Winter Adventures in Muskoka

Winter is coming!  We have had our first days of snow here in Southwestern Ontario.  Some of you may be grumbling about that, but winter is such an exciting and fun time up north!  Cottage country has so much to offer no matter the season.  Winter is a perfect time to getaway from the hustle and bustle of everyday life - to unwind in a cozy cottage and enjoy some relaxation fire side. Or if staying active is more your thing, there are tons of adventures to be had!

Some favourite winter activities in the area to experience are:

Skating the Arrowhead Ice Skating Trail
This 1.3 km skating trail located in Arrowhead Provincial Park is one of the most popular attractions.  It winds through a beautiful forest providing a magical experience - and it’s only minutes away from Downtown Huntsville!

• The season is subject to weather conditions but typically begins the first week of January
• Opens at 11 am daily, 7 days a week
• Skate rentals are available for $10
• Saturdays can be extremely busy - try to plan your visit for Sundays or, ideally, midweek
• Admission is $20 per vehicle Saturday, Sunday and Holidays, $17 per vehicle Monday to Friday

Dog sledding at North Ridge Ranch 
A team of 60 Alaskan Huskies are waiting to take you on an unforgettable sledding adventure through the forests of Muskoka! 

• The Ranch offers Half Day tours (20 km) or 1 Hour tours (10 km). 
• Suitable for children as long as they are accompanied by an adult (and can tolerate sitting in a sled for the entire duration of the tour)
• Tours begin with a thorough lesson so that you are comfortable with your abilities to mush your own team
• Prices start at $125 per person with discounts for children

Downhill Skiing at Hidden Valley

Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area is located in the heart of Muskoka. This hidden gem offers 14 groomed trails, three quad chairlifts, one handle tow, night skiing and a terrain park. 

• Lift rates start at $36 for kids over the age of 6 and $50 for adults
• Kids 5 and under are only $12 when accompanying a paying adult

Craft Brewery Tours

Some of the best craft beers in Canada are brewed in Muskoka!  Head out to the local breweries for a guided tour and tastings!

• Visit cottagecountrybeertrail.ca for helpful information as breweries have different hours for tours, with some requiring advanced booking
• Consider a trip with BrewTours.ca.  They do the entire tour experience, including driving, from Toronto to cottage country!

I hope I've given you some ideas to make the winter more fun and bearable! I don't know about you, but these are all on my bucket list for sure. Bring on winter! Hope you all stay safe and warm :)

Nina

Serenity Vacation Rentals

Top 5 goals for my cottage stay 2018!

With the rain we have been having lately, all of our snow has melted and we can see the grass underneath.  I can't help but think of summer during this time.   Even though things are wet and cool outside, with little to no snow, I am thinking about what I would like to do during my cottage stay this summer.

Owning a cottage is great but going away on vacation to your own cottage can become more of a work stay than a relaxation stay.   I have set a few goals for my stay at Mallard Beach this summer hopefully forcing myself to stop work and enjoy some time with my family.

1) Quest for the ultimate Burger!   I know I have mentioned this in a previous entry.  I still feel like there might be a fantastic spot that only the locals know about.   I hope to sample a few different spots to try and find the best burger in the Parry Sound / Muskoka area.   I have a few spots on my radar.   Kate's Kart is known for their burgers.  I feel as though this will be the one to beat.   I am sooo looking forward to this very important research!   :)

If anybody has recommendations - please let me know!   I'm looking anywhere in the Muskoka or Parry Sound area!

2) Another item on my to-do list, is to check out White Squall Paddling Centre   They rent out kayaks, canoes, and stand up paddle boards.   They also offer day trips and tours.    Sounds like it would be a lot of fun!   This would be a great escape for the family out in nature.   Hopefully I can get the whole family on board for this one!

3) I've had a few of our guests recommend the Sawdust City Brewery Tour - The Sawdust Brewery is located in Gravenhurst, Ontario.   I've never been there myself, but I look forward to giving it a try.  They have six core brands of craft beers but they also have seasonal offerings.   I'm not much of a beer drinker but I'm always willing to give new things a try!

