Getaways to boutique hotels with one-of-a-kind art and custom linens call for a bespoke bag.

Pack the bare essentials into a piece from Palmer & Sons. Beautiful and well-built, the line of leather luggage is made in Vancouver the old way by father and son duo Nik and Jack. Each bag is constructed using hundreds of brass rivets hammered in by hand, fastened with unconventional closures like equestrian panic snaps and marine clasps and individually numbered using 100-year-old metal stamps. Made-to-order in two to three weeks, details like hue, handles and interiors can be customized.

Just be prepared that your Gladstone could get more attention at Gladstone Hotel check-in than you.

$230-$650 at www.palmerandsons.ca

See pics from our studio tour with Nik Palmer on the Editors’ Diary.

No need to cruise the Caribbean to find a luxury resort on a private island situated in turquoise waters when there’s one in our own backyard. North of Desolation Sound, the five star Sonora Resort is anything but desolate.

fly
Take London Air Services’ 15-seat helicopter, which runs regular flights between Richmond and Sonora Island, and arrive swiftly (45 minutes from take-off to touch-down) and in style.

eat
Feast like royalty on Pacific Northwest fare with flair dreamt up by Executive Chef Terry Pichor. Did we mention drinking and dining is all-inclusive? The 6-course nightly tasting menu will arouse many ohs and ahs. And if you’re still thirsty after dinner, a fully-stocked gratis mini bar awaits you back at your room.

spa
Slow down and spa it up at the full-service Island Currents Spa on site. Take a tension-relieving massage then sip a smoothie in the sun afterwards or simply soak in the outdoor mineral pools.

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Book one of the lovely lodges or splurge on Sea Lion Pointe. The palatial structure on its own peninsula contains four lavish suites, a kitchen fit for an iron chef and a two million dollar collection of commissioned West Coast art.

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Fun is had with amenities that include a tennis court, hiking trails, movie theatre, virtual golf, pool (both cue and chlorine varieties) and plenty of hot tubs. If you feel especially outdoorsy, book a salmon fishing expedition aboard a 25’ Grady-White or traverse tidal rapids in search of seal, whale, dolphin and grizzly sightings on an eco-tour.

Michelle Pfeiffer summers nearby. Are we surprised?

Room rates start at $500, Sonora Resort, Sonora Island, 604-233-0460, www.sonoraresort.com

Both you and your mate are having a mad day, so sneak out of the office early and rendezvous at Ferguson Point. Not to make out, but to chow down.

Take a Strait-view patio seat at The Teahouse and treat each other to Pizza in the Park, where ten dollars gets you a generous personal-sized pizza and a cold pint of Stanley Park 1897 Amber. Choose from Smoked Salmon Flatbread topped with crème fraîche, capers and fresh arugula (our fave), Peperonata with spicy Italian sausage and olives, or Margherita made with basil from the resto’s own herb patch.

In between chugs and chews, you can also sneak in a smooch or two.

Available weekdays 3 p.m.-5 p.m. until late September at The Teahouse, Ferguson Point, Stanley Park Dr., Vancouver, 604-669-3281, www.vancouverdine.com

Kits Pool is overcrowded and the same goes for Third Beach. What you really need is a rooftop watering hole only a hotel can offer.

While most hotel pools in Vancouver are guest-only, you don’t have to sneak in Samantha Jones-style. The Westin Grand downtown offers daily drop-in ($15) that lets locals access the outdoor pool, whirlpool and fitness facilities. Or make it a monthly membership ($60) and you also snag 20 per cent off food and beverage.

We’ll have our pomegranate martini poolside please.

The Westin Grand, 433 Robson St., Vancouver, 604-602-1999, www.westingrandvancouver.com

For more tips on hotel pools, read today’s vanvitamindaily tweets.

Like wine with desert temps? Part Napa Valley, part Palm Springs, Osoyoos is the hottest holiday you’ll find in B.C.

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Situated right on Lake Osoyoos, the Watermark Beach Resort is casual coziness kicked up a couple notches. Amenities include a lakeside pool and hot tub, outdoor wine bar, yoga and Pilates studio and spacious private balconies. Waterfront suites and townhomes are outfitted with kitchens and in-suite laundry to accommodate longer stays, and as a family-friendly spot they offer kids camps so parents can pretend they’re once again footloose and fancy-free (by way of poolside pedi, perhaps). From $245 a night, www.watermarkbeachresort.com

eat
Learn where Watermark chef Natasha Schooten gets her organic produce from by booking yourself on one of her once-a-month “Down and Dirty” field trips to local Harker’s Organics or Covert Farms. You meet the farmer, harvest some bounty and finish the day with an al fresco meal made on-site. Next one July 29, book through Watermark Beach Resort.

drink
Focus your South Okanagan wine tour on the three S’s: Seven Stones, LaStella and Stoneboat. Although very different from one another, they all have their special charms and we suspect that, like us, you’ll find a bottle or three you like at each.

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Squeeze in one more wine tasting and then some. At the newly refurbished Hester Creek Estate Winery, take your 2008 pinot blanc on the patio and picnic with a view of the valley and vineyards. Still have room for more grapes? Classic Canadian folk rockers The Grapes of Wrath play the estate’s outdoor amphitheatre July 30 ($35-$50, call 1-866-498-4435 to reserve tickets).

Grab the girls and head to the mountains for a weekend of spas, steaks and sun. 

