I wouldn’t usually be awake at the ungodly hour of 6am during a holiday, but when there’s a flamingo pink sunrise illuminating a frozen Lake Muskoka through floor-to-ceiling living room windows, well, I can make an exception.
I’ve been invited to stay at Canada’s ‘holiday home of the year’ in the peaceful, snow-covered, and rather chilly province of Ontario. So named by private homes and vacation rental company Vrbo, the winning property is the gargantuan Falcon’s Nest, a large clapboard-style house that’s known locally as a cottage. It is, however, the first cottage I’ve ever seen with six bedrooms, a red cedar hot tub and its own private boathouse. Pokey hotel rooms, be gone – this is a veritable mini-mansion, with a sprawling master suite and five additional bedrooms, as well as a cosy den and a traditional ‘Muskoka’ room: a screened-in oak porch which, we’re told, is a lifesaver come spring, providing shelter from the mosquitoes and flies that also like to descend on the area.
With an enviable spot right on the banks of Lake Muskoka, this palatial property is a short drive from Billionaire’s Row, where Canada’s rich and fabulous (as well as a fair few notable Hollywood names) have their lavish second homes. Since the 1950s, wealthy Canadians and celebs have vacationed here, including Tom Hanks, Cindy Crawford, Goldie Hawn and recent holidaymakers the Beckhams. David Beckham even indulged in some characteristic Canadian helpfulness by lifting a fallen tree out of the road so fellow drivers could pass. Naturally, he was helped out by movie star Austin Butler.
Of course, the big names usually visit in the balmy summer to waterski, paddleboard and generally frolic on the water – but they’re missing a trick, because it’s stunning in winter, too. Visiting in the colder months means having those outrageously beautiful natural landscapes, which inspired the work of the early twentieth-century painters known as the Group of Seven, all to yourself.
Two hours drive from Toronto, there are 1,600 lakes in Muskoka Lakes – the largest being Lake Muskoka, Lake Joseph, and Lake Rosseau – and the area is named after Musquakie, a First Nations Ojibwe chief from the 1850s. It’s a rocky, forested area, and indigenous land that was the traditional territory of the Anishnaabeg people. When it’s warm everyone’s swimming, boating and fishing, but things are a touch cosier on our visit. Of course, we could happily sit by the roaring indoor fireplace of Falcon's Nest all day, or soak in the hot tub, or eat s’mores around the outdoor firepit while sat under a blanket on a traditional Muskoka chair. But it’s not so icy that you can’t venture further afield – and we do.
There’s a morning spent dog sledding at North Ridge Ranch, with barking and howling hounds pulling you through the serene and blindingly zen wilderness, and visits to local towns Huntsville, Port Carling and the Twin Peaks-esque Bracebridge. There’s also cranberry wine tasting at Muskoka Lakes Farm and lunch at the friendly Tall Trees, which comes complete with an innovative take on the Canadian national dish of poutine, served on spätzle and topped with duck confit and cheese curds.
But back at the house is where it’s all happening. We’re treated to an evening with private chef David Friesen, a local culinary legend known for his fondness for farm-to-table food, as well as a home visit from a mobile massage therapist, who pops her table up in the roomy den and cranks up the blissed-out spa music, and a local musician who swings by to serenade us in the living room.
Holiday homes – especially big, massive ones – are kind of like hotels, but better. If you’ve got the cash for it, you can order in all the things hotels offer (spa treatments, dinner, live music, you name it) but instead of having one room to yourself, you have a whole little mansion. And it’s yours and only yours... at least for the week.
Here’s the full list of Vrbo’s Holiday Homes of the Year.
Time Out stayed at Vrbo’s Holiday Home of the Year: Canada courtesy of Vrbo. For information on our policies around editorial independence, reviews and recommendations, see our editorial guidelines.