If you love all things Pacific Northwest than Tofino is the type of place you probably dream about visiting too. We went ages ago for a family wedding and have been meaning to revisit ever since. So when I kept seeing Pacific Sands Beach Resort featured in contests on Instagram, I got it in my head that I wanted to see what this place was all about. After 3 days I can tell you that we were completely happy with our accommodations and the Tofino beach location of this resort. It was a really perfect place for our WHOLE family.
Why Book a 3 bedroom Suite at Pacific Sands Beach Resort if you are on a multigenerational trip?
Our family is usually two kids, two grownups and a small yorkie poo pup. On city vacations where we tend to explore all day and come home late we can all fit into a typical hotel room but for a place like the beach where we might lounge around a little more we like a little more space. So three bedrooms is the perfect room setup if you have grandparents along. The view from the 2nd floor building where our 3 bedroom Suite was located was stunning-if grandparents don’t want to walk to the beach or have limited mobility they can still take in the waterfront Tofino beach views. The second bedroom where the kids slept had bunkbeds and a view of the ocean too. The rooms were spacious and well organized. We noticed nearby Cox Bay and Long Beach Lodge also had similar beach views to our resort but Pacific Sands Beach Resort was the only one with a 3 bedroom suite when I was trying to book.
This trip we needed to be more aware of accessibility, and I forgot to check if there was an elevator at this resort beforehand. Thankfully it turned out that there was even an accessible parking spot almost right beside the elevators. This made our room very easy to get to and still have a great view.
Is the Pacific Sands Beach Resort in Tofino pet friendly?
It is so important for us lately that Scout can come along on many of our trips. We were able to pay a small pet fee to bring Scout along and he had such a great time on the beach at this resort. There are pet-washing stations and there was a pet blanket and food bowls in our room too. Scout loved all the places we could explore and so many of the popular trails in this area are also dog-friendly which doesn’t always happen in outdoor places. It was nice to be able to bring Scout along. Dogs are supposed to be leashed on beaches in this area and that was fine with us because Scout is an eagle magnet and we saw a few of those circling us too.
And other thoughtful details?
The Pacific Sands Beach Resort was one of the most thoughtfully laid out condos we’ve visited in all of our years of travel and it made for an easy winter beach trip kind of like our last winter trip to Seabrook, WA. There were lots of areas for storage, like cubby holes in the bedroom for storing bags, hooks for hanging up towels and jackets, and shelves near the sink for storing toiletry bags. There were ample dish detergent tablets for the dishwasher and it was easy to request new towels and kitchen items. I liked that soap was in dispensers in all the bathrooms instead of in individual containers-this is so much more environmentally friendly. There were even rain jackets to borrow to wear walking on the beach if it stormed.
The Trail down to Pettinger Point is a gorgeous walk at sunset and the path has nameplates from past guests and people celebrating milestones (engraved planks currently cost $150-200) that are fun to read as you walk towards the point where people sit and say goodnight to the sun.
Places Nearby Pacific Sands Beach Resort for Food
Having a kitchen is one really great thing about renting a 3 bedroom suite at this resort. But Tofino is also known for its food and having a kitchen makes it really easy to get takeout. The onsite restaurant at the resort is very casual and has outdoor seating. We ordered burgers and fish and chips one afternoon and everything was carefully packed for us to eat and enjoy in our kitchen. Someone recommended the fish and chips here to us and they were very scrumptious.
A five minute drive from the Pacific Sands Beach Resort will get you to the original Tacofino truck. Tacofino is now a multi-restaurant chain that we’ve visited in Vancouver too. The fish tacos here are really tasty and my family also enjoyed the vegetarian burritos. Chocolate Tofino is here too and somehow we missed getting ice cream but we bought some delicious chocolate. We also visited Tofitian Coffee a few times during our stay. They have great sweet and savory pastries (they also have gluten free and vegan options) and their coffee is really tasty too.
We met with dear friends on the beach at our hotel and they brought us ALL the pastries from Ouest Artisan Patisserie. They were so good I needed to stop by and get more. This trip we missed out on eating at Wolf in the Fog and Sobo so we’ll have to go back. We tried a new food truck called Toki Doki at the Tofino Brewing Company and sampled a flight while we waited for our food too.
We loved so much about this relaxing trip to Tofino in the winter. And hopefully one day we’ll be back in the summer again.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)