A hotel at the edge of the world
It’s hard to underemphasize how remote Fogo Island Inn is. Newfoundland sits on the far east coast corner of Canada. It’s so far east that it even has its own time zone!
Fogo Island Inn sits on an island, off an island, at one of the four corners of the earth. Situated along Iceberg Alley, all 29 rooms feature STUNNING floor-to-ceiling views of the North Atlantic Ocean! This is where locality is expressed when nature and culture come together through food, adventure, and community. The island has seven seasons, and its still-wild world has caribou to track, hills of berries to forage, nature trails to explore, and countless birds and marine species to behold.
Dare I say, the surrounding greenery we saw during our drive up there almost feels like the greenery we saw during our trip to New Zealand! Absolutely beautiful!
How to get there?
There are many ways to get to Fogo Island Inn… commercial flight access, on the ground / water, or direct charter option. The Inn even made a video about the various options, so please check it out below:
As you make your way to the Inn, you’ll notice driving by some beautiful colorful homes sitting against the gorgeous rocky landscapes of Newfoundland. Slow down a bit because you’ll want to soak in all this eye-candy!
ARRIVED!
Okay, I’m not gonna lie… this is one of the most expensive hotels in the planet! However, staying here for vacation can also mean giving back! Read on!
With the island’s humble history, know that a huge percent of the money you pay actually gets reinvested back into the local community, towards a very good cause! This award-winning inn is operated as a social business and you’ll be thrilled to find out more about its feel-good story below.
By the way, there are actually NO signs that lead to Fogo Island Inn. It just appears out of nowhere and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen!
The Inside… ohhh, that architecture!!
But no matter how many photographs you’ve seen of the hotel, you just can’t anticipate the warmth that greets you as you walk in. The moment we stepped inside, the reception already knew both my kids’ names! They were also greeted with a super cool welcome gift — two hand-made puffin stuffed toys!
These are custom hand-dipped bronze keychains! These were various treasure items that were found on the shore, washed away by the seas for many years. Once found on shore, they are hand-dipped in bronze and are now these beautiful keychains you see on display for guests to use on their room key!
All the rooms come with floor-to-ceiling ocean views to soak in all that stunning beauty! The rooms were furnished using only natural materials such as wood, cotton, and linen and all that pretty furniture you see was custom made by local Fogo Island woodworkers.
…and up to our loft we go!
Each of the rooms are also uniquely decorated with custom fabrics and quilts, all handmade by local artisans.
We were also intrigued to find out that each of the 29 rooms has its own unique wallpaper! No two rooms at the Fogo Island Inn are decorated the same. So they all have different wallpaper, blankets, pillows, etc.
10 minutes after you are checked-in and are in your room, you’ll hear a knock in the door… room service with your welcome snack! …freshly baked bread just out of the oven, with some tea! yummmm!
Much of the press has been focused on the inn’s unique design and its remote location, but the story of how and why Fogo Island Inn was developed in the first place is equally amazing.
It is the dream of visionary Canadian tech entrepreneur Zita Cobb. The daughter of an illiterate fisherman, she was born on Fogo Island, left the island to study and made millions of dollars in fiber optics. Zita decided that she wanted to go back home. By the time she returned, her island was in dire straits. For over 200 years, Fogo Island had been a fishing economy relying on cod. Decades of international overfishing brought the cod to the brink of extinction.
Zita came up with a daring idea to build an inn as a way to save one of Canada’s oldest rural cultures. To that end, she set about building a luxury hotel on the most barren headland. Building the inn cost $41 million. Locals thought she was mad.
Zita wanted to revive the island as a cultural destination. She designed the hotel to resemble a traditional fishing hut built on stilts.
The inn was conceived as a social enterprise to support the community on the island. A business that belongs to the local people — by providing jobs and funneling all surplus profits back into Fogo Island.
As such, everything from the furniture to the quilts was made by members of the community.
