The highlight of my stay at the Nordic Cottage (cottage 11) was the view of the lake, the grounds surrounding the cottages with a fire pit, free usage of boats and paddles and the customer service. Judy allowed for an easy reschedule when I got sick and couldn't make the original dates. I appreciated the flexibility, the ability to deal with an issue on a case by case basis , not just go by the book without thought and just the kindness with which she asked me to feel better and simply asked whether I would like to cancel or reschedule even though it was so close to my check in date. Five stars just for that!
The person who was supposed to clean the cottage patio had left early that day, so my patio and bbq was in a bit of disarray and not clean and as soon as I texted Judy about it, she sent Sven over and he was there fixing the issue before I had even unloaded my luggage from the car! He was also delightful, chatty and just a lovely person. I definitely felt like a welcomed guest with both people.
The cottage itself is nice. It has some good things about it like a fully equipped kitchen with a full sized fridge, microwave, oven, gas range and dishwasher. It has a small sized wood stove fireplace (I brought my own firewood and wished I had got briquettes instead because the logs of wood were big and I found it difficult to start and maintain the fire, briquettes are easier to get going especially for a smaller sized fireplace in my limited experience). There is a cool double door leading out to the patio that you can open the top half of, and sit on the little round dining table (not shown in the pictures) and see the lake while eating breakfast. The patio itself was very nice... good size with 4 chairs and somewhat private. The next cottage is right in front and a little to the side. I was not looking for a private experience so I didn't mind. but just fyi that the cottages are close together and many times I could hear conversations of other guests as they walked by and from their patios. The washroom is standard. I found the day bed uncomfortable to really lounge in, with its style and limited back support. The bed was very comfortable and up a flight of small wooden stairs but you can't stand up once you're in that room because of the angle of the ceiling and how low it is which was annoying but really not the end of the world. Really felt like I was on a cottage vacation.
Apart from these couple of things, my stay was a great one. I loved that I could park my car right outsider the cottage door, so easy to pack and unpack compared to some other places I've stayed at! The location is great. Less than mins to Ganges market. The cottage is a good size. The views are great. The free equipment is a wonderful touch. The chairs around the grounds by the lake were super to sit at and lounge and read. I would definitely be back!