The Oak Bay Marine Group is selling its three Vancouver Island resorts — Painter’s Lodge at Campbell River, April Point Resort and Spa on nearby Quadra Island, and Canadian Princess Lodge in Ucluelet.
The properties are being marketed through Colliers International. No asking prices have been made public. The resorts will remain open for business.
“The hope is that a buyer will come forward who shares the goal of providing exceptional vacation experiences — one who will operate the resorts with the same mix of tradition, vision and passion that our current staff exemplify,” Brook Castelsky, chief operating officer, said in a statement Friday.
Bob Wright, who died in 2013, owned the resorts as part of his Beach Drive-based Oak Bay Marine Group.
A strong advocate of sport fishing, Wright played a key role in attracting international attention to the Campbell River area, dubbed the salmon capital of the world, and in promoting B.C. tourism. The resorts were Wright’s dream and passion.
They are being sold so that the company can focus on its core marina business, Castelsky said.
“Without question, there is significant sadness surrounding this decision, but there is also excitement in the fact that this will provide us with the opportunity to return to our roots and to enhance our existing marina business and ultimately grow it throughout the Pacific Northwest. The marina business is where we have considerable experience and expertise.”
In the past 25 years, sports fishing has evolved into the resort business, he said. Painter’s Lodge guests include anglers who go out in rowboats to catch a tyee, a big Chinook salmon weighing a minimum of 30 pounds. John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby were among famous visitors.
The original hotel was destroyed in a 1985 fire. Wright bought the site and rebuilt, opening in 1988. Today, Painter’s has 94 rooms, three restaurants, a choice of outdoor activities and a shuttle across Discovery Passage to the 56-room April Point. Wright bought April Point in 1998 and built a spa.
On the Island’s west coast, the 46-room Canadian Princess fishing lodge is named after the vessel moored nearby. Its onshore lodge offers fishing and wildlife viewing experiences.
The Oak Bay Marine Group’s holdings include the Oak Bay Marina, Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina, Ladysmith Marina and Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort in the Bahamas, as well as Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the Wax Works, and Oregon Undersea Gardens in Newport, Oregon.
Tourism consultant Frank Bourree, of Chemistry Consulting, said the three properties need investment and more aggressive marketing.
The time is right to sell, he said. “We are on the world stage here and those are first-class locations in beautiful settings,” Bourree said.
“There has been so much foreign investment in B.C., this is going to attract a lot of attention.”
He pointed to recent German investment for a majority stake in the Victoria Clipper ferry company, and the arrival of an Australian ferry firm. Both companies are planning Victoria-Vancouver harbour-to-harbour service.
