Deerhurst Resort — Hotel in District Municipality of Muskoka

Do not waste your money. This resort has seen better days and the complacency of staff speaks to the 'dont care' attitude. After we booked online we received a notification that the indoor pool would be closed during our stay. Ok, no problem, as we intentionally booked our room (summit) to be close to the outdoor pool. Just to find out when we walked to the outdoor pool that this was also closed for maintenance (painting). The available outdoor pools were on the complete other side of the resort. So to get to the other pools you had to walk up and down steep hills and it was a least a 15 minute walk on shared roadways (no walking paths up to them). We found out eventually (not at check in) that shuttle service is available or that we can just drive there ourselves (staff told us that this was probably the 'best' way to do it.) My partner was trying to spoil me and ordered chocolate covered strawberries for arrival. We got to our room and they weren't there - which whatever no big deal, but we found our room to be dirty - the bathroom had towels laying about and the soap was open and used. We called to inquire about this and was offered another room or for house keeping to come. We opted for the other room hoping it would be an upgrade from the dated room we had. Unfortunately it was definitely not an upgrade. Our new view looked out on the parking lot and construction materials and was just as dated. The beds were also not comfortable, our belcony was moldy and the TV in the bedroom didn't work. My partner had to hunt down the strawberry to ensure they got to us. They arrived with a card that was printed upside down. This wouldn't have bothered in in the least - I actually thought it pretty funny, but combined with all the other things it spoke to the lack of care and attention that was evident here. My partner booked spa treatments for me and the actual service was fantastic - kudos to the staff in the spa (which the spa is difficult to find - but it is there). While I was there I was informed that the steam room was also not available for after my treatments like they advertised and there was no way to lock your belongings up in the change room. The room one of my treatments was in was very compact and squished and even the staff was frustrated with her working accommodations. My partner also tried to book jet skis for us to have a little fun (*note this is a third party business on site) just to find they only had 1 working jet ski - the staff were apologetic and kind but it was very disappointing. The buffet breakfast was meh - the pancakes and french toast were like eating cardboard. The omelet station was fantastic and fresh. Cold drinks were all serve yourself. Being a wide hipped lady the chairs were very uncomfortable. We did the casino escape room which was okay the staff there was very kind and very nice. There were some items broken in the escape room itself but it was still fun. We went for a drink in the onsite restaurant one evening and the service was great, but they did not have the booze available that was on the menu.

I would recommend anyone who actually wants to stay here to book a room by the lake as walking from one end to the other is a lot and on a hot days you're going to be sweating buckets by the time you get up the hills or while waiting for a shuttle. Seems like there is fun stuff for kids - slack line, bean bag toss, climbing wall (pay extra), indoor playground, arcade (pay extra). Most things you need to pay extra for though. The beach area is very small, and the pools were quickly over populated. Overall if one or two of these things had happened I wouldn't have complained and I wouldn't have cared as individually they might not have been a big deal but it was every little thing that just added on top of one another that was so frustrating about the whole experience particularly with the amount that was paid to be here. We did address our frustrations at the front desk and they offered us 10% back which I guess is something but really...

