Black Rock Oceanfront Resort on Canada’s West Coast

I’m staring out the window of our suite at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It’s just after dawn, and the sun is angling across the water and between the trees, creating a peachy-pink glow in the sky and across the hotel’s main building. While you don’t have to get up this early to enjoy the views from this waterfront lodging in the British Columbia town of Ucluelet, early morning by the sea is pretty special.

Here’s the scoop on this western Canadian waterfront resort:

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet, BC

The towns of Tofino and Ucluelet draw visitors to Vancouver Island’s west coast with their sandy beaches, surfer-friendly waves, and rainforest hiking trails. Tofino, to the north, is larger, with more restaurants, cafes, and accommodations, but Ucluelet is equally well-located for a Pacific coast holiday.

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort offers a range of accommodations on a waterfront property just a five-minute drive from Ucluelet’s town center. The hotel has 133 units, including studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom suites. Some are in the main lodge building, which also has two restaurants, a fitness room, hot tub, and a spa. Other guest rooms are arrayed around the wooded property in the townhouse-style Trail Suites.

Currents Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the lodge’s window-lined dining room. The Big Beach Lounge, which also faces the ocean, is open from late afternoon through the evening for drinks and light meals, often with live music.

Guest Rooms and Amenities

In both the main lodge and the separate Trail Suites, guest rooms have either a kitchenette or a full kitchen, a gas fireplace, a flat-screen TV, and a balcony.

On our most recent visit, my husband and I stayed in one of the modern one-bedroom Trail Suites, which have a full kitchen, a living room with a fireplace, and a deck facing the ocean. A separate bedroom also looks out to the sea.

Renovated in 2024, the Trail Suites also have large modern bathrooms with deep soaker tubs and separate rain showers.

The studio suites are best suited to couples or solo travelers, although the Trail Suite studios have a double sleep sofa in addition to the king-size bed; it’s just all within one room.

The one-bedroom units in both the lodge and Trail Suites buildings feature a sleeper sofa in the living room, plus a separate bedroom, accommodating up to four people. The two-bedroom suites add a second bedroom, offering space for up to six.

How to decide between the units in the main lodge and in the Trail Suites? The guest rooms in the main lodge are more convenient to the restaurants, gym, and spa, while the Trail Suites offer more privacy.

What’s Nearby?

Since Ucluelet is a small town, most attractions are within walking distance or a short drive from Black Rock Oceanfront Resort.

You can access Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail, a gentle hiking route that hugs the ocean as it winds through the rainforest and leads to several beaches, directly from the Black Rock property.

Interested in West Coast aquatic life? The small Ucluelet Aquarium has a unique “collect and release” policy, bringing sea creatures to its tanks in the spring and returning them to the ocean in the autumn.

North of town are the beaches and hiking trails of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, B.C.’s coastal national park. Stop into the park visitor center to learn more about the Indigenous peoples who call this region home.

Ucluelet’s top dining option is Pluvio Restaurant + Rooms; partners Warren Barr and Lily Verney-Downey, who both worked at Tofino’s posh Wickaninnish Inn, run this excellent contemporary dining room with a boutique inn attached. For a more casual dining experience, the town offers a fun craft brewery, Ucluelet Brewing Company, located in a former church, as well as creative plant-based fare at Yayu Cafe.

And if you wake up early, bring your coffee onto the deck at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. You can enjoy the morning light before heading out on your West Coast adventures.

Rates

Double room rates at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort start at CAD$245 per night in the spring and fall and at CAD$325 in the peak summer months. 

Check rates online at Expedia, Booking.com, or Hotels.com.

Hotel feature by Vancouver-based travel, food, and feature writer Carolyn B. Heller. Photos © Carolyn B. Heller. Tourism Vancouver Island arranged my stay at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort for review purposes.