Escape to Osoyoos with Watermark Beach Resort

The Okanagan is known for having something for everyone. This is the enticing factor for millions of visitors in a typical year. As different parts of the country are experiencing varying levels of restrictions, I find myself feeling, almost guilty, to be restricted to such a tantalizing area. Residents don’t need to travel outside of the Okanagan to find stunning vineyards, friendly farms, warm lakes, gentle to harrowing hikes, and award-winning resorts. In fact, you don’t have to go further than Osoyoos to experience any of these amazing features.

We had the opportunity to stay at the Watermark Beach Resort on the weekend to celebrate the rebranding of their restaurant, 15 Park Bistro. This property’s location boasts peaceful lake views, a central location to the main shopping street, a fabulous spa, pool with a waterslide, and gelato! It hosts every amenity needed for a romantic getaway, business retreat, family vacation, wedding party, or friend event to make spring and summer memories.

I wanted to slip into holiday mode as soon as we arrived and made my way to the Levia Wellness Spa for a hair treatment and style. Each client gets their own private room, welcomingly decorated. With high quality, organic products, invigorating scents, and the scalp massage of your life, you just became royalty.

With the dry caress of the Sonoran Desert and the sun beating down, the most delicious escape is Roberto’s Gelato located steps from Levia Wellness Spa. Made in house and frequently served by Roberto himself, there’s no flavour he isn’t proud of or that you won’t enjoy. I enjoyed scoops of rhubarb and blueberry while Jake went for the decadent chocolate peanut butter and hazelnut. It’s the perfect treat to take on a walk along the beach.

Our two-bedroom suite had a fully stocked kitchen, view of the lake, TVs in the living room and both bedrooms, two bathrooms with signature robes, and in-suite laundry. If it wasn’t such a beautiful evening I would be content just to unwind in my room all evening long.

Our dinner reservations take us to a table overlooking the lake and grounds of Watermark Beach Resort. I spot the garden nearby where they grow the herbs used in the food and cocktails! We order 15 Park Bistro’s mixologist Kevin Singh’s signature drink, the negroni to ignite our palettes.

15 Park Bistro’s head chef, Nick Atkins personally comes by to approve of our appetizer and dinner choices. My halibut arrives like a gift wrapped in lemon saffron broth and decorated with red beet foam, accompanied by braised fennel and peppers with sprouted grains. Jake goes classic with a BC local beef patty on a brioche bun and parmesan topped Park Fries dipped in black garlic truffle aioli. We don’t even speak for the first five minutes as we revel in our tantalized taste buds.

For dessert we indulge in a few more of Kevin’s liquid suggestions and order the Black Forest White Chocolate Soup, an Insta-worthy dessert of dark chocolate semi-freddo, melted down in front of you by white chocolate ganache and complimented with cherry kirsch compote and cocoa nibs and my taste buds feel like they’ve been dipped in gold before we head off for an equally luxurious sleep.

In the morning I make a cup of tea to enjoy on the deck and enjoy the serenity of the stillness of the lake with a good book. Jake joins me until it’s time to walk back over to Levia Spa for a couple’s massage. The tension is wooed from my muscles by skilled fingers and replaced with the scent of lavender and sage. I’m left feeling light as a cloud of cotton candy and my skin like a sheet of silk.

We’re poolside for the rest of the afternoon until it’s time to return home, which we were never far from to begin with. And yet, this has been a day in Napa Valley, an evening in the Italian Riviera, and a weekend in the Yucatan.

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