Footprints Resort — Hotel in Hastings Highlands

TLDR version: Carefree, lots to do, gorgeous, fun and simple!

Edit -

Ok the first part of my post was day one at the resort. After spending 6 nights I feel I needed to write a more complete review.

Style: My first impression when arriving at footprints was WOW! My fiancee and I were met by the hostess who was very friendly and informative. She gave us a tour of the resort and we were awestruck by how well designed the place is. It truly is gorgeous and so unique.

Finishing touches such as tiki huts, massive dock with Muskoka chairs, cottage cabins give it a very neat resort theme.

Everything you need: While staying at the resort you are welcome to use all of the amenities including water sports, diving board, slide, fire pits, fireplace, hot tub, mountain bikes, ping pong, basketball, entertainment area, etc.

There is a full kitchen with commercial refrigerators to store your food. One indoor and one outdoor stove and tons of barbecues to make sure no one is ever waiting to cook.

The concept is a mix between camping, cottaging and hotel resort. You take care of yourself, clean up after you are done using stuff so the next people are able to use everything.

Make it your own: My, now, wife and I held our wedding at the resort this week. We were looking for a very relaxed ceremony we could invite our closest, most favorite people in the world to come and enjoy a great time. The owners helped us accomplish an amazing vacation for all of our friends. They offered so much to make our wedding spectacular. From offering to provide decorations and accommodating by setting up areas for us. I could see how anyone looking to host a fancy ceremony would love this place. We graciously declined the suggestions because while people dressed up a little bit for the ceremony our goal was to be relaxed and keep it simple.

Mindset: If you are looking for an upscale DIY vacation this place is just wicked. If you are looking to host a wedding getaway here I would strongly recommend it. If you are looking to get away for a few days or a week you will not get bored. If you like a laid back easy going atmosphere this is your spot.

The staff: From the maintenance guy to the hostess to the owners and their family. Everyone was so positive and happy.

The vision they hold for the resort is so great. They are trying to find unique fun ways to appeal to their guests and it is definitely working.

I felt so inspired by the work that is going into this place. They were constantly making improvements and making sure every little detail was considered.

The guests:

We met so many awesome people this week. Everyone staying at the resort got to know each other and spent a lot of our time socializing as a large group. It was an absolute blast. Even the owners and their family were welcomed to join us when they had some spare time. Everyone got along so well.

Hopefully they will read the post and offer their thoughts as well so that others can find their way to this great place.

As well we are already making plans to celebrate our anniversary returning to the resort with friends. Hopefully we all meet again!

Thank you all for making our wedding resort...

My boyfriend and I were here from Monday, July 26th until early on Friday, July 30th and we both had an absolute blast. We were feeling slightly hopeless after we were unable to do trips to Boston/New York or Halifax this year as we had originally planned, but we knew we wanted to get away somewhere for a change of scenery and he happened to stumble on the website back in April.

First of all, the area is gorgeous. I don't get to see this part of Ontario very often, but its beauty and peacefulness astounds me every time. Although the resort is located on a smaller lake which might be a complaint for those who enjoy swimming, I actually preferred this due to my fear of deep water. It added an element of comfort for me when I was making use of the recreational amenities and sitting on the dock. Furthermore, the resort is located only twenty minutes from the town, making it feel sequestered, but not secluded enough that you can't make a Timmies run or stock up on food and alcohol throughout the week!

Our room was the one located inside the motel-esque style building, and although that's the cheapest accommodation available apart from the campsites, it was extremely clean and contained a king size bed, a shower, a toilet, and a sink which is all any guest needs for a comfortable stay. In addition, we had a fridge, a freezer, and a microwave which were convenient for keeping our drinks cold and our leftover food hot!

The grounds were well kept, including the dock, the decks, and communal areas which hosted a plethora of seating, lounge chairs, barbecues, and cooking utensils. The friendly staff were frequently seen tending to the land as well as working on the upkeep of the community areas. Unfortunately, the hot tub was closed but that was a minor inconvenience and not worthy of a complaint since it was the byproduct of Covid protocols. When it does reopen, it will be a relaxing place to unwind and take in the beautiful view. Fortunately for the guests, the dock and beach seating areas, kayaks, canoes, trampoline, slide, and paddleboards were all able to be taken full advantage of.

My favourite thing about our Fooprints experience was the sense of community which was present throughout the day but became amplified at night during the nightly bonfires. We spent many hours having quality chats and lots of laughs with our fellow guests and it won't be something I forget anytime soon! Many of them were also return clientele, which is a testament to the quality of the resort.

My only disclaimer is to be wary of the path that goes around the lake; it's slightly overgrown in places which made it easy for our directionally challenged selves to become lost for a brief period of time. That aside, I would certainly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a nice couple's getaway that provides a good backdrop for romance while allowing you to mingle with...

Stayed at Footprints Resort this past weekend. Rented the Casita which is a two bedroom one bath cottage/trailer that had a full kitchen, couch and table. Cost was approximately $500 per night give or take. Beautiful location. Approximately 15 minutes from Bancroft. Came here to spend the August long weekend and attend the Bancroft Rockhound Gemborie. Very nice small lake/large pond, spring fed and clean. Lots of toys for water sports. Paddle boards and boats, floating trampoline, canoes and kayaks. Very large dock with lots of chairs and gazebo. Great bonfire pits, full service kitchens showers and washrooms. All clean, well maintained and fully stocked. Would have given this resort 5 out of 5 except for a couple of things. When we arrived Friday it was great. Cottage was relatively private with nobody in front of us. Large deck, BBQ, hot tub, and outdoor dining set on deck. Nice to enjoy some private outdoor time. However when we came back from an outing on Saturday there was a couple with a tent pitched literally 10 feet from our deck. I asked the manager about this and he said that yes this was a camping spot. They were so close that when we went to use the bathroom we had to close the window so the people in the tent wouldn't see us sitting on the toilet. So much for privacy! The only other downsides were the fact that the unit was not air conditioned, but had lots of windows for a cross breeze, and the composting toilet in the unit began to smell near the end of the weekend. Beautiful spot, extremely clean and well stocked but may want to eliminate the $50.00 camping spot in front of a unit that costs $500 a night if you want to have...