WEEKEND AWAY IN BLUE MOUNTAIN

This year for Mother’s Day I was really itching to get away and feel responsibility free as a “treat” to myself. I also didn’t want to be rushed in a getaway and was looking for a destination I could spend the full weekend away at. At first we, as in my mum, sister and I, were looking at Niagara-On-The-Lake but no joke just accommodations for a weekend there was almost $1000, never mind the cost of eating out or visiting a nice winery. Maybe in my next life! <insert sarcastic laughter> I then came up with the idea of staying in Blue Mountain. I figured spring was probably a bit of an off season and accommodations may be more affordable.

Another draw for staying in Blue Mountain is pretty much every property has rooms with a kitchenette or full kitchen. We’re not people who like to eat every meal out and appreciate being able to bring our own food to make. Plus not eating out all weekend saves you money, even bigger bonus! We ended up in a room with a full kitchen and we brought a bunch of snacks, a pre-made baked oatmeal for breakfast on the Saturday and a pre-made meal for dinner on the Friday evening. We had decided for Saturday night we’d grab dinner in the village and a breakfast on the Sunday (Mother’s Day) also in the village.

ACCOMMDATIONS

We ended up picking the Westin Trillium House to stay at. Mainly because they had balcony rooms and both a heated pool and hot tub. We stayed in a One Bedroom Suite that had a separate room with king bed and a pullout sofa in the living room. The odd thing about the pullout is I had mentioned multiple times there would be 3 people in the room and to ensure the bedding was set up, I just kept being told the room can accommodate up to 4 so 3 people in the room would be fine. Even at check-in I mentioned it, expecting that the pullout sofa would be made up for a 3rd person. Never happened. We ended up pulling the couch out ourselves into a bed. It was premade with sheets and there were blankets in the room closet but no extra pillows. Though the king bed in the separate bedroom had a ton of pillows. I’m not sure if that’s normal practice to make your own pull out bed in their busier season, a.k.a ski season, or just a one off during our stay.

As I said the room came with a full kitchen, so full-size fridge with freezer, stove and oven, microwave, small coffee maker, dishwasher. The kitchen also comes with some dishes, pots, pans, utensils and glassware. It has an island with two chairs and then a sit-down table with 4 more chairs.

Our balcony view was of the village and the pool area, very pretty and we ended up sitting out there almost all-day Saturday enjoying our packed charcuterie and wine!

The bathroom was super spacious with a separate shower (rain shower head) and tub. It came with 2 robes, so we did have to ask for a 3rd which they brough to us very promptly. I have to say all the staff onsite were very friendly and attentive.

This hotel is a MUST for their all-season outdoor pool and hotubs. The pool is quite large and beside it is a small round little hot tub. Then there’s a separate larger hot tub with jets in its own sort of private area. I think maybe it’s supposed to be an adult only area but people brought their kids into the larger hot tub anyways. Currently you have to make reservations for the pool/hot tub, super easy to get time slots and book the space. You can book once a day for an hour, but to be honest there’s no one monitoring so you can arrive a little earlier than your time or stay a bit longer. I actually like the idea of making reservations for pools/hot tubs because it avoids overcrowding which is so much more relaxing. There’s also a sauna onsite.

The one thing that surprised me was no spa, I mean I feel like they’d make a killing on massages from all those skiers in the winter!

There’s a restaurant onsite, Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill and room service options. The cool thing about room service is you can actually order from some of the restaurants in the village and they’ll deliver it. With that being said the village is literally a 5 minute walk from the Westin.

The hotel offers either valet or self-parking, both underground. Save the $10 and do self-parking for $20 a night.

THE VILLAGE

Again, another draw to picking Blue Mountain for this stay is The Village. The fact you are so far removed from city life with beautiful scenery, yet within walking distance of what I’d call a cute little town can’t be beat! The Village is filled with dining options, bars, lots of live music in the evenings, shopping, even a little grocery store. A lot of the shopping is ski related, of course, or your typical touristy shops, but it’s still a nice way to kill an afternoon when staying for the weekend.

For dining you really won’t be disappointed with the variety, there’s Cheezed a grilled cheese parlour, a sushi restaurant, Milehigh Poutine, pubs, an Italian restaurant, Camino Taco where we actually grabbed dinner to go on the Saturday night. Delicious tacos and guacamole! We also hit up Royal Majesty Espresso Bar and Bakery both mornings for delicious lattes, highly recommend them! For those who prefer “mainstream” eats there’s your typical places like Starbucks, Pita Pit, Sunset Grill.

Depending on the season there’s different activities you can do within the village, for summer and spring seasons there’s water trike rentals, lots of hiking, open air gondola “rides”, a beach, ziplining and for those who don’t have a pool at their accommodations the village has a public pool with waterslide. There’s also a public playground for kids beside the pool. Lots of great activities to keep families busy for a weekend away.

THORNBURY

On our way back home on the Sunday we stopped in the very small beach town of Thornbury, less than 10 minutes from Blue Mountain. Teeny tiny town, within walking distance of the water and beach on Georgian Bay. It has cute little local shops, and the ones we popped into seemed very trendy in terms of aesthetic and products. We browsed The Georgian Artisan Shop that sells vintage and new jewelry, plants, dried flower arrangements, local made art, candles & cards. Very cute shop. We also stopped in for a delicious latte/coffee from Good Grief Coffee Roasters, this cute little coffee shop is definitely a great place for an Instagram pic! They also sell cute merchandise, both my sister and I bought shirts from them as well as other locally made items. Great little town to pit stop in on the way up to Blue Mountain or on the way home!

With the Ontario government offering that staycation credit this year it’s definitely the time to take advantage of a stay in Blue Mountain. I imagine the fall foliage up there is beautiful and the rates would be comparable to a spring stay.