Ocean resort was love at first sight
Calgarians buy cottage at B.C. resort
Most people return from the accountant’s office with their tax papers or other financial files.
Darlene MacLeod came back with an idea.
At that office, the Calgary woman found a display advertising Oceanside Village Resort — a cottage community planned by Shorewater Estates Ltd. on a property near Parksville, B.C., on Vancouver Island.
“I took one look at it and said: ‘I want this,’ ” MacLeod says.
The property features a collection of private cottages, each with two decks. MacLeod and her husband, Dan, bought a two-bedroom cottage with a loft option.
The West Coast holds a special place in the hearts of the MacLeods. They took their first camping trip together on Vancouver Island and spent their fifth anniversary on a golf getaway in the area.
“Going to the island, itself, was one of our favourite things to do,” MacLeod says— adding with a laugh, “well, it still is.”
The couple owns and manages a car wash in Lethbridge, but finds time to escape to the resort twice a year, usually in the spring and fall. When there, the couple visits the nearby Pacific Ocean each day.
The resort sits next to the entrance to Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, which is next to the ocean. “We can walk down there very easily,” MacLeod says.
After that, the couple stays busy thanks to a full social schedule.
“We have a pub crawl we like to do, with all these different country pubs,” she says.
The MacLeods also enjoy visiting the area’s various antique stores. There’s also a minigolf course near the resort that includes a go-kart track. “Even though we’re old, we do that,” she says, laughing.
When it’s time to eat, there’s no shortage of options. “The fresh markets, my God, that’s my thing — hunting and gathering.”
Before dinner, the couple calls a fish shop and requests five washed crabs. “We pick them up and steam them at home for supper,” MacLeod says. “Other days, we’ll order clams.”
Oceanside Village Resort, which opened in 2005, has 125 cottages with five floor-plan options ranging from 864 to 1,109 square feet. Prices start at $229,900 plus tax.
The floor plans are spacious and bright, says Rob Hill of the Hill Group. The company includes Triple H Construction, builder of the cottages at the resort.
“The detail in the finishing always impresses for the value,” Hill says. While most floor plans have two bedrooms, others have a den option well suited for a third bedroom or home office, he says.
“It’s a family legacy,” Hill says. “We have the kind of cottage that people used to have when they were growing up. It’s a safe, quiet area where kids can play around the cottages safely.”
The development is a 25-minute drive from Nanaimo, which is accessed by seaplanes and ferries. The weather in the region makes it an all-season resort, Hill says.
“Golfing is a year-round sport here,” Hill says, adding there’s no shortage of courses within driving distance of the property. “There’s also good skiing and surfing.”
When not using the cottage, residents have the option of earning income by renting their place, with rentals managed by the Hill Group.
Hill says the average income earned from rentals is about $10,000.
MacLeod says she’s happy she decided to rent her cottage, adding “it totally pays for itself.”