What a beautiful cottage. We arrived with having no idea of what to expect and this cottage exceeded all our expectations. It had everything we needed and really was a home away from home. We had two families (kids ranging from 4 to 16) + two small dogs. We had such a relaxing time. We highly recommend this cottage to other guests looking to spend some time in Algonquin.
***Read further if you want a detailed description of our experience***
The front entrance is misleading. It's simple and unassuming but once you walk through the front entrance to the living room it's like a whole different world. The open concept living rooms looks out to the beautiful lake behind the bungalow. But before you hit the lake, you walk past the coze multi-paneled windowed sunroom that leads to a study decked (equipped with a propane BBQ), firepit and landscaped backyard.
The cottage is equipped with two living spaces.
MAIN LIVING SPACE: The one to the left of the front entrance has three bedrooms. The furthest one has a small window that allows a breeze to pass through and has a bunk bed (single bed on top, double on bottom) - there is no ceiling fan. It's small but the kids loved it. The main master bedroom has a bathroom attached with a curtained shower. It's a tight squeeze to maneuver past the sink to the shower but it provides all the privacy you need. :) There is a fan in the room to keep the room cool during the day. Nights are cool so fan is optional.
All rooms have closets/units for storage.
MAIN BATHROOM:
Has a shower/bath combo and handheld shower head and across from that bathroom is another room with a single bed and another bunkbed (single sized both top and bottom).
WASHER/DRYER:
Washer and dryer is located right at the front door. It can get a bit loud (buckles, buttons, loose change all make noise) and beeps/sings when cycle is done so if you're doing your laundry late at night, light sleepers may be affected. ;)
KITCHEN #1:
The main kitchen is located right across from the living area. It comes fully stocked (coffee machine (both single serve and more than one cup), hot water heater, toaster, wine cooler microwave, pots, pans, cutting boards, utensils). Some condiments were available but we were unsure if we were allowed to use so brought our own (salt/pepper/oil).
2ND LIVING SPACE:
The 2nd living space also has a kitchen which we didn't use but it's there. There is a door which separates the two living areas. There is a room with a double bed and a shared bathroom. The 2nd room is a bunk bed with a single bed on top and double bed on the bottom. This living space also has it's own small living room with tv which leads to the shared sunroom. There is a sliding door that separates the two units.
OUTDOOR:
-gas BBQ
-Shed with life jackets, oars, etc.
-canoe
-paddle boat
-dock
-plenty of chairs
-fire pit
-so, so peaceful to canoe and just take in beautiful Algonquin
It's right off the main road and across from the Algonquin Outfitters Store (Oxtongue) where you can pick up fishing rods, firewood ($11) and supplies, boating equipment, etc. plus winter activity related equipment if you stay during the snowier months. There are hiking trails and cross country skiing trails. Perfect for any time of year.
TECHNOLOGY:
Wifi worked fine, dvd player helped. We brought our own dvds and ps3. We did not use the satellite tv.
CONS?:
Don't really have any. Here are some things that might bother some but really didn't affect us. Air conditioning is not set up BUT there are fans in almost every room and it gets really cool at night. Near Algonquin Outfitters Store dock so higher traffic/less privacy. Jackson, their golden retriever kept coming over and freaked our dog out so if you have a dog that is bothered by bigger dogs, you might have company. Jackson is the most chill dog I have ever seen. He just wants to eat what you're cooking. He came whenever the bbq was on. Mosquitoes suck. Bring your repellent. There is a strict but necessary need to separate waste and recycling. The cottage comes fully equipped with a kit that explains everything. That is a good thing. The negative part of that is the land fill hours. It may not be according to your desired/required dump days. We left today. Yesterday it was closed and today it opened at 1 pm. Check out was 10 am so we ended up bringing everything with us and finding another place to dump. We were unable to wait until 1 pm. SO if you are going to dump and know that you are going to miss your land fill dump day (you only get one pass), dump 1 day or 2 earlier. Don't let the landfill hours deter you from following the guidelines. We wanted to make sure we played a part in keeping this beautiful place, well, beautiful so tried to make sure we followed the rules. :O)