Kelowna is a couple of hours outside of Vancouver. I went up for the festival this past weekend…read morewith my team, the Absolute Dragons, and had a blast. I LOVE my team. I'd never been to Canada before but I had a good time, aye. Ok, aye, is an east cost thing but still, Canada is Canada. The festival and the town itself aren't grand but the paddling, mostly decent weather and the interesting mixture of people made up for it. By interesting mixture of people, I don't mean ethnically diverse, but it was something. On our last day, we went on a wine tour. The area is known for its ice wine and I gotta say, I'm not a fan. I like my juice to taste like juice and my wine to taste like an adult drink.

Apparently there is photographic evidence that I also went on this trip. Memories are starting to…read morecome back to me now. I was in Harrisburg, PA for work - holiday kickoff for the call center, back when I worked for Williams Sonoma. On my last day, I drove a van of screaming women thru windy roads and terrible rain to New Jersey to visit our DC. After a whirlwind tour and being shocked at all the broken furniture that gets returned, I hauled ass to the airport only to have my flight home delayed. I finally landed in SFO at 2:00 AM (instead of 10:00 PM) and then I sat in traffic crossing the Bay Bridge cause they decided to divert everyone off the bridge and only let them on via 1st Street. Once home, I had to unpack and repack for a weekend of paddling in Kelowna. The flight was early ... that much I remember and by the time I fell asleep that night at around 10:00 pm, I'd been up for over 40 hours. Chris - who thinks everything is AWESOME, OUT OF CONTROL AND REEEE-DICULOUS, had raved about the Kelowna festival to me for years ... so finally I said YES - let's make it happen. As promised, the race site was gorgeous - clean (but chilly) water against a backdrop that looks sort of like Lake Shasta - green mountains. The races themselves were fine - I don't recall how we did. Probably not amazingly since we were handicapped 6 of our own paddlers. They didn't provide us a host team ... or at least not one that felt compelled to make us feel welcome (we probably got some free pens and notepads from their sponsoring company). They also didn't provide nice tents for us to hang out so our crew gathered up our gear and found a grassy gnoll on which to cop a squat. I remember watching a variety of strangely dressed performers beat drums and dance. I remember beer gardens at noon and walking a really long way back to the hotel. I also recall that liquor stores aren't open on certain days in Canada so I had to stock up and in doing so, I filled 3 bathtubs with beer.

REVIEW FROM 2013- We hear about these sort of places in myths and legends. Down to earth, no…read morefrills, homestyle eateries where the staff treat customers like family, and the meal completes the "at home" feel. When I go elsewhere I'm often disappointed. They have fantastic food, breakfast, lunch, a huge menu full of all your favorites, amazing Cherry Hill coffee, and multiple daily specials to fit any taste. Ive been coming here since I was a toddler and they have never let me down. If they were open later with longer hours, I would never step foot in a fast food or chain restaurant ever again. **** I highly recommend the Toasted Double Club!

I rented 3 beautiful chandeliers for my wedding from Avalon. The entire process was very easy. They…read moreset up the chandeliers in our venue, they worked well (we could dim the lights etc) and were gorgeous. They made the simple room look elegant. Avalon also came in the next day and took them down. I would recommend them!

Avalon was recommended to us by someone who had had a good experience-- ours was not. We rented…read moresome tables, chairs, and wine glasses to celebrate our wedding after-the-fact. The prices are pretty high, and we received smaller tables than we had ordered. Our complaint about this was brushed aside. Would not recommend. We would try one of the many other places in town. --As an update, the owner did contact us to follow up on my negative review... He does genuinely seem to care about his customers and the quality of service at his company!

We rented out a unit through AirBnB as the entire wedding party was staying at this hotel…read more PROS: * Clean apartment. We had a 1 bedroom queen + den (with a full size bed) + pull out couch. * Kitchen fully stocked * Parking space (just one) * BBQ on the patio * Shared BBQ by the pool area (with communal table and chairs) * Coffee house and restaurant/bar on the premises * One block from the beach * 10 min walk to grocery store CONS * Lots of walking from the main entrance * Lots of doors and hallways Since each unit is owned separately, we had a Smart TV in ours, checkout at 10:30am (as opposed to our friends who rented through the Playa del Sol and checkout for them was 10am), and we didn't have to clean up after ourselves since professional cleaning service was coming (but our friends had to wash the dishes, empty their trash, etc. which is something you DON'T want to deal with on vacation). It's a great location and if you get the right owner, it's a great experience and place to stay.

