Bondi Village Lodge & Cottages — Hotel in District Municipality of Muskoka

After long months of isolation due to covid, we decided to search for a lovely and reputable place to take our 7 yr old daughter for some cottage time. We usually go to Port Loring. This time, our regular spot was closed for the season. ||So I found Bondi Resort at Lake of Bays region in Muskoka. We made a reservation for two weeks. And here are exactly what happened: ||1- Our first day happened to be a heavily rainy day that it was impossible for us to read the signs in resort at the entrance. So we were driving to the wrong direction for a couple of meters and we met an old tall man standing in the middle of the road. We stopped and opened the window. He was very gentle and polite asking us how he could help us and where we were going until that very moment that my husband opened his mouth and answered with eastern European accent. We were looking for the office to check in. The old man became then very rude and told us in an arrogant and sarcastic way that he could not believe how we missed the signs and started babbling. At that time, I did not know he was the owner, named Brian Tapley. I thought he was a grumpy old guest.||2- My daughter is a nature lover and she loves chipmunks. She spent all days observing them running up and down. This did not change at Bondi. She took their pictures, explored where their nests were located and even fed them with some peanuts she got from other guests in resort. One day, my daughter and my husband went to the old barn for taking out the garbage. This is an open place to the public and located just in front of the office area. It is used for garbage as well as for storage. So anybody – including children - can go in and out. My daughter heard some weird screams and cries. She looked around and finally she discovered a couple of chipmunks trapped in a cage and another chipmunk was crying outside trying to help them frantically. She got shocked and panicked.. From what and how my husband described me; It almost seemed like a scene from Silence of The Lamb from the perspective of a 7 yr old. So she opened the cage to let them free thinking that she was helping a chipmunk family to get reunited and freed. At that very moment, Brian Tapley showed up and started to yell both at my husband and my daughter. He called them “stupid” for several times. He walked on my husband and ordered him to fix the cage, yelling at the same time that it was his property and he could do whatever he likes including trapping wild life. And my husband told him that he could have put some sign or writing explaining not to touch along with the purpose of the cage. Then Brian Tapley got even more angry and answered that any note or sign would not work as he (my husband) would not be able to read in English anyway...To be noted that my husband is a senior consultant working in Toronto and he has a very good English. And the saddest thing is that our seven year old witnessed the whole thing and she was also exposed to some insults. Apart from the racist incidents, ||a- there are untrained off leash dogs wandering in the property. One of these dogs (Mean neighbor’s dog especially) can get somebody injured sooner or later. You need to be watchful for young kids. There was one guest who used to come to that resort for 40 years. Everybody was trusting their children around him. However, he dared to take my daughter’s pictures without our permission. This is the profile of some priority guests. They might lack that type of common sense. ||c- There is a double standard and unwritten rules: check out time is flexible for the guests they know from before whereas it was as strict as a stone for a newbie. Anyway, we paid full price but we left earlier that that as there was no point for us to stay. ||d- The cleaning was not satisfactory as I found a used face mask from previous guests lying on the floor under the side table in the bedroom.||I hope their humble son, the young Tapley takes over that place anytime sooner. Otherwise, Bondi wont survive long with that destructive energy. The harmony is being broken. What I see is a horror mobie behind a fairy tale. Bondi broke my daughter’s heart. ||And I don’t believe they were dislocating those trapped chipmunks. That cage just filled up again in less than 5 minutes after Brian Tapley re-set it. If it fills up with 3-5 chipmunks every 5-10 minutes, one would need to make a driving trip to dislocate them every 5-10 minutes. It does not make sense. I feel their fate is sourer than that. I leave...

