Custom Cottage Vacations -- Not What People Might Expect
Some progressive cottage resort operators have gone upscale and offer year round cottage vacations with a twist -- custom packages that allow the vacationer to tailor their vacation experience to their own personnel interests.
(PRWEB) November 28, 2005 -- When most people think of a cottage rental vacation the thoughts that come to mind are musty little cottages with 70’s shag carpets decorated with furniture that looks like it was retrieved from the local landfill. Usually situated by a lake but often with few amenities and little else to do after the ritual daily dip in the lake, cottages have fallen out of favor with many vacationers who are looking for civilized upscale vacation experiences. Come winter only the bravest would consider such an excursion as part of their holiday plan.
Well it’s time to rethink the whole cottage rental thing. Some progressive cottage resort operators have gone upscale and offer year round cottage vacations with a twist -- custom packages that allow the vacationer to tailor their vacation experience to their own personnel interests. Basic amenities in the cottages include gas fireplaces, full modern kitchens and double Jacuzzi tubs. Activity wise the sky is the limit -- everything from crafts, arts, seminars, outdoor sports packages and romantic notions.
Ogopogo Resort (http://www.ogopogoresort.com) in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario (http://www.haliburton-tourism.com) is about two hours from Toronto but it seems like you’ve arrived on a different planet as compared to a hectic congested city lifestyle. They offer many specialized packages and activities designed to compliment the upscale cottages and boost their off season occupancies. Guess what -- it works. Weekends at Ogopogo are booked solid long past Thanksgiving when most resorts hit the bottom of the bottom when it comes to occupancy. Ogopogo always offers gourmet dinner packages delivered and plated right in your cottage for those evenings when you can’t be bothered to turn on the stove. They also offer activities that you won’t find at your neighborhood YMCA -- things like dog sledding under the stars, pond hockey, ice fishing, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, clay pottery workshops, snowmobiling and in-cottage spa services. Looking for more action? Well for the real speed freaks have a go at lugeing where only inches separate your face from the ice in a high speed pursuit to the bottom of the hill. Best of all, you can customize these package activities or buy them at discounted flat rates and they include the instruction, so even novices can participate. By partnering with local service providers, the smaller, more intimate cottage resorts can, in fact, offer a more extensive menu of activities than the larger and more pricey all inclusive resorts.
“Our guests are looking for far more than a traditional cottage holiday” says Bruce McClennan the owner of Ogopogo Resort located on Mountain Lake. “Without a doubt the northern lights are spectacular here” adds McClennan -- “but many guests want to be pampered and mix their enjoyment of the outdoors with activities that may challenge them. High on the list is romantic adventures such as dog sledding down a trail driving your own team, with a stop by a roaring campfire to sip hot chocolate and snack on petit four’s”. Family luge packages are also popular. One thing is for sure, this kind of vacation is world class and you won’t be bored just sitting around your cottage -- unless of course, you want to be!
Vacation experience operators like Ogopogo Resort want to pass on value to customers as well. That means offering significant discounts on other activities that may be available in the area. “Basically the reasoning is some of the more sophisticated operators want to insure that you go home happy, maybe a little tired (the good kind of tired) and feeling like you’ve experienced something new and exciting that you’ll remember for more than few months. Most of all they want you to come back and they want you to tell your friends. Word of mouth is still the cheapest and most effective method of marketing going” says Mark Coles an Ontario based hospitality marketing specialist.
Most cottage resorts that offer these kinds of services have learned these techniques from the cruise ship industry. What a cottage resort can offer you that cruise ships can’t is spacious luxurious privacy when it comes to accommodations -- that is unless you have deep pockets to rent the ship’s owners suite. Most cottage resort packagers offer year round opportunities. By example, in the spring, summer and fall, Ogopogo Resort switches to things like forest canopy tours, studio tours and fresh water lake submarine excursions by partnering with various outfitters. Guests coming from the Ontario golden horseshoe region can drive to the resort region and invest airfare budgets into activities.
Building your own custom vacation allows travelers to experience things that are out of the ordinary in intimate resort settings at rates that are well below the major chains and charter vacation providers. For more information on cottage vacation packages call 866-405-8938.
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