We start with a hotel not technically on Vancouver Island, but only a stone’s throw off its southeastern coast. Salt Spring Island is easily reached by ferry from Vancouver or Victoria, though feels remote indeed. The artistic community of Ganges is a charming small town, and a short walk from the town center is Hastings House, which feels for all the world like an English country-house luxury hotel transported to British Columbia’s Gulf Islands.

Not far from the docks where boats depart for whale-watching and grizzly tours on Campbell River’s Discovery Passage, the stylish Naturally Pacific Resort rises up on the edge of a golf course. Its modernist structure, built of sustainably sourced wood and stone, features floor-to-ceiling glass windows to make the most of Vancouver Island’s natural beauty; its interiors, in keeping with the theme, showcase life-sized nature scenes captured by a local photographer.

Tofino is the more famous (and built-up) of the two, but nearby Ucluelet, on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island, shares the same spectacular setting. The Cabins at Terrace Beach benefit from an extra measure of seclusion — not only is the property remote, tucked in between a deserted beach and the Wild Pacific Trail, but each one of its outlying cabins, whether at the water’s edge or deeper in the forest, feels like a self-contained escape.

Built in a spectacular spot a short drive north of Victoria, Villa Eyrie is something unusual: an homage to the luxury villas of Italy, but with a view not of Lake Como but of Saanich Inlet and the mountains of lower Vancouver Island. Most surprising of all is the restaurant, Alpina, whose chefs trained in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, and whose dishes craft classic European flavors from native British Columbia ingredients.

On the theory that there are enough rustic, woodsy old lodges in coastal British Columbia, the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort opted for a more contemporary approach; they hired a big-time modern design firm, the Vancouver/Seattle–based VIA Architecture. It’s a decision that would have to be judged a success; the result is a hotel that’s not just stylish and comfortable, but quite close to the cutting edge in terms of sustainability.

By now you know that it’s hard to imagine a place more spectacular than the west coast of Vancouver Island, where the Wickaninnish Inn sits between a lush old-growth forest and a mile-long beach, just minutes from the township of Tofino yet remote enough to feel like the edge of the world. Here, a cut-rate motor inn would probably attract a devoted following; fortunately there’s a world-class hotel to match the inspiring locale.

Set on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island, in a spot reachable only by boat or seaplane, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge is certainly secluded. But life here is far from primitive. Guests come to Clayoquot to immerse themselves in nature while also treating themselves to more than a little bit of unpretentious luxury. The spacious canvas tents are a throwback to centuries past. Think Victorian summer vacations or British explorers in Africa.

Victoria is something of a throwback to the era with which it shares its name, the sort of place that puts the British back in British Columbia. And a block from the scenic Inner Harbour is the Magnolia Hotel & Spa, a lodging that, for all its newness, is equally at home in the 21st century and the 19th. In spite of a slight tinge of grand-hotel formality, the Magnolia is a modern boutique through and through.

Despite its island location, Victoria has its own version of the railway-style grand hotels that span Canada from coast to coast. The Fairmont Empress is patterned after the French-style Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, but in this most English of Canadian cities it’s got an identity all its own. It’s the most luxurious hotel in town, and its position facing the Inner Harbour makes it an unmissable fixture in Victoria’s downtown city life.

We conclude with another hotel not on Vancouver Island proper, but just off its northeastern shore, on Sonora Island. Sonora Resort is the only hotel on the island, and reaching its front door is appropriately adventurous, whether by seaplane over Desolation Sound or via by boat from Campbell River. While most make the trip here to see humpback whales and black bears, the fishing lodge-turned-luxury resort, with its mineral pools, fly-fishing ponds, and gorgeous spa, is a destination in itself.