My daughter and I are outdoor people. We love to swim, and kayak, and hike. We love animals and barbecue nights and fireplaces. We love the smell of Muskoka and the quietness of it. When I first found Bondi, we swam at the warm sandy beach, played in the massive garden, learned about the food growing in the vegetable patch, and heard all kinds of wonderful stories about Muskoka and the multiple generations of family that have been running Bondi Resort. My daughter and her Caribbean father used to tend chickens in the Caribbean, so she's delighted in collecting eggs, and smashing the occasional one to watch the chickens feast upon it. We live in a more urban setting and you just can't have chickens there - even though we miss them.||||What if you were lucky enough to have a place to call your second home? A place where the authentic rural way of life that is quickly disappearing could be found? A place to share with a family that's lived there for over 100 years; caring for the lake, the animals, growing food in the garden, collecting eggs from the chickens, and spoiling guests that return not once or twice but spanning decades and generations. The people that run Bondi are as much of the attraction as the place itself - five generations of one family, with colourful country characters! ||||"Grumpa" is the man that convinced my daughter he was going to start a whale farm before we all had a great laugh. But Grumpa waxes and wanes like Muskoka's weather, and when he's feeling stormy, it's best to give him a wide berth. We found that to be a lovely contrast to Carole who's sweet smile and soft voice and caring touch were made for hospitality. ||||"Nancy" is a Muskoka-tough woman, and she's like a collage of the women who have been born and raised with the self reliant toughness the adventure filled Muskoka life breeds. She's got a sarcastic wit that's not for the faint at heart (or the slow of mind) and if you're lucky enough to catch her when she's not busy; she's a wealth of knowledge about the area. ||||We like spending time with the animals; particularly my daughter who likes to brush the legendary "Squeegie" the pony, and try to befriend "Felonious Munk " the horse barn chipmunk, or the others that live at the cabins, since each cabin has their own chipmunk - ready to eat your spoils :) Nancy, one the matriarchs on the farm has named all the critters around her barn. Even the chickens have names. ||||Some people like to go to Disney-like places where a vacation experience is crafted by a carefully planned, but artificial veneer. We like the real thing. Wood burning fireplaces, apple cider and cross country skiing.....or for our summer fun, me filming my daughter while she jumps endlessly into the lake from the dock while I relax in the Muskoka chairs left out for us to enjoy. I have a bad back, so getting in an out of those chairs isn't easy, but once I'm in, I have no pain - and that's a real treat!||||Some of the things I've been hoping to see is a Moose, or a wolf, but I haven't been that lucky yet. I heard some wild turkeys in the woods once but by the time we reached where we heard them, they were gone. ||||They say there is no place like home - but for me - there is no place like our second home. Bondi Village Resort is not your average 'hotel' and if you're looking for the kind of real that fills your senses, calms your heart and excites your spirit - this is where it can be found. ||||Much love to the entire Bondi Family; Nancy, David, Meghan, "Grumpa", Carol and Barbara as well as all the riders who are so much fun to watch on their horses. Thanks for making Bondi our...

Our family has been renting at Bondi for about 15 years. There are many cottages on site to choose from and we've stayed in almost all of them. It's a wonderful sanctuary from the city with as much or as little to do as you choose. It's easy to plan a hiking or sight seeing trip into Algonquin park (20 minute drive to the entrance) but there is really no need to leave the property once you arrive. There's a private beach with canoes, water trampoline, paddle boards etc. A main dock that serves as a gathering place if you choose to socialize with your fellow cottagers. But plenty of space to plan your own activities throughout the property. Our favourites include hiking to the top of lookout point for a panoramic view of the property and surrounding areas. And hiking across the road to enjoy several other private hiking trails and wide open spaces. The Tapley family who own the resort work non stop to ensure that every cottage is clean, well maintained and comfortable. |The property itself is always in top shape due to the constant hard work of the Tapleys and their staff. |The night sky is incredible for the number of stars that you simply can't see from city. We are often lucky enough to enjoy a tour of the night skies by Nancy who educates us on the constellations and performs a wolf howl to see if there's a response from the local wolf pack. When we there in August we heard the wolves several nights in a row. Always a thrilling event!|Every cottage has a view of the lake and is only a few steps...