We just spent two nights at Spirit Ridge. The advice in this thread was greatly appreciated, particularly in regards to the route we drove. Thank you to each of you who counseled me on our drive as it truly made it a special trip. We had beautiful weather, enjoyed a quick stop in the German town of Leavenworth, and had a beautiful drive thru the North Cascades National Park.

Crossing the border
We went thru the border crossing that is just a couple miles from the town of Osoyoos. One lane was open and there were 4 cars before us. The immigration agent was puzzled that we were coming strictly to stay at Spirit Ridge. He asked about prior travel to Manitoba. My husband does business there. We were asked where we rented our car, but did not need to show the contract. After about 5 minutes of dialogue, he returned our passports and let us thru. There was no Canadian border crossing control..

The return was even easier. At 7:30 in the morning, we were the only car. After about 1 minute of conversation, we were on our way.

Hotel
The hotel is a few miles beyond the town. It is indigenous owned. It is beautifully landscaped and is a series of low buildings which are condos. There are time shares and owner owned properties though there is no sense of that on the property. The benefit of it is that you get an apartment with a living room and full kitchen. We were upgraded to a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, in the first row of structures facing the lake. One bedroom had a king bed and one had two queens. Decor is dated, Tuscan in style, but it is comfortable. We had a small patio with table and 4 chairs on the lake facing side.

Parking can be some distance from the room. You cannot drive to the room, at least not to the area where we were. There are 2 lots, one at each end of the property, and underground parking across from the main building, under perhaps the largest building with rooms.

Service was good. The one shortcoming was housekeeping. The apartment looked clean til I threw something in the below sink trash and found that the wastebaskets hadn't been emptied. There were empty wine bottles and the strong odor of coffee. There was also a leftover egg in the refrigerator. I called to ask that the trash be emptied. The Rooms Manager, Norm, came himself and was highly apologetic. I was very low key about this, but he was embarrassed. He offered us a bottle of wine but we don't drink alcohol. He then offered fancy coffee but I suggested a charcuterie board as I knew they had them at their onsite winery He brought two, one for each of us. They were very odd, no cheese, one meat, candied fruit, popcorn. Regardless, the heart was there. The next day the beds were made but lotion wasn't replenished.

Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre
The Cultural Centre is the first building you see when you enter the property. I recommend a visit. It is $18 CDN with a 15% discount as hotel guests. There is a movie about a girl visiting her grandparents grudgingly and learning over the summer visits of her heritage. Then there is an outdoor display area showing varied animals and a teepee and mound structure. It's very well done. There is a nice hike beyond if you are so inclined. We were told there is a second hike but it was closed so we were given a 25% discount.

There is a wonderful sculpture of an Indian on his horse at the entrance to the property. The chief of the Osoyoos tribe worked with an indigenous sculptor from Washington to make 30 pieces that are dotted throughout the area. ChatGPT offered to give me a map showing all the locations. If I had figured this out earlier, I would have made it a project to find them. We randomly saw one at an indigenous owned gas station and sought out the three pieces at the indigenous owned trailer park, adjacent to Spirit Ridge. There is also one at the Visitors Centre.

Food
We enjoyed the complimentary globalist breakfast at the hotel, sitting on their terrace overlooking the lake. We were given cards to present at breakfast. It covered one main and one beverage. This was the second hotel where we saw that limit. The card specifically stated that it covered the gratuity. Breakfast begins at 8am which we found late for our departure. We had a great young waiter who was spending the summer working there.

We stopped at Queen of the South twice, once on arrival and again on departure. They serve massive sandwiches, soups, and pastries. We picked up scones (ham and cheese and bacon and cheese) as we were leaving which were terrific.

We enjoyed an early dinner at Convivia Bistro Their onion soup recommended upthread was delicious.

There must be a significant south Asian Indian population as there are 10 or so Indian restaurants. A Sikh who works at the property recommended Kismet, on the grounds of the Kismet winery. It is a few miles north of Osoyoos. Unfortunately, it was closed the day we went.

There were cherry orchards everywhere, coming thru Washington and in this area of Canada. Rainier cherries were in season and delicious. The season is relatively short so enjoy them if you are fortunate enough to be there when they are available.