Pampering for adults, plus fun for the kids
Living Water Resort & Spa on Georgian Bay in Collingwood puts a focus on family fitness
COLLINGWOOD, ONT.— In Simcoe County at the southern end of Georgian Bay, you’ll find the newly spruced up Living Water Resort & Spa.
A sister property to the nearby Cranberry Golf Resort, the hotel has been renovated to create new suites, an expanded spa and a new waterfront restaurant. With sports, fitness classes and water activities galore, it’s a waterside oasis for family fun of all types.
Goal in one
Myles Bradford, the head golf professional at Cranberry Golf Resort, offers guests of the Living Water Resort private lessons for $60 per hour. He’s passionate about making golf more accessible for younger kids and families, lowering annual membership rates for children between 8-13 to $99 and teens under 18 to $169. He has also introduced foot golf — an amusing combination of soccer and golf — which has become a popular program that runs on Sunday evenings for $10 per person.
Family fitness
Inside the Living Water fitness studio, an assortment of people of all ages and degrees of physical fitness squat, lunge, pant and clap to the beat of loud music.
It’s family Zumba and all are welcome to participate. Lori Hough, the energetic instructor who teaches the class several times a week, encourages everyone to have fun.
“I don’t care if you want to do the chicken dance or a ballroom waltz,” she says. “As long as you have fun and bust a move.”
Water world
New additions to the 5,000-squarefoot Living Shore Spa include an exclusive Aquapath facility — the first in Ontario and second location in Canada.
Here, guests can enjoy an in-depth hydrotherapy program involving a variety of cold waterfalls, hot rain showers, plunge pools, sea-mineral baths, a eucalyptus steam room and self-exfoliating salt tubs to finish. The Aquapath experience lasts 45 minutes and costs $65 on its own or $170 if coupled with a 60-minute massage.
Waterfront dining
Surprisingly, the Lakeside Seafood & Grill is the only waterfront dining option in the Collingwood area. The long-waited restaurant offers an earth-to-table menu approach with seasonal ingredients. The lakeside bouillabaisse dish, a flavourful combination of halibut, clams, mussels, scallops, crab and prawns, is served in a steaming anise saffron broth and is almost too pretty to eat. There’s also a private dining room, a presentation kitchen for culinary classes, a raw seafood bar and large patio with outdoor seating. Modern suites The construction dust has barely settled on close to 100 newly built oneand two-bedroom suites at the Living Water Resort — Muskoka chairs on balconies and in hallways still have barcode stickers on them. Large living and dining spaces, laundry machines and full kitchen areas make the suites a good choice for families and extended stays. The rooms, many with views of the water, are bright and modern, and feature flatscreen TVs, free Wi-Fi, balconies and whirlpool tubs. Denise Dias ( denisediasto@gmail.com) is a Toronto writer. She was a guest of the Living Water Resort & Spa, which did not review or approve this story.