For many of us, the toughest part of planning a vacation is just deciding where to go. He wants to go to a destination where he can relax and unwind with a drink in hand after a relaxing massage. I want to have a backwoods wilderness adventure, surrounded by mountains with no cellphone reception (sorry, Boss!).

My husband and I bounced back and forth on vacation spots for weeks, running through the usual list; Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, New York, Paris, treehouses in Costa Rica and a hiking trip in Oregon. Unfortunately, no amount of negotiation allowed us to settle on a compromise and while we both like to win, we also want one another to be happy with the final decision. Luckily, we finally found the perfect spot - and we don’t even have to worry about the sinking Canadian dollar!

Open from April to October, Echo Valley is a secluded and intimate resort with just 14 rooms, 5 cabins and a Royal Suite, all located on a 160-acre property with 10,000 acres of cattle ranch in the vast Canadian wilderness. It’s the remote, cell phone-free haven that I dreamed of, but it offers so much more than the “cabin in the woods” experience.

Echo Valley offers so much more than the "cabin in the woods" experience.

As the name suggests, Echo Valley Ranch & Spa offers a dedicated spa experience and then some. The ranch began as the home of Norm and Nan and was founded in 1995. England-born Norm was an engineer and businessman who immigrated to Canada in the 1960s. During his business travels he met his now wife, Nan, a Thai woman who was studying in Bangkok at the time. After retiring in 1989, the couple found a spectacular, lush and relaxing property and poured their energy into creating Echo Valley Ranch. What started out as a family home and retreat grew to become a most unusual blend of East meets West; a place where Canadian ranching life meets Thai luxuries befitting royalty. Despite the unusual pairing, the entire experience is seamless and very complementary.

I wanted an adventure that I would remember for years to come.

I wanted an adventure that I would remember for years to come and I got just that at Echo Valley. I went for hikes on the hillsides, by lakes, creeks and waterfalls and I spent an afternoon fly fishing in the stocked trout pond. We even took advantage of the “Gold Panning Excursion” and pretended to be prospectors in the 1800s for a day! I also spent an embarrassingly large amount of time hanging out with the cats, dogs, horses and other farm animals, including Don the Donkey.

Speaking of farm animals, the ranch offers some really incredible horseback riding and, with more than 30 horses, they have a match for riders at every skill level. The guided trail rides are a very special treat and a must for anyone who is visiting Echo Valley. It’s a true taste of Canadian ranch life and the landscapes look even better from horseback.

Echo Valley also offers a host of luxurious amenities and relaxing experiences that kept my husband blissfully happy during our stay, including the Authentic Thai Spa. Hubby enjoyed an authentic Thai massage in the Baan Thai, a magnificent building that was designed by the King of Thailand’s personal architect and built by local contractors from the Cariboo region. He says that the massage was the best he’s ever had and he left feeling very relaxed, like the stress from work simply never happened. I also joined him for daily Thai yoga, which is such a peaceful and invigorating way to start the day.

We both enjoyed the indoor geo-thermal heated pool and sauna, as well as the pool table and darts. The evening entertainment program was a lot of fun and a great way to mingle with other guests and make new friends. Depending on the night, you may find yourself sitting around a campfire (yay!), enjoying a BBQ dinner or authentic Thai banquet, or taking in traditional Thai dancing.

Thanks to the remote location, stargazing is particularly wonderful at Echo Valley and the quiet of the night made for romantic evening walks under the stars.

We even found time to snuggle up in our sumptuous room and watch a Netflix movie on our laptop via the free Wi-Fi.

The food and dining experience was a highlight of the trip.

Above and beyond it all, we both agreed that the food and dining experience was a highlight of the trip, which is truly saying something. All of your meals are included in your stay and the communal dining is a huge part of the fun. As a working ranch, Echo Valley guests are treated to a Farm to Table experience unlike any other, with all cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens being raised on site. The fresh produce is organically grown in gardens on the ranch and everything is beautifully prepared with care by a skilled executive chef as part of the ‘100-metre Diet’. I love great food, but I am not well-known for my cooking and Chef was happy to offer up some tips in the open kitchen so that I can (attempt) to recreate some of his delicious dishes.

As we discovered, Echo Valley Ranch and Spa is a remarkable experience unlike any other in the world. This is a place, a vacation, that needs to be on your bucket list. ‘Why?’ you ask? It’s simple. Echo Valley has everything and ticks every box on our demanding vacation checklist!

About This Article

There are plenty of ways to tell a story online. KelownaNow.com is aiming to deliver more long-form and interactive ways of story-telling. This is the first of a new series of in-depth articles we plan for the community.

Don't worry - your KelownaNow.com experience won't be changing - but we hope to bring you more great collections like this in the future.