This is not a hotel. Each suite is owned by a different individual and they have the option to rent…read moreit out through West Canadian Reservations when they are not using it. This means that there is no front desk, just an office where you conduct your business transactions. My family stayed here on a trip to Kelowna. On the day our flight arrived, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon in Vernon, BC and didn't get to check in until 11 p.m. The lady in the office waited for us, even though the office is usually closed by that time. She gave us a quick tour and then proceeded to give us our keys. Our suite was beautiful! We got a two bedroom suite, with two bathrooms. It also had a full kitchen, a dining counter and a living area. Our deck had a table, chairs and a grill. Even though it wasn't a hotel, they still provided us with towels and toiletries! Also, we had free WiFi. The pool, hot tub and gym are open until 10 pm, after which, guests will be told by the night guard to call it a night. So we had no obnoxious neighbors disturbing our R&R. It's 10 minutes away from downtown and 5 minutes away from the pharmacy, grocery store, restaurants and some shops. There is a restaurant downstairs called the Cabana Grill, a coffee shop and a spa. If ever I do venture out to Kelowna again, I will be staying at the Playa del Sol again. In fact, I recommended this place to a coworker who is doing the Iron Man triathlon this coming summer. Love it!!!

First time in this cute little place. Reservations are definately a must as it is very busy. Only…read moreopen in the evening. Menu is selective but the food it delicious. Staff is friendly and looks after you well. The duck was a very good choice on a personal level. There is a little bar if you only want t glass of wine to unwind and relax.

I used Details Catering at my venues suggestion for our wedding, they were really helpful in…read moreputting together a menu for the event and accommodating the allergies of some of the guests. We spent a lot of time going back and forth on pricing for the different service styles between buffet, family style and plated and they were helpful in explaining what the price differences were caused by and what the different staffing options were. They also provided a bartender for our bar which was appreciated. I didn't get to eat much of my meal the night of the event but what I did try seemed pretty tasty and they did a good job serving everyone in a timely fashion.

A friend of ours used JD Bartending. Donelle and her team were on time, and executed the event as…read morediscussed prior. All details were achieved and they were professional and fun. Thanks again.

I'd just parked only to see someone packing away the sign that indicates that the cellar door was…read moreopen. That someone looked up and said something like: we're officially closed in about 2-minutes, but since you're already here, I'm sure we can manage a "power-tasting", come with me! Absolutely lovely energy in their new space. Even though it was obviously past closing time, the staff all seemed genuinely happy to be there and willing to assist the handful of customers that were still there, myself and even a couple more late comers. It was such a contrast to the experience I had only a day before when a few friends and I went to Monster Vineyards the day before - they were obviously quite displeased that we'd arrived close to closing and had the gall to ask if we could do a tasting, but I'll get to that review. This experience at Joie Farms was a lovely reminder that not everyone feels like they only should work till the end of their shift and a second more is them doing you a favour. Delicious wine, knowledgeable staff that was enthusiastic and willing to help, and a gorgeous new tasting room - a definite 5/5 experience.

With a view overlooking the valley and Okanagan Lake, the sunshine beamed on us as we sipped on our…read moreGewurztraminer and savoured our Magherita wood fired pizza. Joie Farm Winery calls it the 'picnique' area, which was aptly named. With picnic blankets and comfortable lawn chairs, and mini tables for you to rest your wine glasses, this was the perfect set up for a relaxing afternoon. We also had a wine tasting at Joie. My favourite Joie rosé was already sold out for the season, but I found a new favourite, the En Famille Gewurztraminer. It was so good that we decided to get a bottle to complement our pizza. They are now closed for the season and will open back up in May. I highly recommend coming here for a relaxing afternoon, just sitting in the picnique area!

If your hesitant about ordering balloons/arrangements don't be, this is the store!…read more The owners where very helpful which balloons they recommend, since I'm from Ontario I wasn't able to see the arrangement of balloons, a photo was emailed before delivery making sure I was pleased. The balloon arrangement was delivered for a 25th Anniversary January 5th they are still floating little deflated today(3 months), don't think flower arrangements would last that long!

I cannot say enough about how amazing Hal and his team are at the Tickle Trunk! I was planning a…read moreVERY last-minute event for 200 people and the staff went out of their way to work with me on decor that fit my budget within the short time frame given. The decor far surpassed my expectations and added so much atmosphere to my event. The Tickle Trunk genuinely cares about their customers and the events that they decorate, and they offered priceless advice and assistance with the event itself. As a locally-owned business, you can definitely tell that the Tickle Trunk cares about the community and its members!