She threw out the hospitality textbook and the result is pretty amazing. The staff doesn’t greet with a script—just genuine warmth and affection. You are not a customer of the inn, but a guest of the island.
Zita also pioneered the economic nutrition label.
Similar to food nutrition labels, the information provided shows how the money you spend is distributed.
At the same time, Fogo Island Inn has picked up just about every award and accolade on this planet.
Travel + Leisure awarded it the Best Resort Hotel in Canada for two consecutive years. Fogo Island Inn was also named Top Hotel in Canada by Condé Nast Traveler in both 2017 and 2018. Fogo Island Inn has also made Elite Traveler’s list of the Top 100 Hotels in the World in 2018.
Available Amenities in the Inn
Grab a book from their library and cozy up by the fireplace; workout and do some yoga in their gym while you stare at the crashing waves in the ocean; slip into your favorite swimsuit and have a dip at their rooftop hot tub; or perhaps just grab some popcorn, relax and watch a movie in their theatre…. whatever tickles your fancy, they have it!
The Food
Ohhhh the FOOD!!!! It’s nothing short of amazing every-single-day!! No two meals are the same, as you get different tasting menus daily! Fogo Island Inn is an all-inclusive hotel, which means that all meals, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages are included in the cost.
PRO TIP: Once you check in, be sure to book all your dinner reservations as spots fill up quick! There is also a special CRAB SUPPER offered on certain days and they encourage you to take advantage of that! Truly one of the most memorable meals you won’t wanna miss, as you get stuffed with giant crab legs at your dinner table!
In keeping with the sustainable theme, it’s all about local, organic and seasonal food at Fogo Island. Everything here is made in-house, from the bread to the mustard. While the food at Fogo Island Inn is fabulous, the service was even better! You never had to sign a bill (even if you had alcohol). They remember your coffee and tea preferences, and all your dietary restrictions. I should also mention that the hotel specifically discourages tipping of any sort.
One of the inn’s most iconic spaces is the dining room, with massive floor-to-ceiling windows over 20 feet high! Depending on the season, you can watch icebergs bobbing in the waves or whales breaching offshore from your dining table.
Other Activities and Tours from the Inn
After our first meal, we were then introduced to the activities coordinator. She also pointed out the board with some of the activities available and told us to ask her if we wanted more ideas of things to do.
Because of its exposure, Fogo Island experiences 7 different seasons.
From March to June, the inn offers a front-row seat to massive icebergs heading down from Greenland (the very same route taken by the big fella that sank the Titanic).
In the summer season from June to August, visitors can go whale-watching and fishing on boats.
We visited in October during berry season, when one can wander the hills and pick wild berries to munch on.
Or better yet, skip the berry picking and head straight into JAM MAKING, which is what we ended up doing!
All the hotel’s activities aim to be as authentic as possible.
Meet the locals!
During our jam-making tour, we met Joan, one of the lovely locals from Fogo Island who openly welcomed us to her beautiful home and briefly told us some stories of her family growing up in the island. And of course, all happening while she shares us an amazing jam recipe that we made on the spot! We were even thrilled to find out that we can take it home with us in our luggages!
Get out there and hike around the island!
We usually love to do short hikes with the kids when we travel as it can really bring you a totally different perspective on the landscape you’re in! We enjoy finding things you would never see if you were just driving by.
Don’t forget to watch the epic sunset shows from your very own window!
Since you’re sitting off the cold shores of the North Atlantic Ocean, don’t forget to look at those dramatic cloudy skies as mother nature surely knows how to light it up during sunset hour! ….you just might get treated to some super cool FIREY🔥 skies!
Final Thoughts
Expensive?? You bet! …but was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!
Especially knowing that your money is going back to a good cause! Zita really came through for her people and we applaud her efforts to save one of Canada’s oldest rural cultures! And it’s really comforting to know that planning a getaway here for vacation can also mean giving back at the same time! To that end, this is travelling with a purpose. It is a cultural destination — one we’ll surely treasure in our hearts as we hope to come back and visit again someday.