Ambleside Cottage Resort

I do not recommend this resort at all -- it has been an absolute nightmare dealing with Lakefront Resort who bought out Ambleside. My friends and I rented out pretty much every cottage for our 8th annual friends giving dinner there and we will not be returning. I booked cottage 6 then receive an email a month later letting me know that cottage 6 was not available so I had the option of paying more, or going into cottage that was significantly smaller. They are not great at responding to emails in a timely manner, so I finally got that resolved, then paid my deposit and paid my final amount. I kept receiving an email saying that I had money outstanding, so I emailed Lakefront showing them the payment via cc and they continued to say they had no record of it. Send my statement again showing payment to them and just never received a response back. Now about the actual stay..... Some of the friends arrived on Thursday, where they were told they had to use space heaters to heat the cottage. They provided multiple space heaters per cabin, however it kept blowing the fuses in the cabin. The site manager does not speak any English so they called Mike I think and they were in the process of explaining the issues to him and he said "can you speak faster i'm busy" then proceeded to hang up on them and ignore their phone calls. They then were told to go around to a different cabin, pull the fuse out of there and try it in their cabin... this is after they already moved to a different cabin. I arrived on friday, where we had 1 space heater running and then turned on a light and blew a fuse. We were left with no heat or power Friday night which was incredibly cold. I emailed them around 1245am to which i received a response to go to another cabin or the main house. Electrician came out Saturday, replaced everyone fuses and lit the pilot lights and proceeded to tell us the furnaces were not on because the site manager was too afraid to light them...Place was cleanish - heard the mice in the walls saturday night. All in all just not a great experience.

My husband and I spent a week at Ambleside cottage resort. We had a wonderful time. Great resort for fishing and relaxing. The staff was very kind and helpful. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and fellow guests. Cottages are well kept and cozy. We hope to return!Rooms: 5/5

Had been coming for previous 10 years. But 2022 has shown that new ownership has decided not to put anything into cleanliness or maintenance. Reception has moved to a cottage instead of the house at entrance the signs have not and English is not spoken by reception, not poor English which would be fine, none at all. Cottage is filthy, dishes still had food on them, garbage still in cupboards. Wasn't impressed.

I spent May 2022 long weekend with family friends here. we were staying in 3 bedroom house. TV and indoor fire place was not functioning. Refrigerator was leaking , most of the time living area floor was wet . there is only one fire pit and shared among multiple cabins.

The cabin I was in had a 13" color tv and very combo, no heat and I had to repair a broken sewer line beside my cabin Really!!!

2022 update: Sadly things have gotten very bad at Ambleside. Since being bought by a corporation the personal touch is completely gone, and along with it went maintenance, cleanliness, and safety. If you’ve booked Bunkie #6, a neat surprise they won’t tell you until you arrive is that Bunkie #6 is now the reception area so they could rent out the main house. We were forced to stay in Bunkie 3 which had no AC and is infested with wasps. Ive been stung 4 times in 2 days. There is no fire wood any more so you gotta buy your own. They got rid of recycling in favour of a single big dumpster for all trash and recycling…the list goes on and on. Really sad to see this after 10 years of coming here. I don’t see us coming back. Pre 2022 reviews: For my wife and I, Ambleside is our home away from home. Peter and Sandra have created an atmosphere where you can truly unwind and relax by the beautiful lake and scenery. Close enough to downtown to walk, but far enough away that it's peaceful. We just got home today and are already counting down the days until next year. Edit: I wrote this initial review 2 years ago and the ownership has changed since then. However I need to point out that the new owners are really great and have kept Ambleside a place we look forward to every year!

We have been coming to this resort for 20 years with our family and another family from Mississauga. Combined our families take up every cottage at this resort the week we go. It was a nice breath of fresh air when Jon and his family took over from Peter and Sandra as they were the worst owners in our 20 years here. Ran it like a boot camp. Had no business in the hospitality industry. The new owners are super nice people and are very accommodating. Everything is well kept and clean. This is the best resort we have ever stayed at in 45 years of cottaging. Great location just a short walk to downtown. I'd like to thank Jon and his family for making our week here such a great experience again and joining us throughout the week at some of our traditional events. Here's to sharing many more with our families, friends and staff

This is our go-to summer vacation spot. We haven't missed a year since 2012. The cottages are up kept well. The grounds are beautiful. The owners are friendly and look after us well. If you're looking for a cottage look no further.

Really nice place to stay. As a couple or with a family. Big property with many cottages varying in size from bunkies to multiple bedrooms. Located right in the lake with a private beach, spots to moor your boat and docks to fish off. The property has outdoor ping pong, badminton/volleyball and a huge communal fire pit. No AC or heating in the cabins to prepare accordingly. John that runs the place is a super great guy. Friendly, helpful and makes you feel super welcome. I've stayed here a few times and as long as John and his Family keep running the place, I will keep coming back. Perfect place to unwind.

Just spent a week at this beautiful Resort. The owners are super friendly, the cottage was very clean and very well equipped. Our children loved the beach and the play area. It was a quiet, peaceful place, highly recommend it. Thanks guys!!