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No two guests are the same, and Viamede Resort is something different to every guest that stays with us.
For some, Viamede Resort is a cottage that feels like home, where you make friends with the neighbours and grill up masterpieces on your lakeside patio every evening. For others, we’re a boardroom with lots of natural light, fresh air for break-out sessions, and a hearty farm-to-table lunch for the whole team. And for some guests, we’re a secluded retreat out of the city to reconnect with a loved one over an exquisite nine course tasting menu with local VQA wine pairings.
From the décor in our rooms, to our approach to planning meetings, to the way we’ve embraced everything Ontario has to offer in our food, landscaping, and activities, there’s nothing cookie-cutter about Viamede Resort.
Everything we do, we do with intention and by first asking ourselves, “what do our guests want, and does this idea make sense?”. That means that in the summer, we make sure that our guests get a real Ontario resort, cottage-country experience – whether they stay in a room or cottage. In the winter, we thrive on the quiet solitude, and so do the guests that come to us for an ultra-private, romantic weekend.
Because you’re your own person, with your own needs and preferences, we think it’s silly to offer you a formulaic hotel experience. Instead, meet your personal (winter hideaway/ boardroom / summer family resort / Kawartha cottage) dream vacation.
We’re a little rustic, a little quirky, and a lot uncomplicated.
When you arrive at Viamede Resort, the first thing you’ll notice is a feeling of uncomplicated hospitality. It’s the feeling of going to a good friend’s cottage and knowing you are welcome. And, like your friend, Viamede isn’t perfect. We think we’re awesome, which is why you’re coming over, but we’re nowhere near perfect.
We’re in cottage country, surrounded by nature. We embrace this – we love our wildflower meadows, hiking trails, and the fact that sometimes, a stray chipmunk gets into a cottage. Yes, we have poison ivy, but we also have lots of frogs, turtles, deer, and hummingbirds. Sit quietly by the water, and you’ll see mink playing among the rocks, great blue herons, and loons.
We’re not big on rules, extra charges, or telling you what to do. We just want you to enjoy your time here, whatever that means to you. We also don’t think that this is special – making and enforcing rules is a lot of work, and we don’t quite know why so many resorts do it.
We love stories – whether that’s helping you build the story of a new family cottage resort tradition, or looking back on the story of our 100-something-year-old legacy. Each crooked floor, wonky electrical circuit, and reversed faucet tell us about a different time at the resort. Most importantly, the structural and electrical engineers tell us the story that it’s all safe, just interesting.
Who are our guests?
Our guests are great! They’re fun people looking for a lovely lakeside vacation, anywhere from a night in the off-season to 2 weeks every summer. They come for warm hospitality, the fantastic view, and the easygoing perspective. They understand that we’re not perfect, and are happy to trade corporate scripts and policies for staff that genuinely care, acres of mowed lawns for wildflowers, and cookie-cutter guestrooms for hours spent having fun, outside their room.
“What about…” Here are answers to a few questions we get quite often:
- How big is Viamede? We have 24 rooms and 18 cottages. We have 3 restaurants and 150 acres of land. You can walk from one end of the resort to the other in about 5 minutes, but if you want a longer stroll, venture onto our 9 km of hiking trails.
- I want to borrow a canoe/kayak/movie/scrabble game. How does that work? You go to the beach/tennis court/game shelf and help yourself. There’s no signing out, waivers, wrist bands, or cost.
- Do you host corporate events? Yep! Click here for details, or here to e-mail our events team
- What time is check-in/check-out? Check-in is at 3 pm, and check-out is at 11 am. We can never promise early check-ins or late check-outs, but you’re welcome to stay and enjoy the property if you arrive early or aren’t quite ready to go home yet.
- Do you rent motorboats? Yep! Stoney Lake is called Stoney for a reason – and in the past, we’ve suggested that guests don’t venture out with rental boats unless they know the area. But we’re bringing on board a fleet called “Grampa’s Old Tin Boats” – they’re basic tin boats with electric motors, and since they’re not brand new, we don’t care if you happen to scratch them up a bit. Read more here. If boating on your own sounds like more challenge than you’re up for, we’re also happy to take you on a cruise of the lake any time we can.
- I’m staying in a cottage. Do I need to bring sheets and towels? All of our rooms and cottages have full housekeeping, so we provide bedding and bathroom towels. Both our indoor pool and an outdoor pool are stocked with towels, so the only towels you may want to bring are beach towels! Check out our full cottage packing list if you are the planning type!
- How much do your recreation activities cost? As the saying goes, the best things in life are free, and that goes for our recreation schedule as well.
- Can I eat at your restaurants even if I’m not a guest at your resort? Do I need a reservation? Absolutely! Both Mount Julian and The Boathouse are open to travelers, tourists, locals, and guests alike. If you are not staying at the resort, please call us to make a reservation, so we can ensure we have a table for you!
- Can you use the facilities (i.e. the gym, yoga studio, pools) if you aren’t a guest at the resort? Unfortunately not. Our facilities are reserved for guest use only.
- No tipping? What? Yep! We believe that our staff should be paid fair wages, whether the resort or restaurant is busy or not. You’ll see our restaurant prices are a bit higher than comparable restaurants, but you don’t have to add 15% to tip.
We really love it here at Viamede Resort. We hope you do too.