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Press Kit

Fast Facts

Location:

Villa Marco Polo is centrally located in Victoria, BC. at 1524 Shasta Place, in the elegant Rockland quarter.
Guests can reach Victoria from Seattle or Vancouver by ferry, floatplane, or via the Victoria International Airport. 30 minutes from Victoria International Airport 35 minutes from BC Ferries – Swartz Bay Terminal

Nearby Attractions:

Five minutes’ drive from Victoria’s Inner Harbour, and few blocks from both Craigdarroch Castle and Government House.
Easy access to museums, art galleries, shopping, whale watching, hiking, cycling, kayaking and much more.
Within minutes of the world famous Butchart Gardens and several championship golf courses.

Accommodation:

Each suite features fine European bed linens with down pillows, king-size beds, luxurious tiled bathrooms, loaded iPods with docking stations, hardwood floors, Persian carpets, bathrooms with double soaker tubs, Villa Marco Polo Inn spa robes, adjustable bedside reading lights, and desks with task lighting.
The four beautifully appointed guest suites are each distinctively different:
- Silk Road Suite
  - Vaulted ceilings and hand painted Tuscan murals
  - Amenities: wood burning fireplace, seating area, king-size bed, double soaker tub and separate shower.
- Persia Suite
  - Décor: Persian fabrics, antique furniture and rich hardwood floors
  - Amenities: adjoining sunroom, king-size bed, and bathroom featuring jetted double soaker tub.
- Zanzibar Suite
  - Décor: French doors to Juliette balcony overlooking the gardens, bay window and views towards Olympic Peninsula.
  - Amenities: gas fireplace, king-size bed, free-standing double soaker tub and separate shower with double heads
- Alexandria Suite
  - Décor: Spacious floor plan, with carved Turkish wooden shutters that let morning light in.
  - Amenities: separate sitting area with chaise lounge and writing desk, gas fireplace, king-size bed and double soaker tub with separate shower.
Common Spaces:
- Living Room
  - Warmed by a wood-burning fireplace with carved alabaster mantle, guests gather here before and after breakfast. Also a favourite backdrop for winter weddings.
  - Features a bay window with window seat looking onto gardens.
- Meeting Room (Tuscan Room)
  - Used as a meeting room and dining room for special events with seating for 10-12 or more
  - Features gas fireplace, fine art on the walls, and exquisite Persian carpets.
  - Meeting equipment (ie. Projectors/tv/computer) can be rented and set up for meetings
  - French doors open out onto patio and garden
  - Can be paired with library and Orangerie for break-out rooms
- Formal Dining Room
  - Breakfasts served here daily, and used for weddings and other events.
  - Features Italian crystal chandelier, silk panels, and bay window overlooking garden.
- Library
  - Located on the second floor, the wood-paneled library is a cozy space for guests.
  - Features a wood-burning fireplace, TV and DVD player, iMac, and a refrigerator stocked with drinks. Guests are welcome to the wide selection of books, board games, and movies
Weddings: The Villa Marco Polo is a beautiful location for hosting a wedding and reception. In 2006, over 20 couples chose the Villa Marco Polo to celebrate the most important day of their lives.Ceremony and Reception Locations include:
- Indoor: Grand staircase, hand-carved marble fireplace, bay windows overlooking gardens are all popular backgrounds.
- Outdoor: Lush gardens, stone terrace, reflection pool, fountains, statues, flower beds are all popular areas, with balcony from which to toss bridal bouquet.
Other Details:
- Open year round
- 2 night minimum stay during summer
- Children 12+ welcome
- Pets are not permitted, but are welcome at nearby kennels
Spa at Villa Marco Polo: Located on the 3rd floor, away from all guest rooms, spa-goers will experience a quiet respite, ideal for indulging in hot stone massages, aromatherapy massages, manicures, pedicures and foot reflexology, amongst other treatments. Designed by architect Alan Hodgson, a specialist in heritage building, the space showcases the exposed beams, vaulted ceilings and oak flooring. A hand-painted tile mural, the “Alhambra’, greets with calming tones of green and gold.
- Tub Room: a private room featuring a slipper tub with claw feet offers the perfect opportunity for rinse and relaxation after wraps and mud treatments.
- Massage room: thoughtfully designed to offer a sensual atmosphere for a private treatment for one guest. The two tables also make the room ideal for a couples massage to celebrate a special occasion. Oak flooring and a window seat complete the space.
- TREATMENTS OFFERED:
  - Foot reflexology
  - Aromatherapy facials
  - Massages of different types
  - Hot stone massages
  - Manicures and pedicures