4) Killbear Provincial Park I hear it is amazing!   There is a beautiful six kilometre trail for hiking or biking and beautiful sandy beaches.  Again I have never been there - so this will be a fun new experience for the family!

5) Eat at one of the Rocky Crest Golf Resort restaurants.  The "Windows Restaurant" and "On the Bistro" look amazing.  I have heard a lot of good things but again, I haven't had a chance to eat there myself.  I try to make a point to try new restaurants but because these two restaurants are only open during the summer months, I seem to keep missing them.   Again - please leave a comment if you have dined at either restaurant.   I look forward to hearing all about it!

Fingers crossed I get all five of these goals checked off during my 2018 summer cottage stay.   I have our family getaway week booked already for 2019 at Hammond Haven!   A year and a half away and I'm already getting excited!


Dean Curtis
Serenity Vacation Rentals

Serenity Vacation Rentals gives back!

Over the last six months, we have run a pilot project collecting donations from our guests for the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, and our guests did not disappoint!   We collected an assortment of discarded towels, bed linens, old dog and cat crates, old stuffed toys, and other much needed items!   Many of our guests also made a point to visit Aspen Valley Sanctuary and leave cash donations.    We appreciate each and every one of our guests who took the time to bring items for Aspen Valley when travelling to enjoy their vacation at one of the Serenity Vacation Rentals properties.  

For those of you not familiar with Aspen Valley, they are a 460 acre wildlife sanctuary of natural habitat located in Muskoka.  Their primary mandate is to rehabilitate animals so that they can eventually be returned to their natural habitat.  They also provide education to the community about co-existing with wildlife and humane solutions for wildlife-related issues. The size of Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary makes them one of the most unique and important wildlife rehabilitation centres in Ontario.

Thank you to the following Serenity Vacation Rentals owners for participating in the program;  

·         Birch Grove

·         Copper Cove

·         Curtis Cottage

·         Deep Woods Haven

·         Lee Valley

·         Mallard Beach

·         Muskoka Pines

·         Wraight Escape

I wanted to give a special thanks to the M. Wu family who were guests of Lee Valley, and left a cash donation of $50 for the sanctuary.  I also want to thank the owners of Muskoka Pines for their cash donation of $30.  Serenity Vacation Rentals matched the cash donations and a total of $160 was given along with the donated items.

Lastly I want to thank everyone at Aspen Valley for all of their very important work!   You are greatly appreciated!   I am hopeful six months from now we can more than double the requested items and cash donations!

You can see a YouTube video of a private tour we did of Aspen Valley in 2015 here.

Dean Curtis

Serenity Vacation Rentals

The 5 best things about a winter stay at the cottage.

Winter can be an amazing time of year to stay at the cottage!   Here are 5 of the best things about a winter stay at the cottage!

1. Reading a book by the fireplace.   There is nothing better than sitting by a warm fire while avoiding the cold outside.  Imagine holding your hot chocolate while your socked feet are held close to the wood burning fire.   You can smell the wood burning while you quietly read your favorite book.   The quiet and peacefulness that comes with winter stays at the cottage are just what the sole needs after a stressful work schedule.
2. Winter fun activities!   Try your hand at building a snowman with the kids or go tobogganing at a nearby hill.  Rent snowmobiles for the day and hit the trails with good friends.   Rent ski’s or snowshoes and try some of the local trails.  Or if the ice is thick enough, how about some lake ice hockey or ice fishing!
3. Trying new recipes.   Now is your chance to try that soup recipe or perhaps you’ve been
   
   excited to make a new stew or chili.  Winter time at the cottage is perfect for home cooking with family and friends, and your chance to try some winter favourites.
4. Watching a movie with a warm blanket.   Whether your pick is a late night horror movie, or a daytime seasonal Christmas special that brings a joyful tear to your eye, with the dark nights getting longer, it is the perfect chance to catch up on your favourite movies or tv shows after a day of winter activities with your family.
5. Connecting with friends – What better way to beat the winter blues than to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and reconnect with friends or family at the cottage.   Getting tired of the same driveway shoveling, work, and winter traffic in the city?   Get out of the city and into the country for some rest and relaxation as well as the peace and quiet that comes with winter stays at the cottage.
   

