Name: Fairy Bay Guest House
Address: Cookson Bay Cresent; 228, Huntsville, Huntsville, Huntsville, P1H 1B2, Canada
Rating: 10

Air conditioning

Smoke-free property

Garden

Terrace

Express check-in

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Outdoor furniture

No elevators

Reception desk

General

Non-smoking rooms

Family room

Smoke Detector

Hairdryer

Rooms

Wheelchair Accessible

Accessibility

Microwave oven

Kitchenette

Coffeemaker

Bottled water

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Library

Barbecue grill(s)

Picnic area

Fishing

Barbeque

Recreation

Parking

Parking nearby

Private beach

Next to the beach

Pool and beach

First Aid Kit

Beauty and wellness

Playroom

Children's playground

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the guest house

Fairy Bay Guest House

Huntsville

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

I would highly recommend this place to stay either as a couple or family.  Katie at the front desk was very friendly and accommodated us when we upgraded our second night to a suite.  The beds, view and atmosphere was perfect in November and can only imagine what the summer months will be like when we plan to return.  
Thank you to the staff and management for an outstanding resort.

Fantastic 2 night stay with outstanding staff

My daughter and I were very happy with our stay here.  The location was great, close to The town of huntsville, Arrowhead provincial park and Algonquin park. The place was very charming and clean and the host very welcoming and friendly.  It was the little touches that made it. We will definitely be returning in the summer

Great place to stay

What a fabulous location and lovely place with king size beds and quiet sitting areas
Christine & John are fantastic hosts?
The breakfast is fantastic 5 star food and attention to details
The leaves were turning colours and the host suggested routes to get the best views and experience of Fall in Muskoka

Great weekend experience

This was my second visit to Fairy Bay Guest House, There are new hosts, John & Christine Kropp, since the last visit in October 2007. The hosts displayed great hospitality from the moment we arrived until our departure.

Fairy Bay Guest House is a great base for heading into Algonquin Provincial Park. If you want to have a barbecue this is possible on the shore of Fairy Lake.

Would we go again, too right.

A great place to visit in the Muskoka Fall.

I always wanted to bring my wife to Fairy Bay Guest House and fortunately this time we had the chance to stay 2 night there and we have to say really thank you for the hospitality and service we received. John was a very helpful person and always very supportive to show the beauty of this location which is absolutely something to write home about.
Thanks again Gabriele and Marco

Finally we managed to stay at the  Fairy Bay Guest House

We stayed in the area while attending a wedding at the Deerhurst Resort. The Lakehouse location was convenient. Check-in was easy and then we never saw anyone for the remainder of the stay. It is a bit run down or some might say rustic. The breakfast was included but it might as well have not been. It was Keurig pods, cold cereal, a variety of bread products and frozen waffles to go in the toaster. I guess it would be great if you are on a budget or on the go. There is not enough parking for all the guests. We had to walk from the neighbouring parking lot in the pitch dark(in heels). Due to wedding festivities we did not get to use the lake or all the water sport equipment but it was all offered to us. The beds were super comfy and our room was very quiet. Overall it was worth the money.

Beautiful Area

My husband surprised me with a weekend getaway. I had no idea where we were going until we arrived.  Neither of us had experienced a B&B before but he chose this based on the reviews. Even though it was a bit more $ than other options, he was impressed by Fairy Bay.  Our room was quiet and comfortable.  The food was like nothing we have ever tasted.  We are not big on eggs Benedict but we were huge fans of his. Homemade croissant french toast??? Amazing. The property was fantastic and the view beautiful.   We would return!

First Timer B&B

Overview: Nice enough facility that is confused on what it is and lacks communication and skills sufficiently to cause drama and disappointment. They aren't sure if they are a casual cottage or a boutique hotel/inn. And the conflict around that causes the issues. newly renovated and very clean

Location: good, quiet back road, right on the water, all the photos seem up to date of the interior etc. It's a quiet bay off the main lake, though the highway can be seen in the distance from the dock. No one was coming into the bay on anything motorized at high speed so I was able to go for a mid-lake 30-minute  swim without worrying about yahoos on Sea-doos or water skiers. Close enough to town to easily go in and enjoy the restaurants etc.

Amenities: there are amenities at the lake like the kayak (but seems only one), pedal boat, and canoe. Not enough chairs for all the guests down by the water though. It needs more chairs so everyone can enjoy it at the same time. There is a community pantry for the guests with a fridge and freezer, sink, and various glasses and mugs to borrow. In-room, the toiletries offered were very Howard Johnson scale- WetWipe makeup remover? Really? At that price? 

Rooms: ours was quiet, well sound insulated from the room next door, but the doors is thin and on a handle lock only with light leaking all around. Oh, and it seems no sound insulation between floors. Sounded like they were moving furniture half an hour a night in the room above us. and only one window opened out of two reducing natural ventilation. And speaking of ventilation, the exhaust fan in the bathroom was visible in the ceiling, but there seemed to be no way to turn it on. The beds were comfy.

