Kelowna

[shakalaka]

I tried doing a search and didn't find anything relatively recent. I recall some members live there while others are familiar with Kelowna, which is why I am posting a thread.

My wife and I are planning a road trip to Kelowna this weekend, Friday to Sunday. Looking for some recommendations on what to do and what places to visit. What are some nice lounge/bars that don't attract the young/douchebag crowd but are fun to go to for drinks and dancing?

What else can we do during the day? Any recommended wineries that will be open and that we can visit? Any other recommendations or must to-do things that anyone can recommend?

Thanks guys!

[Zhariak]

Originally posted by shakalaka
I tried doing a search and didn't find anything relatively recent. I recall some members live there while others are familiar with Kelowna, which is why I am posting a thread.

The wife and I are planning a road trip to Kelowna this weekend, Friday to Sunday. Looking for some recommendations on what to do and what places to visit. What are some nice lounge/bars that don't attract the young/douchebag crowd but are fun to go to for drinks and dancing?

What else can we do during the day? Any recommended wineries that will be open and that we can visit? Any other recommendations or must to-do things that anyone can recommend?

Thanks guys!

I think all the dancing places are for the young/douche types, lol.

A favorite spot for me though, Bacaro!

No idea on the wineries..

[shakalaka]

Originally posted by Zhariak


I think all the dancing places are for the young/douche types, lol.

A favorite spot for me though, Bacaro!

No idea on the wineries..

Is that a night club?

Basically I am looking for something decent and relatively upscale. Those kinds of places are usually got for weeding out the teenagers who are usually always looking for fights.

[reiRei]

Not so much dancing, but there's lots of neat eateries you can try

- BNA - http://www.bnabrewing.com/
- The Curious - http://thecurious.ca/
- Tree Brewing institute - http://www.treebrewingbeerinstitute.com/

During the day, you could head up to Big White or Silver Star if you're into alpine sports, and there's also the Sparkling Hill resort you can check out between Vernon and Kelowna

[redline]

I love eating at the eldoradro, if you ski.hit up silver star or apex.

We like cedar creek winery, not sure that it is open in the winter ...

Not sure on winter activities as we go in the summer

[Feruk]

Pretty shitty time of year to go... Winters are pretty ugly in Kelowna; almost always overcast because of the lake. The only thing I'd want to go do in Kelowna this time of year is ski Big White.

Recommendation: Go somewhere else. Really not worth the 8 hour drive in February.

[BavarianBeast]

Originally posted by Feruk
Pretty shitty time of year to go... Winters are pretty ugly in Kelowna; almost always overcast because of the lake. The only thing I'd want to go do in Kelowna this time of year is ski Big White.

Recommendation: Go somewhere else. Really not worth the 8 hour drive in February.

Winter sucks in Kelowna unless you are going up to Big White / Silverstar. If you're absolutely set on it, I would recommend eating at one of the nicer wineries such as Mission Hill or Poplar Grove. If your into Schnitzel, check out Gasthaus in Peachland. It's one of my favorites.

[Kloubek]

I agree with Feruk. Kelowna is a beautiful place, but only when it's warm... certainly wouldn't be a destination of mine at this time of year.

/nothelpful

[Zhariak]

Originally posted by shakalaka


Is that a night club?

Basically I am looking for something decent and relatively upscale. Those kinds of places are usually got for weeding out the teenagers who are usually always looking for fights.

Bacaro is more of a lounge, in the traditional lounge sense.

Small little place on the front area by the water. When I visited, they played house, trendy little upscale place...

If you went in with a big enough group, I'm sure you could start a dance floor, but there usually isn't dancing from the times I've visited.

Being a single dude, on my prior visits, it was one of the only places we could go to pick up the trendier well dressed up women if you're down in the waterfront area.

http://www.bacaro.ca/

If you feel like moving inward away from the water. Joey's is where its at.

[mzdspd]

I agree with the above, I have been to Kelowna to go skiing at this time of year and the town is dreary.

But if you do go, check out the winery Grey Monk. It is probably one of the best in the area. Mission Hill and Quails gate are both good too.

[atgilchrist]

It is quieter this time of year, but BNA, new Cactus Club and Curious are almost always packed. Rockets games can be fun, and all the wineries are open. A night up at Big White, and partying at Snowshoe Sams will likely be your best bet for a full party.

[ercchry]

It's almost not worth the risk of driving out this time of year if you don't ski... Conditions in roger's pass area can be pretty sketchy... Hell even this weekend people crashed and closed down the highway for multiple hours... I was stuck on the wrong side of an extra day

[NoPulp]

I lived there for a year, thought winters were okay.
Didn't do a ton while i was there though...too busy studying.

But there's tons of good food and wine places. Google would be your friend.
If you're there on wednesday, i still think the best wings I've had were from Dakotas. Its a sports bar, will be uni kids there.
Just avoid the night clubs and you'll avoid most of the douches there.

Could also go to a rockets game. They're first in the whl... for now. Go hurricanes!

But basically the main thing to do in the winter is big white.

[asp integra]

Mission Hill winery is the nicest spot in town for wine tour, view, food etc.

Also: https://youtu.be/Dj0kWQPPBis

[shakalaka]

Originally posted by reiRei
Not so much dancing, but there's lots of neat eateries you can try

- BNA - http://www.bnabrewing.com/
- The Curious - http://thecurious.ca/
- Tree Brewing institute - http://www.treebrewingbeerinstitute.com/

During the day, you could head up to Big White or Silver Star if you're into alpine sports, and there's also the Sparkling Hill resort you can check out between Vernon and Kelowna

Thank you for the suggestions, will check out more information on these.

