2009
Lunch at Red Leaves in Muskoka
This is the newly opened Red Leaves Resort in the village of Minett, Ontario. This section is called The Rosseau and it is where Canada’s first J.W. Marriott hotel resides. It is a huge $750M undertaking transforming over 1 mile of Lake Rosseau shoreline on about 1400 acres. It has not been totally embraced by the locals in the area due to its mammoth size, environmental footprint and more.
While having lunch in the resort restaurant called “Cottages” I noticed our Minister of Industry, Tony Clement chowing down with his family right beside me. He had mac n cheese with a Pepsi and I had the seared ahai tuna and a long cool Muskoka lager .. or two. Tony baby has been spreading some tax dollars around the area as next year Muskoka will be hosting the G8 Summit
This photo is a panoramic shot of two photos stitched together. Behind me was a spectacular view of Lake Rosseau which I shall post another time.
click the image for a large 1280 pixel photo
Your tax dollars at work!
I had a glass of wine, and my husband a coffee, and it set us back $25 at Taboo. We (retirees) do not travel in these circles!
It is pretty impressive looking in your photo. I doubt I will ever step inside it however. I wonder at the impact the G8 will have and what will be left behind when it is over. I am glad I live at the quiet end of the lake!
The photo gives the resort a majestic appearance, very grand looking…it doesn’t surprise me the locals aren’t thrilled to have the resort!
It will be interesting to see just what happens in the area with the G8…
Cheers
Red Leafs has become Fallen Leafs. Late May 09, duh resort wasn’t paying it’s supplier and banking group, and they got the court to have the troubled faciity that is still not finished put into receivership. More than 84 units our of about 200 are still unsold which the receiver hopes won’t have to be sold a liquidation prices.
Just a note: Minett isn’t a “village”, but a “hamlet”. And the developer has gotten his way: its designation was changed to “resort village”, with unknown tax rate implications for the future.
Yeah, you could say there is a bit of tension…
We visited Red Leaves to attend the first wedding there .. everything was great .. the venue .. the food .. the service .. and staff .. and I’m sorry to hear they are having financial trouble. But as Jenn said above, it is too expensive for us retirees and the locals to avail ourselves of their services.
I agree the staff, service and facilities are top notch. I attended a 2 day conference there last week and everyone was very impressed. I do not recall seeing staff in a Canadian hotel falling over you this much with genuine smiles before. Must be the JW Marriott training.
They are going to need constant new blood coming every week to keep this place going. Selling the remaining 80 odd units will help too.
We ended up visiting in order to attend the Muskoka Lakes Art Tour Gala. There was a prom, with some rather well-dressed young men and women. Quite a sight! I can see the issue. Surely there isn’t the big enough market to support it. The same issue with the development they want to have at Gull Wing Lake.
My wife and I had lunch at the Red Leaves and both the food and service was excellent. We will likely continue to drop in for either lunch or dinner during our stays in Muskoka, in the future.
They are certainly going to struggle during these slow economic times. A resort this size would only prosper during peak economic times.
I agree with other comments that the foot print of this resort this is not sized properly and conflicts with what has made the Muskoka region so special.
Going forward,I hope there are no further mega resort developments built in Muskoka.
My wife and I stayed there on my Marriott points (lots of them) and we wound up buying one of the cheaper condos at the crazy sale. I’ve stayed in several Marriott resorts and never seen as much programing around nature (guided hikes, kayak lessons, astronomy, canoeing etc.). The golf course is approved by the autobon society and they’ve done other environmental things (like directing all their outdoor light downwards). It’s interesting that “Mike” wrote “I agree with other comments that the foot print of this resort this is not sized properly and conflicts with what has made the Muskoka region so special.”. Yet Lake Rosseau is ringed by multi-million dollar “cottages”. BTW, we had dinner at the trendy Italian restaurant and you could get a salad, entree and drink for about $45 which is not very expensive for that kind of place. And the service was excellent. When we go up we’ll mainly be using the kitchenette that comes in each unit.