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Story Ideas

New Spa Pampers Guests:

Opened in March 2008, the spa at the Villa Marco Polo pampers guests with a wide range of treatments. Located on the 3rd floor away from all guest rooms, spa-goers experience a quiet respite, ideal for indulging in hot stone massages, aromatherapy massages, manicures, pedicures and foot reflexology, amongst others. Two local product lines, Sea Flora and Silk Road, are featured. Both lines contain a range of local ingredients such as seaweed and kelp (for nutrition), ocean water (for hydration), and essential oils derived from native flowers and plants. Entirely indigenous to Vancouver Island, the Sea Flora line utilizes many varieties of seaweed, glacial mud, and other BC-grown and gathered products. With many top spas featuring this local line of product, the Villa Marco Polo’s spa is taking the concept of ‘green’ to a whole new level.

Explorations Near and Far:

Staying true to its namesake, the Villa Marco Polo Inn’s essence was shaped by travels to far off destinations, just as the explorer himself was. Italian by design, the Villa Marco Polo was built as an Italian mansion in the 1920s, and today is filled with artifacts and keepsakes collected by proprietor Eliza Livingston. Having lived in Persia and the Middle East, she collected oriental rugs, objets d’art, collectables, and décor while on her travels. Today, these items decorate the guest rooms and public spaces of the Inn. The Villa Marco Polo Inn offers guests a rare international experience, where even a one-night stay creates a rejuvenating feeling of having escaped to someplace distant and exotic.

Italianate Weddings:

Built as a gift to a young bride in 1923, the Villa Marco Polo exudes romance at every turn. Many guests have chosen to wed at the Villa Marco Polo, and it’s no surprise why. The romantic Italianate garden behind the Villa offers a beautiful, private locale for ceremony and reception. With four luxurious guest suites for the bridal party, and an array of indoor venues perfect for preparation and receptions, the inn is a bride’s dream wedding location.

Epicurean Weekend:

Some of Victoria’s most charming assets are edible, and a weekend at the Villa Marco Polo makes exploring the culinary treasures of Victoria an adventure in itself. Spend two nights of gustatory magic at the Villa Marco Polo, where a bottle of Vancouver Island wine and artisan chocolates await in your suite. Whatever your craving, the Villa Marco Polo will make reservations to dine wherever you please, fueling your body and spirit for the next day’s activities. After a gourmet breakfast in the sun-splashed dining room in the morning, embark on a guided culinary walk around Victoria, where your guide will unearth the best of Victoria’s tea, cheese, meats and patés, chocolate, special sweets and wines. Back at the Inn, pamper your tired legs with a dual massage in Villa Marco Polo’s brand new spa. With secured dinner reservations at another local restaurant and a final restful night at the Inn, you’ll return home satisfied in every way. Packages begin at $950cdn for two nights in the low season.

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Backgrounder

A leisurely game of bocce, a glass of Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, a stroll past the reflecting pool and fountains in an Italian Renaissance garden, and a tranquil sleep in a lavish suite filled with antiques and fine art. Tuscany or Umbria perhaps? In fact, the exotic Villa Marco Polo Inn is located in Victoria’s elegant Rockland quarter, just blocks from Craigdarroch Castle and Government House. This classically designed Heritage mansion was built in 1923 as a gift to a young bride, and is now one of Victoria’s most sumptuous inns.

Italian by design, the Villa Marco Polo keeps true to its well-traveled namesake and features an exquisite collection of Silk Road keepsakes. The Inn’s proprietor, Eliza Livingston, has lived in the Middle East, and showcases her fascination for these rich cultures by decorating the Inn with oriental rugs, objets d’art, collectables, and décor acquired on her travels.