Communication issues: Called twice before arrival, once three days ahead, once on the morning of arrival. Never heard back. Heard from other guests they had the same problem. There is no one carrying a phone, or returning calls. We had no idea if there would be a problem at check-in time. Both women were nice enough, and seemed very well-intentioned, but not deeply experienced or trained in hotel or customer service. Example: We were told there was a fire pit and to let her know if we wanted it set up for the evening. But, when we said yes, she told us she would put wood out. I had to ask how we would light the fire and then she then offered to leave us a fire starter and a lighter. There was no verbal or written description of what the amenities were that were available, the times for breakfast, etc. There is a mismatch between the kinds of communications we saw, the quality of the breakfast and the low quality bathroom shampoos and the like versus the website. It's marketing as higher end. And priced too high for the breakfast, bathroom supplies (had to go ask for more TP!), and customer service issues.

Breakfast. 1 star. The first day, scrambled eggs that I suspect were out of a plastic bag as at the big low-end hotel chains that include breakfast, in addition to some kind of 'hash brown' stick things, a few kinds of cereal, muffins, croissant,s and some fruit. But the knives and forks were in a closed drawer which I had to be told by other guests. On the second day, there was no hot breakfast. No explanation was given. I had called ahead, with no answer, about gluten-free for breakfast. The eggs and fruit were the only option. Not ok for the price. There is an amazing gluten-free bakery in town. I provided my own breakfast the second day and my own bread the first. they had enough notice to do something. and at that price point and sure expected it. Thank goodness I always travel with my backup foods or I would have gone hungry the second day. and the first really.

While the facilities are really very enjoyable, it was a very real disappointment otherwise.

Communications make a fail out of a lovely spot

We were greeted by a cold lady who started typing away at her computer with her back to us in silence for a few minutes. This lady was new at her job and kept saying that our booking, which was made through booking.com, had declined.  She requested that we pay the total amount of the stay ahead of time.  I called my bank they reassured me that nothing was wrong with my debt or credit card; however, she kept me there, forcing payment to happen.  I also received an email confirmation regarding my booking. She would not let us receive full payment without seeing the room or facility. When we politely asked about the policy, as we've never had to pay in such a way before, we were told that small inns operate like that, and that's how they do it. We were unfamiliar with such a process and suggested that we were slightly uncomfortable as we hadn’t even seen the rest of the inn or our room.  

I felt this was our cue to find a way to exit by saying we were going to an atm. I called booking.com they said that on their end, I shouldn’t have to pay more, and they refunded us.  I would not recommend staying at this place.

Horrible experience worst "B and B"

This was planned to be a special first weekend away in the 2 years post COVID-19.   We especially booked a B and B looking for a personal touch and something relatively safe COVID-19 wise.

We were greeted to find out that the blind were not working in our room properly.   This would have been entirely fine, and was acceptedas such (I appreciate fortrightness).   The receptionist/handyperson/cook proceeded to berate another individual for parking in a spot in front of the garage.   In retrospect we should have known then that things were off to a poor start observing that interaction.   However, everyone has their better moments, so we met this slide.

We went down 15 stairs to our room after having been told that everything was on one level.   

Our TV did not work.   To his credit, the employee came and got another remote.   There were limited channels.

The room was sparse.   Relatively clean but no particular comforts (pen to write with, no writing paper, no decor other than dark brown walls in bathroom and a turtle lamp that had orongs bent out of shape.)

The room was cool.   We thought the temp had been turned down (66 degrees) because no-one was in the room.  We raised the temperature and left to enjoy our supper and our planned outdoor activity.

Upon our return, we were notified the boiler was not working and that there could be issues with the hot water (apparently hot water heating.   The linkage between heating and the running hot water were not evident.)   The room was freezing.   We had needed to remove our footwear at the building entrance and had cold feet in spite of ski socks on the basement floor.   We got into bed but were frozen.   I needed to attire myself appropriately and go up and ask about the heating.   

The employee came down.  My mother, who is in her mid seventies, was berated for having raised the heating.   She couldn't get warm.   The employee adjusted the fan.   We continued to freeze to the point my teeth were chattering.   The walls and floor were cold.   

We had a horrible sleep and actually ended up sleeping in the same bed to stay warm.

In the morning I overheard the employee stating that there are known problems with the windows throughout as others were complaining.

The breakfast was awful.   The egg pan was reused so the eggs were burned.   The homefries were dried out and the bacon was inedible.   The breakfast set-up is detailed in attached photos, as is the egg pan which was keft sitting on the gas stove while the employee was upstairs.   We had to get our own cheap jam out of a cupboard.   

All of the food laid out is illustrated so the reader can assess for themselves if they feel this is appropriate.

We lugged our luggage up the stairs and spoke to the employee to let him know our dissatisfaction.   He actually yelled st my mother and banged on the counter and threatened to call their lawyers when my mother suggested that we should have some recompense for the poor experience.  I have worked in a variety of environments and never witnessed such rudeness.   I was actually fearful of him escalating so started to video the interaction.   He calmed down oh so quickly and then begrudgingly printed out a receipt when asked.   

The night's stay cost around $225.   I am sure we could have had a better experience at any low end motel in the area.

I am particularly upset as this night away was a long awaited gift to me from my mom and she meant for it to be something special.

The other travellers we encountered were similarly dissatisfied with their stay.

I am hopeful that this is helpful to someone out there as we all need a break in these times.   

On a positive note we had excellent service at the local Canadian Tire, enjoyed the Eclipse light show and appreciated the wonderful service at Family Restaurant.

Fairy Bay Guest House

Main amenities of the guest house

Available rooms

Location

Description of the guest house

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