My wife and I spent an amazing week at Meg and Ryan's paradise. We rode bikes on Mayne and a day trip to Galiano, swam, hiked, and rented kayaks a couple of times. It was a super way to spend a week away from Vancouver.
TLDR: Clean place, great facilities, amazing hosts, super island. We had a wonderful time.
Facilities: There is a large comfortable bedroom and sitting area, with a separate bathroom, a large bar fridge, and a large outdoor deck with a hot tub. The place was spotless and quiet. Peaceful, pristine.
Food: We did our own cooking on the bbq. We ran a cooler for extra cold space (using the fridge to freeze water bottles (2-3 cranberry juice bottles filled with water works great - swap 1 morning and 1 night). There are a couple of stores and a few restaurants on the island, but we bought most of our food with us. We ate out a couple of times - it was busy, so make sure your reserve.
MIB: Mayne Island Brewery - must do. Try the beet buck. Yum.
Hiking: We did a number of short hikes. Amazing views for very little effort (~1h). Mount Parke, Vulture Ridge, and St. John Point are amazing and must-do. See Meg's excellent guidebook.
Biking: There is nothing really flat on Mayne. Think of places like Belcarra or Marine drive in West Van. Lots of short steep hills. The pavement is pretty good. That said, we toughed it out, and had lots of fun. You really see so much more by bike. Do it, enjoy it. Take your time. Walk if you have to.
Kayaking: We are pretty much novices in a kayak. The currents are wicked. Read a tide chart, understand what it means (out means towards Victoria, in means towards Vancouver). Especially watch the narrows, in an hour they can change from flat calm to a rushing torrent. Ensure that you have the tide (and wind) at your back on the way home. We did this and saw hundreds of seals, otters, eagles, and even the odd bighorn sheep.
Deck: The deck is 'L' shaped, quite large, and shady. We did everything but sleep on it. For the week we saw only 2 mosquitoes, about a dozen deer, and a single chicken that breached the perimeter fencing.
Chickens: Meg and Ryan have about a dozen chickens. They run to greet you when you leave the fenced yard. Pretend that you are a rock star and they are your groupies. Leftover bread, vegetable peelings, etc. helps bring this reality to life. There is no rooster, so don't worry about getting woken up early. PS. Be careful not to run them over with your car. Seriously: rock stars don't run their groupies over.
Ocean swimming: Temperatures are hit or miss. For me a miss. For my wife a hit. Some beaches great, others, not. The tides change this daily, even hourly.
Inter-island: We took our bikes to Galiano. Some days (Thursday) this is easily possible. You can't reserve inter-island (I heard). Other islands are possible too.
Drawbacks: The only drawback is that you are in a basement. Meg and Ryan are super quiet and leave you alone, but if you are expecting a secluded cabin in the woods that you can play Tarzan and Jane in, this is not quite it. Very close though.
Thanks, Meg and Ryan for sharing. We always appreciate it when people open up their homes to us.