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The brand new Sidecut steakhouse at the Four Seasons Hotel boasts an infrared grill that creates the perfect crispy char. Customize your steak with a choice of dipping sauces and rubs, like the spicy and smoky Edison’s Medicine. Sit on the pretty patio and marvel at the serene views. Is that a bear up there? www.fourseasons.com/whistler

drink
The Bearfoot Bistro’s new Miami-style poolside patio opened officially on July 1. If you can’t take the heat, duck into the restaurant’s new Belvedere Ice Room, don a Canada Goose-down parka, and taste specialty vodkas stored in a wall of ice. Now that’s cool. www.bearfootbistro.com

recover
The new Scandinave Spa off the Lost Lake Trail is a self-contained hydrotherapy haven. Detox in the Finnish sauna and steam room then refresh in the hot and cold plunge pools. Relaxation rooms stocked with contemporary magazines and a policy of silence will help with your head, as will a restorative bowl of lemongrass-miso soup in the bistro. From $55, www.scandinave.com

relax
Consider taking the Rocky Mountaineer train to Whistler and arrive already relaxed after a spectacular 3-hour journey through valleys, rivers and waterfalls not seen from the highway. A complimentary drinks cart (remember those?) is a welcome retro touch. Now that’s our idea of “personal training.” From $129, www.whistlermountaineer.com

Summering with Clooney on Lake Como is in your five-year plan, but until that happens make Sakinaw Lake Lodge your second home for holidaying.

Only an hour north of Langdale, the off-grid lodge is as lakeside as it gets. Hosts Liza and Garrett, young, hip and hospitable ex-Vancouverites, ferry you over on their pontoon cruiser with a glass of wine. The spacious second storey Cedar Suite, steps from the water, features a fully equipped kitchen, wood-burning fireplace, claw foot tub, private deck and big windows for lake and mountain views.

A hot breakfast is provided (lemon ricotta pancakes anyone?) or rent out the whole lodge with friends and prep all your own meals in the outfitted outdoor kitchen.

While just gazing at the pristine water is entertainment enough, a world of water sports, like kayaking, tubing and hot tubbing, are also there for the taking, not to mention our favourite activity—fireside chats over smores.

From $269 a night, Sakinaw Lake Lodge, Sakinaw Lake Rd., Pender Harbour, 604-341-1720, www.sakinawlakelodge.com

See snaps from our weekend at Sakinaw on the Editors’ Diary.

If it’s good enough for Jennifer Aniston, it’s good enough for us. Mexico’s pristine and serene San Jose Del Cabo on the Sea of Cortes (think Cabo’s sophisticated sister) had us at “Ola.”    

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At the Mexican-owned Marquis Los Cabos resort, they’re so serious about relaxation, they’ll bury your BlackBerry for you. While pondering the hotel’s impressive collection of art and sculpture, enjoying spacious private casitas and eavesdropping on the international clientele, you won’t miss it a bit.

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The resort’s pool is a good metaphor for the pleasures you’ll have: absolutely infinite. If the soft, sandy beaches, crashing surf and grey whale sightings don’t get you, how about baby sea turtles?

spa
Sunrise yoga on the breezy spa deck will get those limbs limber for beach walks. Follow with an all-organic Holistic Breakfast of egg white omelets and celery smoothies and you’ve now earned those margaritas.

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Take a trip onto the charming village of San Jose, where the boutique hotel Casa Natalia tucked off the main square offers sublime cocktails in a romantic courtyard, perfect for a marriage proposal. www.casanatalia.com

I Do
The stunning arch of the open-air lobby of Marquis Los Cabos mimics the shape of the Baja Peninsula. Could there be a more memorable setting for a sunset wedding?

To view rates and packages, visit www.marquisloscabos.com

An hour and a half outside of Vancouver, the city girl in us happily went country with the other kind of wild weekend in Harrison-Agassiz.

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Whether you vacationed there as a kid or not, the Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa will have you feeling nostalgic (think Kellerman’s Resort in Dirty Dancing). In between dips in the hot mineral pools and sessions at the Healing Springs Spa, make sure you reserve one night to mambo like Baby and Johnny at the historic Copper Room. Book a deluxe lakeview suite in the East Tower or really commit to the kitsch in one of their retro cottages. Rooms $159-$284, www.harrisonresort.com

eat
Hop in the hybrid and take a self-guided Circle Farm Tour of the area. There are stops for everything from coffee to hazelnuts, but our faves are the artisan cheeses from the award-winning Farm House Cheeses and Limbert Mountain Farm with its hillside garden of herbs and quaint tea room where they serve up scrumptious lunch and afternoon tea on weekends. www.circlefarmtour.com

If you’re the biking type, then you’ll want to set aside August 21 for the Slow Food Cycle, which stops at those same spots, and ends with a Chehalis Traditional Salmon Feast. www.slowfoodvancouver.com

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Take the gang on a tour of the Harrison River by boat to see wildlife (a Sasquatch even) and let the wind blow in your hair. Especially spectacular is the Fall Eagle Tour, where hundreds perch to feast on spawning salmon. Or if you prefer to do the fishing yourself, catch and release trips can be arranged. www.harrisonecotours.com

Check out photos from our Harrison-Agassiz getaway on the Editors’ Diary.

A night at the club isn’t the only way to have a wild time.

Trade the dance floor for Friday Night Live at the Hastings Racecourse. The summer event lets you sip ciders while watching the sun set and place bets on thoroughbreds (the filly and fella varieties). Between races, there’s a disc jockey on the tarmac who spins to keep the giddy-up on track.

Reserve you and your entourage a box ($20, seats six) so you can properly kick up your heels and horse around.

Friday Night Live at Hastings Racecourse runs until September 17 (races start at 7 p.m.), 3475 Hastings St. E., Vancouver, 604-254-1631, www.hastingsracecourse.com