From the moment you enter the Italian Renaissance style Villa, with its four enchanting suites and generous public spaces filled with art and antiques, you’ll want to take life at a gentler pace. From the Tuscan Room with its exquisite Persian carpet, to the formal dining room with its Italian crystal chandelier, or the sun-splashed Orangerie, this is a place where time stands still. The Renaissance-style gardens lure guests outside to a lush lawn, often used to host fairy-tale style wedding receptions. In cooler weather, guests retreat indoors to the wood-paneled Library, a cozy space complete with wood-burning fireplace, and stocked with books, magazines, and board games, as well as an iMac for guest use.

The spacious bedrooms -- the Silk Road Suite, the Zanzibar Suite, the Persia Suite and the Alexandria Suite -- each offer their own special charm. Double soaker tubs and separate tiled showers, fine European linens, hardwood floors, and premium king-size beds are found in every room. Special touches are the hand-made books, classical works of art, and antiques from the owner’s family collections. With a nod to the 21st century, each suite features pre-loaded iPods and docking stations, wireless Internet and private telephones.

Guests awaken each morning to the aroma of freshly baked breads wafting through the halls. Breakfast is a memorable affair, with four inspired courses changing daily. Freshly baked muffins, such as Buttermilk Ten-Grain Muffins are served with butter and preserves made from Island fruits. A savoury course follows, such as Baked Eggs Florentine. A sweet finale rounds off the meal, treating guests to Caramelized Pineapple Pecan Cakes, or Piping Hot Lemon Lavender Soufflés. Ingredients are locally sourced, organic whenever possible, and of the freshest quality imaginable.

This 5-Star Canada Select Inn is endorsed by Condé Nast Johansens, and by Select Registry, the North American Guide to Distinguished Inns. Rates start from $280 CAD for bed and breakfast during the summer season, and $190 CAD in winter. To experience the enchantment of the Villa Marco Polo Inn, contact the Innkeepers at (877) 601-1524.

Short History of the Villa Marco Polo Inn
The Villa Marco Polo, on a quiet cul-de-sac close to both Government House and Craigdarroch Castle, is located in Victoria’s historic Rockland neighborhood, an area of distinguished heritage homes just minutes from downtown and the Inner Harbour.
In 1923, Major Fred Nation commissioned Percy Leonard James, a noted colleague of the British architect Francis Rattenbury, to design and supervise the building of the gracious residence at 1524 Shasta Place. A wedding present for his beloved daughter, Helen Nation, and her soon-to-be husband, Robert Brackman Ker, this house became the home in which they raised and enjoyed children and grandchildren. Although the south facing facade of the house is classical Georgian, the architecture is remembered more for the north and west facades, as well as the interior spaces, which are distinctly Italian Renaissance.

In 2003, this magnificent property became the Villa Marco Polo, a Five-Star bed and breakfast inn. The name was chosen to evoke the memories and images of the countries along the Silk Road, from Venice through the Middle East to China. Interiors are filled with Persian carpets, exquisite silks, Italian and Chinese ceramics, and fine art that comes from many areas ranging from Venice to China, and points between. A reflecting pool with fountains is the centerpiece of the Italianate gardens, where elegant weddings take place from late spring through early autumn. A sculptured wrought iron marriage arbour is located under an ancient spreading Garry oak tree on the west end of the lower garden. The upper garden, separated by a balustrade, has patio and seating areas, and a stone table where brides and grooms celebrate their unions, cut their wedding cakes, sip champagne, and savour the moments.

Built as a wedding present for a young bride, the Villa Marco Polo continues to be a destination for weddings, romantic getaways, and rejuvenating respites. Victoria has something for everyone, whether a wine tour, a walk on China Beach, a trip to Salt Spring Island’s Saturday Market, or a cycling trip on the Galloping Goose Trail.

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Awards

Rated five stars by Canada Select
Conde Nast Johansens recommended property
Member of Professional Association of Innkeepers International
Select Registry: Distinguished Inns of North AmericaTourism Victoria-approved accommodation
Tourism BC-approved accommodation
Member of Western Canada Bed & Breakfast & Innkeepers Association

Media contact:
Jayne Lloyd-Jones
Spectacular Ink
604.925.8187
jayne@spectacularink.com

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