diverse and unrelated people running madly about, following symbols marked in flour and shouting nonsensical terms like “On On?”  If you have, they would have been Hash House Harriers – an International Drinking Group with a running problem.

Although I had actually heard of this group, I didn’t really understand what they were all about until I experienced my first Darkside, Leapday, After Dark Run on Feb 29th.

I went expecting an athletic adventure, possibly a race.  What I found was a totally quirky activity that was as much social as athletic.  The group consisted of both genders and ages ranging from late teens to seventies and even a few dogs.  The only thing that many people seemed to have in common is that they had either worked or studied in at least one other country. Read more

 

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Travelling with your Grandchildren

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Grandkids helping Granpa to load car

This is a great time in our lives when we’re able to travel on our own as well as go on trips with our wonderful grandchildren. We can include the kids parents (our children) or not, and gear our travel and activities to our grandchildren of all ages. Sometimes the kids are even more well behaved without their parents! However having the parents included is less responsibility on us and creates great quality family time. The grandchildren are so appreciative and it is absolutely fantastic to strengthen our rapport with our younger generation. The wonderful memories created on these trips will stay with them for the rest of their lives, and long after we have gone.

Most grandparents are a little intimidated about keeping the youngsters occupied, so I have
attempted to list a number of activities at all our hotels throughout this magnificent province of ours. The only thing you have to do is match up which activities are most appropriate for the ages of your

Grandparents & Grandkids enjoying an outing

grandchildren and then call our central reservations and book your trip.

Read more about fun travelling tips with your grandkids

 

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How To Eat Breakfast In Your PJs

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

I have a kitchenFirst of all, I need to make something perfectly clear. I DO NOT COOK! The only reason that I have a kitchen is that it came with the house. It is full of cooking machines that simply confuse me. So, given this information, you may wonder why I am telling you about the kitchenettes at Accent Inns.

Well – I actually like to book a room with a kitchenette when I travel. Not because I am planning to create gourmet meals in my room BUT because I like to have fresh milk for my coffee, yoghurt for my breakfast and occasionally I like to make toast and fry an egg. In fact, I prefer to drink my coffee and eat my breakfast in my room while still in my PJs. ...read more on the advantages of a kitchenette

 

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Act like a local in Victoria: 10k fun-runs, ice cream, coffee and the beach

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Mandy,bikeandAccent

 

Guest Blog by Nevin Thompson

If you were returning to home with your active, outdoorsy family after spending nearly a decade overseas as an expat, where in Canada would you choose to live?
For us the choice was simple: wherever there was no snow in the winter and no rain in the summer, which left us with just one choice out of all of Canada. Victoria, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, north of Washington State’s majestic Olympic Mountains, has pretty much the best weather in Canada. On top of that, there is lots to do here, especially if you enjoy the outdoors. There’s a reason why Victoria is ranked as Canada’s fittest city. ...read more on local Victoria activities

 

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Saanich Cycling Festival and More

Monday, May 28th, 2012

Saanich-Cycling-FestivalThe perfect time for a cycling festival is a sunny spring day in Victoria and that’s what we had for the 2012 Saanich Cycling Festival. This festival included all the right ingredients – a family bike ride as well as a kid’s route, entertainment, a bouncy castle, food and a good assortment of displays relating to cycling.

As a Bike Friendly hotel, Accent Inns was proud to be a sponsor for this fun event that attracted a large number of people, bicycles and family pets.

The children were kept busy with a treasure map requiring them to get stickers from various sponsors while adults visited the display booths and listened to music provided by Flat Rabbit and Bijoux du Bayou. ...read more on cycling in victoria

 

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President & CEO says, biking to meetings is easy!

Friday, May 18th, 2012

Accent Inns President makes it look easy

Bike to Work Week is coming up and I often get asked the question, “How do you bike to work when you’re a business person? I don’t have a shower at work and I have appointments that I need my car for. I just can’t do it”.

Of course you can! First off, why on earth do you need your car for appointments?  I ride my bike to meetings and I swear I get there at least 10 minutes before everyone else because I didn’t have to find parking, fiddle with the meter, and then hoof it to the appointment.  The door to door advantage of a bike is huge, not to mention bypassing all the traffic. ..read more on riding your bike to work

 

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We Should All “Be A Tourist”

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Sidney Mus Lego ExhibitVictoria BC along with several other jurisdictions puts on a great event every year called “Be A Tourist in your own Hometown”.

Here in British Columbia we are blessed with the most wonderful surroundings which comes with the fact that we can expect many visitors such as relatives, friends and tourists. Have you ever been challenged with thinking where do I take my cousins or where should I tell my Mother In-Law to go? (don’t answer that). Have you been walking somewhere in our city and a visitor has come up to you and asked for directions? Are you a front line employee who gets asked for suggestions of things to see? OK, time to do your research and visit some of those great attractions that you haven’t been to in years or perhaps you’ve never been before. The cool thing about this homework is that it’s actually fun! ...read more about being a tourist

 

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Ever been to a West Coast Snowball Fight?

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

 

Snowball fight in the West

Westcoast snowball fight, not what you think!

What does a snowball fight look like in Victoria or Vancouver? Well, you get a small group of people,dress the men in funny pants, give them each a bag full of sticks with bent ends and some small dimpled white balls and then release them onto a Golf Course. That’s right! On the West Coast we consider the golf ball a reasonable replacement for a snow ball.

And while we do like to believe that it never snows here, the fact is that it rarely snows and our Golf Courses are open year round. In fact winter golf is often less expensive and less crowded. ...read more about golfing in the winter on the west coast

 

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