Originally Posted by EfficientTraveller

I am not sure if this is appropriate on the "Luxury Hotels" forum but can I throw another option into the ring? We spent a week in BC a couple of summers ago (early July) and spent ages looking at the various lodges and although Clayoquot looked fantastic, it was beyond our budget and we were desperate to get some really good wildlife viewing. Instead we stayed a few nights in Telegraph Cove in the north of Vancouver Island (nowhere very glamorous to stay sadly) and spent one day out with Tide Rip tours viewing Grizzlies and another out with Stubbs Island Whale Watching tours watching amazing Orcas. The bear and whale viewing we had was absolutely outstanding and not at all physically demanding. Tide Rip do all the bear viewing by boat - they take you on a big comfortable boat into the remote islands and then you transfer to a small shallow craft (with seats) which allows you to get amazingly close to the bears with no danger to you and they have no fear. We spent a hour watching a mother nurse and play with three cubs for example. Stubbs Island viewing is also all from the boat.

Telegraph Cove is fairly accessible - there are direct flights to Port Hardy (about 30 mins from Telegraph Cove) from Vancouver and they weren't crazily expensive. While you are in Port Hardy, you can always take the full day ferry up the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert which is reputed to be one of the most beautiful in the world.