Harmony Resorts is giving ‘glamping’ a boost in Ontario
- Michael Kras
- 16 Dec 2021
A virtue of living in Hamilton is the city’s proximity to some seriously stunning areas of Ontario’s preserved natural scenery through campsites, provincial parks, and hiking trails.
Those benefits led to a substantial boom in ‘stay-cations’ during the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Ontario residents – left largely unable to travel abroad – decided to connect more with their immediate surroundings and what they have to offer.
Suddenly, the region’s campsites and provincial parks were booked out for weeks or months with sprawling waiting lists, while other stay-cation options, such as cottage living, have often been financially inaccessible to many and positioned more as a luxury for the wealthy.
That’s where Harmony Resorts comes in. A new collection of outdoor resorts in some of Ontario’s most gorgeous natural areas, the brand new company – a sister to Hamilton’s own Forge & Foster, who purchased the sites – has been creating unique and luxurious camping experiences away from city life; and doing so in ways that are also uncommonly affordable and accessible.
Harmony Resorts has been working away at a dozen unique resorts with even more planned in future years, some of which are a few hours away from Hamilton or even right close by, with parks in Ancaster and a short drive away in Jordan Valley. With sites anywhere from 50 to 150 acres large situated along the Grand River, Jordan Valley, Kawartha Lakes, Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Muskoka, Halliburton Highlands, the Ottawa region, and numerous other locales, campers can expect calming settings that show off some of the best natural scenery Ontario has to offer.
According to Harmony Resorts’ marketing coordinator, Sara Cumming, the biggest hurdle in preparing the forthcoming resort sites has been renovating and upgrading the facilities to accommodate more modern features.
“The resorts are in absolutely beautiful locations in prime ‘cottage country’ but many of them have outdated infrastructure and facilities,” she says. “Our goal for the parks is to modernise, renovate, and upgrade to add value to our guests. For example many of the parks have older outdated cabins, which we will renovate and redesign to be a desirable stay.”
Some of those upgrades will include strong access to Wi-Fi internet on the resort sites, redesigned swimming pool areas, barrel saunas, updated outdoor furniture; and of course, upgraded lodgings with a contemporary feel in the form of ‘glamping’ sites and some stunning tiny homes with modern features and finishes.
The tiny home-style cottages are sure to be a particularly popular feature of Harmony Resorts. Aesthetically, this efficient and minimalist form of living has become somewhat of a sensation on social media in recent years, highlighting just how much can cleverly be done in a space of a modest 500 square feet or less.
The plan is for Harmony Resorts to offer some of these tiny homes as rental cottages that can house as much as a small family, while also selling some of the tiny home sites to those who want to own one as their own cottage or vacation property.
It’d be fitting to describe these facilities as ‘small but mighty,’ given that Harmony Resorts’ tiny home offerings will also feature the modern appliances, design elements, and conveniences of a luxury dwelling in spite of their economical size and rugged natural settings.
But that size is also what helps keep costs down on the tiny homes for rental purposes, and Harmony Resorts is quick to emphasize that affordability is a key part of their mission as a host for attractive nature-driven destinations.
“They sleep 4 to 6 people and have high end finishes, modern kitchens with full sized appliances, washrooms with showers or baths, living areas and bedrooms,” explains Cumming. “There is nowhere else, for example, in Muskoka or the Kawarthas that a family of 4 could rent a modern high end cottage for $200-$300 a night during the summer.”
Cumming also says that cost isn’t simply for a stay in the tiny homes; it also will include access to all of the park’s amenities which, depending on the location, could be anything from pools to private beaches, from hiking trails to fishing spots, from canoe and kayak rentals to sports and recreation facilities.
The tiny homes aren’t the only way of enjoying Harmony Resorts, either. Each of their sites will also feature large furnished bell tents for a slightly more rugged ‘glamping’ experience, as well as RV sites and straightforward campsites for those who want to pitch their own tents and camp out the old fashioned way.
Plans are readily underway to get more and more of the forthcoming parks and sites ready as the company continues the considerable task of modernizing the facilities in the months and years to come. Those who want to know when bookings open for Harmony Resorts can sign up for the mailing list on their website.
It’s not hard to imagine that Harmony Resorts will become prime destinations for those who don’t want to break the bank in order to relax and get away within some of Ontario’s most breathtaking natural parks.
Stay up-to-date on Harmony Resorts by following them on social media, and check out their website here.
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