We spent the last week at the
Golden Beach Resort, and I've been thinking about how to frame this review the whole time. I'm torn. I'll start with the facts, and then move into my feelings about the accommodations. Rice Lake is located in Ontario, Canada, about two hours from Toronto. The closest cities are Cobourg and Port Hope on the south side and Peterborough on the north. Click
HERE for a map of the area.
The Location: The Resort is easy to find, located off a single lane road and well marked from the main street. I have always enjoyed Rice Lake because the water is generally warm in the summer, the lake is shallow for a good stretch before dropping down, and the area isn't overdeveloped.
The Resort: We chose this place because the cottages are located directly on the lake, and the website was well developed and informative. As well, bringing a 2 and 3 year old with us, we liked that the resort offers children's activities, a splash pad, wading pool and a children's centre. They also have a pool, playground, petting zoo, family restaurant, and boat rentals. For a full list of amenities, click
HERE.
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| My niece at the children's music show |
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| My son at the playground |
We were originally just looking for a traditional cottage experience, but were a bit worried that the two little ones wouldn't have enough to do with just a lake and a boat. They're too small to really go out fishing or to stay in the water all day. We thought the variety of activities would provide us with more options.
The resort is waterfront, with a beautiful view and a small (20 ft. or so) man-made sandy beach where kids can play. Rice lake's bottom is rocky and weedy, so the kids still had to wear water shoes to go in, but that's normal.
The resort offers cottages, trailers, and camping.
Accommodations: We stayed in a traditional, lakefront cottage. Click
HERE for a slide show of photos of the cottage we stayed in. Our cottage faced the water, had a small charcoal BBQ and fire pit outside, 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom and living room. The walls were wood paneled and there were ceiling fans in every room. We payed $1349 + tax for the week, plus an extra $115 for a 7th person, which was only half the usual rate because my son is only 2 years old. Not cheap, but we knew we were partially paying for the amenities of the resort. Boat rental is not included in the price.
The Pros: The Resort really does have all the amenities of a resort, including the many children's areas, a general store, fish cleaning and storing facilities, bicycle rentals, boat rentals, trails, etc. The small beach was nice with the kids, because Rice Lake has no natural beach front. My son and his cousin spent a lot of time filling their buckets with sand.
The view from the shore was spectacular, and we were treated to breathtaking sunsets each night. The general store was well stocked, the restaurant food was good and the service was friendly.
Our cottage neighbours had two children aged 4 and 6, and they were about the right age to take advantage of the children's program. There's enough variety at this resort that children really shouldn't get bored. Our neighbours said that this was their 3rd year visiting, and they planned to return again next year.
Cons: The cottage itself. Let me preface this by saying that I have no problems staying in a rustic cottage. I like to camp, and I don't need a ton of amenities. That being said, for the price we paid, the accommodations should have been better. The windows were difficult to open and several were stuck and stayed shut, making it unbearably hot inside the cottage.
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| The windows at the far end of the sofa don't open at all |
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| The only morning it was cool enough to eat breakfast inside |
The fridge didn't work properly. The first repair man told us it was because we had too much food in it so it would take a while to cool down. 24 hours later, we had to throw out a large chunk of our groceries. The next repair man offered us free bags of ice to keep our food cool. We refused to stay with a malfunctioning fridge for an entire week, and they eventually replaced the fridge.
The front door didn't close properly, and there was a wasp's nest above it that they kept promising to spray but never did.
The cupboards had bowls and plates, but literally only 6 bowls, six cups, six large plates, etc. We had to wash dishes after every meal.
Again, I wouldn't have a problem with this if the price matched the state of the cottage, but it didn't.
Verdict: This is where I'm torn. The price of this resort is high, but part of the price is undoubtedly the amenities. There is a lot to do there. Our kids were a bit too young to participate in most of the children's programming. Besides, they really were happy just swimming and "feeding the fishies" most of the time. I didn't use the pool once, since the water in the lake was such a nice temperature. We fished off the pier, BBq'd. and roasted marshmallows in our little fire pit.
Would I Stay Here Again? Although I see the appeal of this resort for many people, I don't think I would stay here again. There are nicer cottages for a lower price in the area, with air-conditioning. We scoped out a few other cottage rental places, many with children's playgrounds and pools. They were all a few hundred dollars cheaper, and the cottages were more modern and the boat rentals cheaper. None of them had the extensive amenities of Golden Beach Resort, but for the amenities that we used (BBQ, fire pit, lake and playground), we'll pay less and go somewhere else next year.
Eat safe gluten free and allergy free meals in your home and at any restaurant around the corner or anywhere across the globe.
