I have a daughter who is head over heels in love with dance. This love affair has me travelling all over South Western Ontario attending countless dance competitions and scoping out the best and worst of hotels along the way. A couple of weeks ago dance led us to the sweet little town of Collingwood, or more specifically Blue Mountain Village Resort, allowing us a three night stay at the Mosaic Hotel. As much as I do adore watching my daughter dance, I have to admit I was even more excited this time around, as I was eager to explore all the area has to offer.
With truly horrible weather in the forecast I snagged Sweet Girl out of school a little early, we packed up the car and prepared for our 3 1/2 hour drive to Blue Mountain. It is only because of the brilliance of TomTom, our borrowed GPS, that we made it at all. With nearly 30 separate twists and turns we made the scenic drive and safely arrived at our destination. It was worth the trip.
As we prepared to check into the Mosaic the first thing I noticed was the almost fresh baked smell. A very light scent that permeated the air. Understated and quite nice! We were then welcomed by Mosaic staff and quickly checked through in a warm and professional manner. I received directions to my room and to the heated underground parking garage. *Important note. If you are there in the winter, use the underground parking. I have an almost ridiculous fear of underground parking after I might have knocked the roof rack off my SUV in a parking garage in Toronto. This particular parking garage is huge and easy to navigate. Do not be afraid to use this one, just go for it and spare yourself hours of ice scraping and freezing cold car. Trust me.
Dear Daughter and I were thrilled that our room was ready early so headed straight there to drop off our bags and get the lay of the land. We opened the door to our room on the second floor and it did not disappoint. A galley kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances and bistro table for four flowed into the open living area with pull out couch and comfy chair. This first room was completed with a large TV and a floor to ceiling fireplace. Large glass doors opened up to a balcony with seats for two and a view of the outdoor pool and mountain in the distance.
Off to the side was the Jack and Jill bathroom, adequately appointed with doors that opened to both to the main room and the Master Bedroom. My room had a King Size bed and a second Television.
I am a self-proclaimed hotel snob and I was impressed. SweetGirl declared it was more like a small cottage than a hotel room. Yep, that was about right.
My only complaint about this room was noisy. I’m not sure if it was our location overlooking the pool or the fact that we were there during a dance competition but it was noisy. We could hear every little thing going on in the hall, the fights in the room next door, and the screamers in the pool until 11 pm at night. Not fabulous.
The pool itself is worthy of mention. We were at the Mosaic in April. Usually, Mother Nature has her act together and it’s sort of pleasant out in April. Not so this year. We were there during a vicious ice storm complete with howling winds. Know what was cool? It was still ridiculously fun to swim in that outdoor pool! The entire pool was heated to at temperature that even adults enjoyed. Still not your style? You can always skip the pool altogether and head straight for the giant hot tub! We did both!
The Village itself has dozens of cute little shops to pop in and out of, and lots of restaurants to try.
We ate at Kaytoo the first night. A restaurant with a giant wood burning fire place in the centre and a view of the lake. The service was great, the food was pub fare and was okay. Not fabulous.
We ate at the Italian Restaurant, Magnone’s the second evening. My review for this restaurant would be the same. Great atmosphere, nice services, the food was only okay.
We made sure to make a couple of runs to Starbucks (for me) and the Candy Store (for her). I had my first ever Poutine, providing some much-needed gravy and fries on a cold April day. The highlight for me we spent a couple of hours at Crock A Doodle. I am by no means an artist, but it was such a gift to spend a couple of hours with my Sweet girl painting, chatting and laughing as we created some memories and a keepsake of our time in Blue Mountain.
As the time came for us to check out it was bittersweet. I truly enjoyed my time with my Sweet Girl, exploring the village and hanging out in style at the Mosiac hotel. I hope we get to return next year with the entire family in tow, and perhaps some sunshine!
I love the look of the village, looks so pleasant and inviting, somewhere where you would want to live, kinda like Little House on the Prarie. Eeeeeeeeeeeek, swimming with snow on the ground, that would be a big toe test first for me!
I am so not a cold weather person and even in the summer my pool has to be bordering on hot to get in! My youngest and I went to Blue Mountain last winter, during an ice storm and we went swimming in an outdoor pool. You know what? It was fabulous! The water was just the perfect temperature and there was something incredibly fun about swimming outside surrounded by icicles and snow drifts!
Love the view!
Stunning view even with not so fabulous weather!