Deerhurst is a resort well past its prime and in dire need of updating. The resort itself looks nice at first glance, especially the main lobby, but as you move through the rest of it, it seemed unkept, with overgrown grass in parts, yellowing lawns, and trash to be seen on the ground and floating in the water sadly. To their credit, the trash in the water was removed every morning, but it would float there again by mid day. Not sure if this speaks more to the resort trash management, or the type of person that stays at the resort, but either way, it wasn't nice to see. While the location is great and it has good bones, the rooms are outdated, the doors and handles all squeak, the elevators are small and rickety, and our balcony was filthy. It had cobwebs on them, the wood was creeky and cracked, with grime buildup like it hasn't been deep cleaned since the last reno in the 90s. The outdoor pool is small and WAY overcrowded. Our stay was during the week (not a weekend), and they had 100+ on a daily basis when 20 people in the pool would make it feel crowded. They keep count of the amount of people, so we asked when it would be less crowded, and they said this is normal during busy season. By 11am there were over 80 people in the pool area on a Tuesday, and 75% were kids under 10. My fiance and I were quite literally the only adults there under 60 that didn't have kids. This could be said for the whole resort in general, as the kids outnumber the adults like 3 to 1 everywhere you turned. Absolutely not a place to go for a romantic or relaxing getaway. The beach was also unkept, small, and stacked with beach chairs to a point where there was barely any place to walk. A clear path from the pool to the beach was non existent, and there were bird feathers and bird poop everywhere, so footwear is a must! Water at the public beach is barely waist deep at the deepest part where they have it sectioned off, so if you're tall, you literally have to sit on the lake bed to cover your shoulders with water. Getting to the beach from the main resort is also not great. There is no paved path for most of the way, so you have to walk 10-15 min across grass, roads and a parking lot to get to the water. The main Pavilion building is anything but a waterfront location. Also, know that "Resort View" when booking means a view of the parking lot. This is something we only found out after checking in. The view from the main restaurant, especially from their balcony patio is spectacular. A nice view of the lake through trees that blanket the patio with nice shade, and nice soft lighting in the evening make this a lovely spot to eat. The food at the restaurant however was just okay. Breakfast food was good, but the dinner options were dry and disapointing. I would go into town for a better dinner experience, which is what we did for most of our meals.

The staff was great in our experience and is the best thing I can say about the resort other than the nature location. From the servers to the check-in desk staff, everyone we interacted with was lovely.

To sum up, while the nature around the resort is beautiful with decent hiking trails and raw nature, and the staff was lovely, the rest of the experience was underwhelming, especially for the price. It seems to be very popular with families with young children and seniors, but for the price you pay, an all inclusive resort in Cuba or Dominican is a much...

I submitted the following feedback in the feedback survey I was sent after our visit.

Overall we were disappointed in our stay. We were checking out the resort for the first time and encountered several issues.

Staff were not knowledgeable about basic things (front desk didn't know the price of the buffet, Experiences Hub didn't know where activities were being held, other staff couldn't tell us where washrooms or the Algonquin Room were).

Food costs do not reflect the quality of dishes or service. $22 for a pita pizza for kids is outrageous. The buffet food was hit or miss. The medallions were fantastic but the mixed vegetables were inedible. The service was almost non existent at the buffet unless you sought out the server yourself. Plates piled up on the table. We waited over 40 minutes for the bill before having to leave the restaurant without paying the bill. After returning 30 minutes later our bill was still not ready. I understand that there was an issue with another table that our server was handling but even after she informed other staff she was too busy nobody stepped in to assist her. It was only until we told them we had already left without paying and were now back to pay the bill did another server get our bill ready for us.

The resort specifically encourages guests to use the app and go "paper free" but the My Hotel app was down the first day we were there but then even when it was back online it had wrong information. The Family Movie Night said to meet in the Algonquin Room, but the movie was actually in the Waterhouse. The Pond Expedition said to meet at the Deer Scout tent, but the meeting point was actually in the lobby.

We were encouraged to use the shuttle to get around. When we tried to call for the shuttle we didn't get a response until 35 minutes later. At that point the activity we were aiming to get to had already started 20 minutes prior.

We were in Summit Lodge 53, Room 301. The air conditioning unit is on the roof right above the bedroom. When the AC would run the vibration and hum/rumble were extremely disturbing and made it hard to sleep. In the middle of the night the decibel level was over 70 while the AC ran.

Construction next door started bright and early so along with the rumbling AC there was constant beeping from the construction equipment.

The room was nice but dated and in need of repairs and maintenance. The ceiling and walls were damaged and there was mold in the showers and dirt accumulated in doorways and corners of the rooms. These are simple repairs that, if addressed, would go a long way in improving the impression of the room.

The cook (owner?) at the Muskoka Street Eats food truck was very dismissive of my son's peanut allergy. I was told they purchase their chicken fingers and aren't sure about the ingredients. When I asked if they had the packaging I was simply told no. I went to Frenchie’s and they were a lot more accommodating and knowledgeable about their ingredients.

I was surprised there was no mid-stay status check-in to see how things were going. This is becoming more common and is an easy way to show guests they’re valued. Not only was there no mid-stay status, but I also wasn't asked how my stay was when I checked out, even though I heard other guests...