Signature Luxury Travel & Style
FOGO ISLAND INN
Community spirit is at the heart of this remote luxury inn
“Oh I had naysayers,” says Zita Cobb, founder of Fogo Island Inn. “Instead of the saying, ‘believe it when you see it’, my philosophy is you’ll see it when you believe it.” And when it comes to building one of the most dramatic buildings on the planet, it really is a matter of believing what’s possible.
Clinging to the edge of the North Atlantic Ocean, on an island off the Canadian island of Newfoundland, the 29 room inn epitomises sustainability. Everything, inside and out, is ethically sourced and (where possible) made on Fogo. Picture windows face the ocean and act as Mother Nature’s TV, pretty hand-stitched patchwork quilts drape across beds, knitted cushions tuck into the corners of handcrafted rocking chairs – even the wallpaper is hand painted. Whimsical, yet practical, luxurious, yet simplistic, Fogo is far more about what is felt than seen.
As an eighth-generation Fogo Islander, Cobb holds true to her roots. After growing up without electricity or running water, she left the island, made her fortune in the tech industry and returned to give back. Set up as a not-for-profit, the inn’s entire operating surplus is channelled back to the Fogo Islanders. “The inn isn’t a resort – it’s a community asset,” Cobb explains. “It’s a chalice to hold our heritage.”
This part of Canada was once the epicentre of the cod fishing industry and, with a history dating back more than 400 years, stories here run as deep as the ocean Fogo sits on. “My family came here from Ireland in the 1770s,” says author Roy Dwyer, one of the inn’s local guides. He teaches me how to salt cod and feel the spirit of the island through his poetry – I even sit at his kitchen table eating cake with his wife.
In seven years, the inn has inspired people to dream and do: Fogo furniture is sold globally, artist studios dot the island and former inn chefs have opened independent restaurants.
“One hundred years from now, I hope this is still a place for creativity and respecting our culture,” Cobb says.