Detailed review by LovesTravel
When we travel, Himself and Yours Truly typically prefer to lodge at cottages and bed-and-breakfast accommodations rather than hotels. Having stayed in a good many of these, we’ve come to understand the advantages and shortcomings of each—and the vocabulary associated with their various services.
Once we made the decision to visit the Canadian Maritimes in early autumn of 2005, Himself and Yours Truly immediately decided we needed a cottage. Mother would be joining us, and given that there would be three of us, it just made sense to look for an accommodation that would provide a semblance of privacy and hominess for all concerned.
These decisions made, we were off on Web searches to locate the ideal cottage to meet our needs. After a moderate amount of effort, what we found was Owl’s Head Cottage above the New Brunswick fishing village of Alma, overlooking the Bay of Fundy. Owl’s Head is one of two cottages and three suites offered for public accommodation by Cliffside Suites and Cottage. I fell in love with Owl’s Head based on the Web site, which showed a two-story A-frame chalet surrounded by trees—all balanced securely on the slope of a steep hill. A first-floor deck and a second-floor balcony, plus a fireplace in the living area, completed the enticing picture.
I was already hooked, but further details provided on the Web site indicated that the cottage had a fully equipped kitchen, three bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths, a washer and dryer, satellite TV, a BBQ—in short, all the comforts of home and all for a peak season rate of $850 per week, Canadian (nightly rates are also available). As soon as I could get concurrence from Himself and Mother, I was on the phone to secure our week, only to be pleasantly surprised to discover that we would qualify for a shoulder season discount. Such a deal!
Completing my reservation with the proprietors, I was told not to worry about a thing, all of our accommodations needs would be attended to. Based on my experience with other cottage rentals, I knew what that meant—it meant an extra set of sheets for the sofa, just barely enough towels, just barely enough dishes and cookware to squeak by, a smattering of household cleaners for the kitchen and bathrooms, and possibly salt and pepper left behind by previous occupants.
I was wrong. At Owl’s Head Cottage, this is what 'everything' meant:
- It meant tea and coffee in the cupboards—more than enough for our entire stay.
- It meant full containers of milk and coffee cream in the fridge.
- It meant granulated and cubed sugar for our hot drinks to warm us in a Northern climate.
- It meant ample powders and liquids for routine use in the kitchen, baths, and even the washer.
- It meant a whole case of toilet tissue in the master bath, plus plenty of tissues and paper towels. (Our hosts apparently weren’t afraid we might abscond with the extras.)
- It meant paper napkins and plastic utensils to make picnic packing easier.
- It meant a full-sized container of bath gel for the shower, plus a modest supply of soap, shampoo, bath salts, and other toiletries. (Except for the gel, our hosts have accepted the fact that most guests prefer to provide their own toiletries.)
- It meant a generous stock of dishes, utensils, and cookware. Nothing that we needed—or even wanted—was lacking in the kitchen.
- It meant lots of games, books, puzzles, and magazines to occupy our time if we chose a day at home.
- It meant a change of sheets all around, plus extra blankets and pillows.
- It meant a lenin closet full of towels and washcloths—right down to just a tad of respectable fraying on a few well-used and well-loved articles, soft and comfortable, just like home.
- It meant a ready supply of firewood, matches, and miscellaneous fire-starting supplies.
- It meant plenty of hangers, the kind you can actually remove from the closet.
- It meant a fly swatter to eliminate that final pesky hanger-on that managed to slip through an open door.
Oh yes—and it also meant salt and pepper in the cupboard.
Owl’s Head Cottage was far and away the best equipped and most comfortable cottage accommodation we have ever rented. Now don’t get me wrong, it was not the fanciest place we’ve ever stayed, nor was it the most expensive. But in terms of delivering on—and exceeding—what was promised and what was expected, it was far and away the best. Further, all the 'stock ins' provided saved us a good deal of time and money. Typically, many of these articles either have to be schlepped to a cottage rental or purchased on arrival. By not being required to make these procurements, we had more time to enjoy our holiday.
Over and beyond providing the promised 'everything' to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable, the cottage itself was a pleasure. On arrival, Mother chose the second floor as her own. That gave her the half bath and two bedrooms. She slept in the back bedroom, which had a full bed, and used front bedroom, with its twin beds and comfortable armchair, as a sitting room. She enjoying being able to stand out on the balcony in the early morning, and she enjoyed her privacy. Himself and Yours Truly took the master bedroom with its queen-sized bed. The downstairs location meant that we could wander and watch television late at night without disturbing Mother.
Décor and furnishings were also a cut above what we are accustomed to in rentals. This was a house we could truly live in. Furniture was practical and comfortable—clearly not selected from the lowest priced furnishings available at Cottage Rentals R Us. In truth, this was the one worry I had when I fell in love with the internet images of the cottage. The living area in one photo showed two plastic deck chairs in an area that should have been occupied by more comfortable seating. Once we arrived, however, all was in order—with deck chairs on the deck, and comfortable seating in the living area.
Owl’s Head Cottage is situated on two acres with a private drive. It is literally surrounded by tall, graceful red spruce. The grounds feature lush patches of fern and moss—all natural, except for a postage stamp flower bed near the front deck. The grounds also include a rather elaborate hand-built fire circle for summer fun. It’s not quite a full-fledged BBQ, but it’s far more than a simple campground fire pit, and it features a good bit of the builder’s whimsy. (A more commonplace, commercially sold BBQ unit graces the front deck.)
The view of the Bay of Fundy is wonderful, as advertised, although it would be inaccurate to call it an unobstructed view. The surrounding trees are superimposed against the view of Matthew’s Head, and it is a view that seems destined to disappear as the trees below the cottage grow taller. My only irritant regarding the view was the presence of power lines that complicated all my effort at photography—grrrrrr. For a better view of the bay, guests at Cliffside should consider taking one of the three suites available in the main house. Each has an open and unobstructed view of the bay, each with a different focus. The three suites are operated on a B&B basis, and Himself and Yours Truly are already considering these if we should return to the area alone.
- LovesTravel/DAnneC/BawBaw
Cliffside Suites and Cottage9
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