Windermere House

The dinners were quite good, but very pricey. The outside Sauna's were amazing as well and the hot tub and plunge pool to cool off after a Sauna. The rooms were nice and clean and comfortable, . Overall a wonderful resort.

Beautiful building and surroundings. Staff and management went out of their way to make us comfortable. Nothing was too much trouble.

We loved this hotel, perfect everything!

Clean, it’s like dirty dancing meets the shining.

Location and breakfast

We have stayed many times in the past. Since then we have moved to Muskoka (Lake Rosseau) and only live 15 minutes away. My girlfriend is from North Carolina and loved it the Windermere House so much she wanted to go back for an overnight and enjoy the breakfast buffet.

At 5:30pm I went to the bar and ordered Nachos for TAKEOUT. I have done this every time we have stayed there. This time they ADDED A 20% TIP TO THE BILL. I said NO, I AM NOT PAYING. (in all the years going their, they have never added a tip to the takeout order) I always tip when I get the Nachos, so I am not being cheap, I just want to determine how much I am tipping and when. The bartender gave me the computer thing that I tap my card on the second I ordered, not when the Nachos were ready, that also annoyed me. Not like they were busy, I was the only person in the bar.

The bartender went and got the Food and Beverage Manager who proceeded to deny me service and refused me the takeout Nacho order. I had already eaten, these were for my girlfriend.

I went up stairs to the Lobby Bar. Spoke to the Bartender there. She said the 20% tip is ridiculous and that she would order the Nachos from the bar downstairs and then give them to me.

WELL, GUESS WHO SHOWS UP, THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGER, he proceeds to tell this nice young lady not to serve me.

I proceed upstairs to the Longhurst Suite, the 2nd most expensive room in the hotel and learn from my girlfriend that people have checked into the rooms on either side of us and they are noisy.

So, know food for my girlfriend, noisy occupants on either side of us, we PACK, CHECKOUT AT 6:30pm AND GO HOME (15 minutes away).

I felt bad for her, she was so looking forward to the overnight at the Windermere house.

Very accommodating staff/friendly and helpful
Good location for winter sites travel

Charming and well maintained old building. Charming. Rooms have been renewed. Sauna, pool and hot tub are nice! Restaurant is a blast!

This was our third visit, and we are already planning to return. We loved everything about this hotel! The staff were absolutely amazing — friendly, attentive, and always ready to help. The breakfast was perfect with plenty of delicious options to choose from.

The entire property was spotless, and we really enjoyed relaxing in the sauna and hot tub. Every stay feels comfortable and welcoming. Highly recommended!

We stayed for two nights in this hotel. It is a historic hotel with nice lake view, pool and hot tub and some sports facilities. In general, it was a pleasant stay, we enjoyed the hotel atmosphere, pool and hot tub and the lake view. Our room was a lake view room but the window was too small to give a real view, the room size also was in the smaller side, but it was super clean and in a good condition. There are two restaurants in the hotel a fine dining and a pub style one. I cannot rate them very high considering their price and quality. The pub one is better, both have Great Lake views. Breakfast was included in our stay, I cannot complain but everyday the same foods and nothing fancy comparing the hotel class.

I booked the Windermere House during Thanksgiving weekend as a last-minute birthday gift to myself and a special getaway for me and my daughter. I read such wonderful things about this location and my daughter and I were quite excited to stay. Everything we read about the staff ended up being absolutely true - each member was kind, courteous, and attentive. If I could give stars for staff alone, I would give full marks to everyone we interacted with.
Unfortunately, the room did not live up to our expectations at all. We booked a lakeview room with a balcony. We had great plans to get into our cozy clothes and read until bedtime on our balcony but ended up not using the balcony at all. Our room had an absolutely insidious ladybug infestation that was particularly awful around the balcony door. Upon closer inspection we noted a number of them crawling around the doorway, on the curtains, and squished into the screen doors as well. When we stepped out onto our balcony to take in the view, even more of them entered the room, so we decided not to make use of the balcony during our stay. We notified the front desk who said they would get maintenance to address the issue. After 2 hours we returned to our room and found that nothing had been done yet. We spoke with the front desk again and went to supper. When we came back, some of the ones around the door had been removed, but a number of them remained in our room. My daughter, who is quite anxious about bugs, said she didn't want to sleep there that night but, given the lateness of the hour and the fact that I'd had a couple of cocktails through the evening, I advised her we needed to stay, assured her I would take care of the remaining insects and she could go to sleep. I spent the next few hours removing any lady bugs I could find (of which there were many).
Also, when I pulled back the bed covers to allow my daughter to get into bed, I noticed black staining on the bottom sheet. I once again paid a visit to the front desk who kindly had housekeeping attend our room almost immediately to change out the bedding.
I understand that the hotel is in nature and that insects can be an issue, but at the price point charged by this facility, I had higher expectations for our room than what we received. My daughter and I were both disappointed and likely will not stay here again.

Excellent - great selection of food.

Absolutely wonderful stay. Room was great. Staff helpful. Amenities were fun and well kept. Grounds were immaculate. I’ve been coming to Muskoka for 40 years and Windermere is always a treat and brings back childhood memories!

Stunningly beautiful area complimented by an equally wonderful and classically elegant hotel with amazing, friendly, customer focused staff.