Originally posted by redline
I love eating at the eldoradro, if you ski.hit up silver star or apex.

We like cedar creek winery, not sure that it is open in the winter ...

Not sure on winter activities as we go in the summer

Thanks for the suggestion.

Originally posted by Feruk
Pretty shitty time of year to go... Winters are pretty ugly in Kelowna; almost always overcast because of the lake. The only thing I'd want to go do in Kelowna this time of year is ski Big White.

Recommendation: Go somewhere else. Really not worth the 8 hour drive in February.

We already have the hotel booked so we don't have a choice. It'll have to be Kelowna.

Originally posted by BavarianBeast




Winter sucks in Kelowna unless you are going up to Big White / Silverstar. If you're absolutely set on it, I would recommend eating at one of the nicer wineries such as Mission Hill or Poplar Grove. If your into Schnitzel, check out Gasthaus in Peachland. It's one of my favorites.

Thanks for the winery suggestion. I will check up more information on the ones you mentioned. We definitely want to hit up a winery, just have to make up our minds as to which one.

Originally posted by Kloubek
I agree with Feruk. Kelowna is a beautiful place, but only when it's warm... certainly wouldn't be a destination of mine at this time of year.

/nothelpful

Lol as I said, don't have a choice now.

Originally posted by Zhariak


Bacaro is more of a lounge, in the traditional lounge sense.

Small little place on the front area by the water. When I visited, they played house, trendy little upscale place...

If you went in with a big enough group, I'm sure you could start a dance floor, but there usually isn't dancing from the times I've visited.

Being a single dude, on my prior visits, it was one of the only places we could go to pick up the trendier well dressed up women if you're down in the waterfront area.

http://www.bacaro.ca/

If you feel like moving inward away from the water. Joey's is where its at.

Thanks for that suggestion, I will check out more information.

Originally posted by mzdspd
I agree with the above, I have been to Kelowna to go skiing at this time of year and the town is dreary.

But if you do go, check out the winery Grey Monk. It is probably one of the best in the area. Mission Hill and Quails gate are both good too.

Grey Monk and Mission Hill seem to be the top suggestions so we will most likely pick one depending on the activities that can be done at the each one.

Originally posted by atgilchrist
It is quieter this time of year, but BNA, new Cactus Club and Curious are almost always packed. Rockets games can be fun, and all the wineries are open. A night up at Big White, and partying at Snowshoe Sams will likely be your best bet for a full party.

Thanks for the Snowshoe Sams suggestions, I will look it up.

Originally posted by ercchry
It's almost not worth the risk of driving out this time of year if you don't ski... Conditions in roger's pass area can be pretty sketchy... Hell even this weekend people crashed and closed down the highway for multiple hours... I was stuck on the wrong side of an extra day

Thanks for pointing that out. It was actually at the back of my mind. Initially was thinking of taking the M3 but because of that reason decided on the Accord with winter tires. Will have to be extra careful depending on the road conditions.

Originally posted by NoPulp
I lived there for a year, thought winters were okay.
Didn't do a ton while i was there though...too busy studying.

But there's tons of good food and wine places. Google would be your friend.
If you're there on wednesday, i still think the best wings I've had were from Dakotas. Its a sports bar, will be uni kids there.
Just avoid the night clubs and you'll avoid most of the douches there.

Could also go to a rockets game. They're first in the whl... for now. Go hurricanes!

But basically the main thing to do in the winter is big white.

We will be there Friday to Sunday so will miss out on the wings. We'd like to go somewhere dancing and drinks can happen, obviously would prefer to avoid the younger, alcohol raging crowd though.

Originally posted by asp integra
Mission Hill winery is the nicest spot in town for wine tour, view, food etc.

Also: https://youtu.be/Dj0kWQPPBis

Thanks for the suggestion.

And no comment on the video. Haha.

[Jonrox]

Okanagan Spirits is definitely worth a visit. At the 2015 World Spirit Awards it won Distillery of the Year and Spirit of the Year for its Blackcurrant Liqueur. Go for a tasting... They have a lot of great things to try. It's right downtown on Bernard so you'll likely be close to it at some point anyway.

Raudz is one of the best, if not the best, places for dinner. They don't take reservations so get there early if you can.

Krafty Kitchen does a great Hip Hop Brunch with all of the menu items named after hip hop stars, songs, etc... The lunch, dinner, and drinks are also great.

Curious is one of the best spots for breakfast... make sure to order a side of bacon.

The Jammery is also great for breakfast and was featured on You Gotta Eat Here.

If you're going to visit just one winery, it has to be Mission Hill.

The BC Wine Museum and VQA Shop is also right downtown on Ellis. It's worth a visit.

For drinks and dancing, you're most likely to avoid the really young crowd at Doc Willoughby's. The dance floor is tiny though. Edit: looks like they've got live music this Friday and Saturday.

You're not going to find a club in Kelowna where everyone dresses up nice and is classy. Everything is just more laid back. I've heard Cake is trying to be that place but it isn't great.

[suntan]

One winery? A travesty. Visit as many as you can and buy lots of wine. Summerhill is worth a visit and the food there is great.

[Jonrox]

I agree. And if you go to Summerhill, you might as well hit up Cedar Creek since it's just a few minutes away. If you go to Mission Hill, you go right by Quail's Gate so should stop there too.

You're also going to see that cherry trees without their leaves are ugly as hell. They're just about the gnarliest, creepiest looking trees in the winter.

[shakalaka]

^Thanks a lot. Some great recommendations. Krafty Kitchen and Mission Hill is definitely on the list now. We'll see if we can squeeze some other wineries in addition to that.

[suntan]

It's very easy to hit up 5 wineries in a few hours. They're not that far apart.