Charge me a security deposit….PLEASE!!

If you have rented a cottage vacation rental in the past, you have probably been asked to pay a security deposit.   I have seen these deposits range anywhere between $150, to $2,000 depending on the value of the cottage, the length of your stay, the number of people in your group, pets, etc.  This deposit is kept by the owner until the end of your stay, at which time it is returned to you provided there are no damages to the property or contents, outside of normal wear and tear.

There has been a movement lately from the cottage owner community, to forego taking security deposits.   Only 2 percent of the time is there a need for a cottage owner to draw funds from a security deposit anyway.   For cottage owners, there is a lot of work involved in collecting and returning deposits, and there are very few times when a deposit is even used to cover any damages.   Of those few times, the amounts are fairly small and usually are for damages that the guests fully admit to causing and are willing to pay.   For the cottage owner, it is easier for the accounting on their end if they don’t have to worry about collecting and returning the deposit.  It is not that the owners are willing to give up that added protection.  There are two different ways that cottage owners can still ensure the same protection against damage, without having to directly charge the guests a refundable security deposit.

1. Guests are all charged a small additional fee hidden in the rental charge.  Instead of that cottage costing you $1,000 per stay, it is now going to cost you $1,025.   There is no additional security deposit to be paid up front and there is nothing that will be returned after your stay.   You are simply paying $1,025 to rent the cottage with no security deposit.   Nice right?....  The owner then takes these numerous extra $25 payments and funds a private damages fund.   This fund is then used to cover any damages up to a certain amount.   (There would still be wording in the contract that they could seek compensation for larger ticket items), but for smaller damages they would draw from this private fund.
   
   
2. The second model is to force guests to purchase a separate insurance.   This is basically the same as the point above, however it is a more formalized cottage guest insurance, usually managed and run by a third party.   Again, this is an additional cost to you the guest, which would have you paying more to rent the cottage overall.

So what does this mean to you the cottage rental guest?   If you are the type of guest who loves to come to the cottage and plan to take care of the cottage like it was your own, it means you are paying an extra fee for damages that someone else will cause in the future!   Instead of paying $1,000 for a rental charge plus $400 which is returned to you in full after your stay, you are now paying $1,025 or $1,050 for a loss of $50.  

In the first scenario above, let’s consider a cottage that rents 50 times in a year and charges a hidden $50 per rental to cover damages.    The damages fund now has a total of $2,500 for the year.    What happens if the owner doesn’t have that much in damages over the year?  You guessed it – the owner gets to pocket that money

So if I’m a guest for your rental cottage I say charge me the deposit!   I know I will take care of the place and I don’t want to pay more than I need to, paying for someone else’s damages!

What do you think?  Would you rather pay a slightly higher rental charge?   Or less in rental fee but with an additional security deposit which is refunded to you after your stay?   I’d love to hear comments and thoughts from those of you who have rented cottages!

Dean Curtis

Serenity Vacation Rentals

Save money on your next cottage vacation rental!

How would you like to save some money the next time you are looking for a cottage vacation rental?   Below I give some insight on what is costs the owners to list on those sites and how you can get the best price when shopping for your cottage vacation!

When guests are looking to get away for a vacation, they have a lot of options at their disposal.  Airbnb, VRBO, TripAdvisor, and Booking.com, are a few of the larger vacation rental platforms prospective guests can use to find their perfect vacation getaway.   There are many more sites available, and it seems that every week there are more platforms coming on board to take their slice of the vacation rental pie.   So how do you as a traveler, find the best deals for a cottage vacation rental?  First let me tell you how the sites work from the viewpoint of a vacation rental owner.

Airbnb and TripAdvisor - Both of these sites do not charge the owners to list their property.   If a guest books the property through the platform, the site simply takes a small percentage of the money as their compensation (usually around 3 percent).   So an owner who decides they want $200 for that one night at their property, will simply increase the price so that the portal gets their commission and the owner still gets her $200 to cover the bills, expenses, and hopefully have some left over as profit.


