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Muskoka, Ontario's favourite weekend playground,
has long been a popular vacation destination-and one of
amazing contrasts. The region's side roads and lakes are edged
with extravagant inns, lodges and grandiose private mansions
masquerading as cottages, all of which sit cheek-by-jowl with
the kinds of tumbled-down cabins that real estate brochures
invariably tell you are "cozy" and "need
work".
Happily,
there are a few lodgings available where rusticity and casual
elegance have been skillfully mingled. One of them is Gryffin
Lodge, set on a curve of Mary Lake's north shore, just south
of Huntsville. The 10 hectare property slopes down past
tennis courts to a small sandy beach and a dock leading into
the warm shallows. Centred around the refurbished, century old stone
house of original settlers the lodge offers accommodations for
up to 60 guests in the main building, the surrounding
housekeeping chalets and a converted icehouse.
On
the main floor of the Lodge is a comfortable lounge, a small
library with a TV and VCR, a games room and small bar. Common
rooms, flanked by a bright, wood paneled dining area that
opens onto wide decks with umbrella tables and splendid views
of the lake and tiny Lawrence Island.
Like
many properties in Muskoka, the Lodge is a remnant of a
homestead, in this case the 162
hectare farm of the Lawrence family that settled here
in 1867. Around the turn of the century, they built a
two-story mansard-roofed stone house and began taking in
occasional summer guests. The property was eventually sold to
John and Maria Ostrowski, (1947) John had served with he
Polish Free Forces, and Maria was a major in the British army
before immigrating to Canada. It was the Ostrowskis who named
their new Lodge Gryffin, after the emblem on the Polish Coat
of Arms. They expanded the main house and built several
cabins, taking in summer guests, until Maria was injured and
became an invalid.
The
Gryffin passed through the hands of three more owners between
1970 and 1987, when it was bought by current Innkeeper Bill
van Stygeren, who had retired from his real-estate brokerage business
in Toronto and Oakville. "When we saw this view", he
says, gesturing towards the lake, shining in the afternoon
sun, "it was love at first sight." Today, van
Stygeren chuckles at the full measure of his infatuation.
"Coming from the real-estate business prospective, I did
everything wrong. I didn't comparison shop, I made an offer
and then waived the condition about a non-refundable deposit
before I had an approved bank loan, and when the bank asked me
what I knew about running a resort, all I could say was that I
had taken vacations at them."
Van
Stygeren's vision of a reasonably priced year-around lodge
that blended a rustic Muskoka experience with frills where
they counted have paid off, Rooms and suites are clean but
basic with inexpensive furniture. There are no designer soaps
or fluffy bathrobes, no Jacuzzi tubs or fancy spa facilities.
Comfort is concentrated in the lodge's common rooms and the
pleasures of an excellent meal at the end of the day.
While
most guests come from all areas of Ontario, the Gryffin has
had visitors from as far away as Eritrea and the United Arab
Emirates. For several winters groups of Germans come for
snowmobile holidays. Gryffin staff is kept lean. Aside from
van Stygeren and his wife Shelby, the only full timers are a
person in the office and a chef. And it says much about life
in Muskoka that the Lodge has managed to attract both persons.
On my last evening I ate
alfresco on Gryffin Lodge's deck watching the sun's final rays
glitter on the lake. There, I lingered over a plate of broiled
salmon-marinated in citrus juices, glazed with maple syrup,
and served with a cilantro fruit salsa- and
pondered the meaning of rustic...
From the GLOBE AND MAIL
August 29,1998 The original article has been slightly
condensed to be adapted to available space.
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