bhrubin

Thanks for the great review, ridefar. This is definitely my kind of remote luxury retreat destinations...but alas, its lack of air con scares the bejesus out of me. Jade Mountain in St. Lucia and Mnemba Island in Tanzania showcase the same issue for me.

I don't often agree with robyng but I confess to being with her on this one about no air con. Especially for the rate they're charging, I cannot risk it being warm and being unable to sleep comfortably. I envy those who don't need air con.

Otherwise, this place looks as fabulous as all the PR makes it sound.

ridefar

Go in January.

I would reach out to hotel management and see what they can do for you. They definitely have an attitude of not saying no. Aside from the difficulty getting there, it is totally worth it. And if you find yourself in NY, or Boston, it isn't very far at all, really, as both offer direct flights to Halifax.

ridefar

That is true, with one notable exception: if the boat can't go due to sea ice, the helicopter may still fly. I honestly don't know if the current ferry has this issue, but the old one sure did.

jlisi984

You can avoid the overnight enroute, but I would say if you're already out in Newfoundland, you should go and see more. I think you could probably make a long day, staying in YYT and driving the entire distance the next morning too. Because we had been to YYT many times and the hotels there aren't super fancy either we decided to see Gander. (hint: not much to see)

jlisi984

Wait wait - there's air conditioning, 100% sure. Two units, one in room, one in toilet (not sure why). If you read my report, you'll see.

Kagehitokiri

how often are they sold out? when i go it will probably be more "last minute"
and they do not discount for not being able to leave on ferry do they?

there are also charter planes, they dont seem to publish as much online anymore
should not be a big deal to have rental car delivered to property

ridefar

Good to know. I am 100% sure that is new; when we were there, it was "passive" cooling. A green architecture thing which relied on venting and wind to move air through the room. I remember because they upgraded us when our vent didn't work right.

jlisi984

Yes, they still have this "Open" and "Close" thing but now additionally it appears they've installed air con.

aa213bb

Thank you so much for this. I'm desperate to get here - particularly in winter - but from the US West Coast it truly is a hike ... and I rarely can find time to squeeze a week or two off during that time of year.

Hmmm ...

SanDiego1K

I am in the early stages of planning a trip here. Early reports spoke of the difficulty in getting here from Gander Airport. The hotel now offers a service combining car and ferry for $800 RT for up to 4 people.

The Inn offers a land-and-ferry house-car pick-up and return service to Gander for $800 (1-4 person capacity). All transfer logistics and accommodations can be arranged by our reservations team at 1 855 268 9277.

I like the sounds of that as it takes away much of the challenge of reaching here.

Now, I'm trying to figure out how to combine a visit to northern Maine with a stay here. On the map, flying from Gander to Bangor or Porland looks sensible. But airline schedules really don't accommodate this. Most flights appear to go to Toronto and then you connect onward. There are several flights a day to St Johns Newfoundland. How challenging is it to get from here to Maine?

ridefar

I think you will need to find a flight from Newark to St. Johns. (Or some other NYC airport.)

AFAIK, you can't connect from any of the small regional airports in the NE USA too Newfoundland. You might have better luck looking for a flight to Quebec City, at least that isn't as far out of your way as YYZ.

I would also say that if you are staying at Fogo for more than a couple nights, and want to hike or do some self guided sight seeing, you should really have a car of your own. Catching the ferry from Gander really isn't that hard, unless there are no more rental car companies in Gander?

eamus

We will be at Fogo Inn in mid-June (3 nights at Alt Hotel St. Johns, and 3 nights at Fogo). Originally we were going to fly into Gander from Toronto, but (avoiding cross-posting to my experience on the AC thread...) the air schedule moved on us to a ridiculous degree (arriving at Gander at 3am ?!?!) and now we are flying into and out of St. Johns, from Toronto. I had been planning a trip up there from the NE USA though not quite as far north as Maine, and the best options I found were into Halifax, NS from BOS. Halifax is not at all near to Fogo Island, but you can fly on from there to Gander. However I could not make the flights make sense: in the end if I were to connect at Halifax I may as well have connected in Toronto and had many more options, which is what we ended up doing. I have a car reserved and am told by the inn that the drive from St. Johns is an easy 5 hours and really spectacular, esp. Terre Nova NP. Car hire in NL is often with quoted mileage so either work the corporate code if you have 'em, or pay attention to the fine print it you don't. We are excited about it. I will be glad to post my experience once we get back.

SanDiego1K

@eamus, that is really helpful. I'm not very familiar with the geography in the northeast of Canada, so really appreciate learning from you. It's a long trip with many flight segments from San Diego, irrespective of the airport. Where have you found to stay in St John?

eamus

St. Johns has no luxury (as understood on this board) hotels. We opted for the Alt Hotel, as I said, for location and comfort and price. The JAG and Luxus each seemed good but JAG was a little out of the way and the pricing seemed to me to be ambitious at the quality I could perceive online. There is one that is above a pub - the name escapes me now - that seemed good but ended up the online reviews were not very good. There are several B&Bs, a few of which seemed nice enough and a couple a bit fusty for my tastes. The B&B scene reminded me a bit of coast Connecticut and Maine: many are clean, simple and appropriate for those seeking value for money. I don't have very high expectations of the Alt Hotel. I am expecting something clean and contemporary, at a respectable price and a good location, that is not a conference hotel. If you are Marriott glitterati, there is a Courtyard right on the harbor that seems to have very nice views.

SanDiego1K

The hotel lists 3 categories of rooms, not considering a family suite (same price as Fogo Island Suite) and the Flat Earth Suite, for which no prices are given.

• Labrador Room
• Newfoundland Room
• Fogo Island Suite

The words they have used to describe each leave me perplexed as to what more the higher categories offer. Each appear to have stunning views. I assume the suite has more space but it doesn't say. I assume I want a suite - but do I?

Here's what I found from a Virtuoso agency's website:

All 29 suites at the inn have floor-to- ceiling direct views looking out to the ocean. Simply breathtaking. There are three categories of suites:

• Labrador suites: located on the first and second floors only, these are the smallest suites at the inn. They do not have bathtubs in the bathrooms rooms nor wood-burning stoves.
• Newfoundland suites: located on floors 3 and 4, these have much larger bathrooms with a separate soaking tub and wood-burning stoves which was an incredible addition.
• Corner suites and Family suites: these are the most expensive and spacious suites which are located on the 3rd and 4th floors and have different layouts.

Is any a true two room suite with a wall between the bedroom and living room? I saw pictures of the Labrador and Newfoundland "suites" which are anything but. They simply have a seating area in the room.

I found this on the hotel website, very informative as to what is included:
Rates are per night, per room, and based on two persons per room. A two-night minimum applies (except three nights from June to September). We designed our pricing to be inclusive of a complete hospitality experience. To that end, rates are inclusive of all meals, a half-day Island Orientation with a Community Host, and most excursions. Any requests within our power to deliver will be met with a smile and without extra charge: laundry services, bicycles, snacks, extra toiletries, and general support and guidance during your trip are all on offer and included in your room rate. Just pay your own alcohol and taxes.