maggiemae211

My husband and I looking for hotels to stay in while driving counter clockwise around the Cabot Trail and the Ceilidh Trail. We'll be coming from Halifax, and we'll return to Halifax after leaving Cape Breton.

We're not into hiking or camping, but we enjoy seeing beautiful views, swimming, being close to the water, listening to great music (Celtic music, specifically, on this trip), shopping, exploring, visiting historic sites and the occasional museum, and walking around picturesque towns.

The towns we're focusing on are Baddeck, Ingonish, Cheticamp, Inverness, and Mabou. We'll also visit the Louisburg Fortress. Not that we need to stay in all of the towns listed, but which towns would you choose and why? How many days would you stay in each one?

AnselmAdorne

maggiemae, my wife and I have spent some time on Cape Breton, primarily to hike in the national park. A few thoughts that might help you plan:

Baddeck is a logical first night after your drive from Halifax. There are a lot of accommodation choices in the area; we stayed at the Inverary Inn last August for a family wedding. Its biggest feature is its location on the shore of the Bras d'Or Lakes, and it does have a lot of amenities, such as an indoor pool. This year, we are going to try the MacNeil House at the Silver Dart Lodge, which is across the road from the Inverary Inn. I'm sorry I can't really comment on restaurants in Baddeck, as the wedding banquet was at the Inverary Inn, and we didn't see much else while we were there.

In Ingonish, we have twice stayed at the Seascape Coastal Retreat. It has a group of small cabins on the shoreline of Ingonish Bay. Some cabins have hot tubs, while all have a small deck, a BBQ, and a gas fireplace. We quite like it, and have made reservations to stay there again in October. There are not of lot of dining choices in the area, but the best place is the dining room at Williams Beach House.

In Chéticamp, we have stayed twice at the Outback Inn. The drawing card here is the owner, Michèle, who is a helpful and gracious host. The rooms are immaculate. (Michèle and her husband had the property on the market last fall, and we thought it might be a very different place if it had new owners. However, it looks like they still have it.) For restaurants, look at L'abri, which is very popular. Another popular (and very casual) place is the Seafood Stop.

Another place to look at in that area is the Normaway Inn in the Margaree Valley. It has been years since I have stayed there, so you might want to check recent reviews, but the big feature is the weekly Ceilidh in the barn.

I can't help with Mabou or Inverness, as we usually drive up the east side of Lake Ainsley.

From a scenery point of view, the drive along the Bras d'or Lakes between Whycocomagh and Baddeck is lovely, as is the area around Cape Smokey, between Baddeck and Ingonish. But the most spectacular sights are on the Cabot Trail within the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There are a lot of opportunities to pull over and look out, and lots of trails of varying difficulty, from easy strolls to fairly arduous. We've hiked a lot of them, and I can tell you more about them if you are interested.

One thing I should stress: book accommodation as early as you can, and once that's settled, then reserve restaurants such as Williams Beach House and L'abri. The Cabot Trail is really busy, right through until mid-October.

maggiemae211

Thank you so much for your detailed reply, AnselmAdorne. On the way from Halifax to Baddeck, we might stop at Highland Village in Iona for a couple of hours. As for hotels in Baddeck, we're going to contact the Inverary Hotel, the Silver Dart Lodge, the Telegraph House, and the Dundee Resort and stay there for a few days. We'll go to Louisburg, Bras d'Or Lake, and the Alexander Graham Bell museum.

I think we're going to spend some time in Ingonish at the beach, but then we'll probably drive to Cheticamp for 2 nights, then Mabou for 2 nights, and then drive back to Halifax for our last few days. L'Abri is on my list of cafes/restaurants to check out in Cheticamp. It sounds great. I'll take a look at the Seafood Stop, too. The Normaway Inn is also on my list of places we'd like to visit.

Not only are we not hikers, but my husband has some mobility issues that we'll need to keep in mind. The only one that we're considering is the Skyline Trail, but I think might be a stretch for him. We'll see. There's a gondola in Ingonish, I think, that might be fun to check out if we have time.

Thank you again! I'm keeping of running tab of recommendations, and I'll add yours to my list. We're narrowing down our list of hotel, and we'll probably book those soon.