VRBO - Runs a bit different than the first two, in that it charges the owners a fee to list their property. The site does not take any commissions on bookings from the owners.   How does VRBO make its money?   VRBO charges the guest a "booking fee", which is essentially a commission on the transaction, but they charge the guest up front to book.  There is no need for the owner to increase their price as they still get their $200, but the guest still pays a higher price covering the VRBO booking fee.

Booking.com - This is a again free for the owners to list, but the owners receive a commission invoice at the end of each month to pay for bookings generated from the listing site.   So what do owners do to offset those costs?  You guessed it, the owner will increase their rates on this site as well so they take home that same $200 for a single night rental.


So what does this mean to you, the rental guest who wants to have the best vacation they can have at the lowest possible price?   It means that you should book directly from the owner or rental company.   At the very least find their website to compare prices.  Many times you can save hundreds of dollars by sourcing them directly.   By all means, look on one of the portals to find the cottage you are interested in!   But if you see "Oak Bay Hideaway" in Port Severn on Airbnb, or "Birch Grove" in Parry Sound on VRBO, take the time to do a google search for the same property and location.  Many times you will find the direct website where you can book at discounted prices!

Take your savings and put it towards your next vacation!  Have a fantastic summer!

Top 5 questions to ask before renting your next cottage!!

The demand for cottages has been increasing exponentially over the last few years.   We have received phone calls from people desperate to rent who ask very few questions if any at all!  How do they know if this cottage would suit their family?  If you are thinking of renting a cottage, here are a few questions you may want to ask before sending in your deposit!

1) Is your cottage pet friendly?   One of the benefits of vacationing at a cottage is that your four legged family member may be able to join you.  Will your pets be welcome at the cottage?  What are the rules regarding size, breed, and number of pets etc?   Are other cottages close by with pets who may not get along with you pets?  Are there walking trails close by?  Or is there space on the property for your pet to run and explore?   Maybe you don't have any pets or have allergies.  This still may be a good question to ask if searching for a cottage that has never had a pet in it.

2) Where can I see reviews on your cottage?   Cottage rentals are on the rise and unfortunately with that the occurrences cottage rental fraud are rising.  Picture yourself showing up for your vacation rental just as another family pulls in saying they rented the same week.  Or perhaps you knock on the door of your beautiful cottage and the owner opens the door.   She looks confused when you say you have rented their cottage?   These are real examples of what can happen.    To avoid this be sure to book with a reputable company that has several reviews on their cottages.   Avoid booking through a Kijiji ad without a link to their website or seeing several reviews from past happy guests.   Get a referral from a family member or friend who has actually stayed at one of their properties!

3) Is there internet and cell phone reception at the cottage?   Cottages can be fairly remote and cell phone reception is not always a given.  Internet can also be difficult depending on the location.   Most cottages will have a satellite internet connection if they have one at all.   This will be a slower connection that is perfectly fine for emails and website searches etc., but don't plan on downloading movies or streaming netflix!

4) How far is the nearest town?  Many people book their cottage after seeing amazing pictures and reading reviews, without first learning how far the cottage is from the closest town.   I understand that your family is looking to "get away" from it all, but at some point you will need food, alcohol, snacks, supplies, or restaurants, etc.   This can be a quick and easy trip of 5 minutes, or a long, time wasting excursion of 45 minutes or more, depending on the location!   Be sure you know how far you will need to travel for groceries.

5) Is the cottage accessible?   This seems like a silly question to ask, but there are cottages for rent with no road access!   You are expected to park your car and hike in to the property.  Is this something you are willing to take on with luggage and young kids in tow?  Does this cottage have road or water access?  Many cottages are located on their own private island or shared with several other cottages.  Is your family ok with having to climb on a boat every time you want to go into town or need supplies?   Is the boat supplied or will you be paying for a service to move you to and from the mainland.   What about winter access?   Are the roads municipally maintained or are they covered by a private plowing service?   Will the driveway and access to the doors be shoveled before your arrival?

With just a few questions you will be able to find the perfect cottage for your family.   If contacting a rental agency let them help you with the research!   Tell them what is important to you!   Do you want shallow water entry because you have little kids?  Do you want flat land and easy access because you have elderly family members coming?   The agency will have first hand knowledge of the cottages and will be happy to help you find the perfect fit!


Dean Curtis
Serenity Vacation Rentals