Spotlight on Tourism
Gryffin Lodge
Casual Elegance In A Setting of Extraordinary Beauty
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Gryffin Lodge
Web site:
Gryffin Lodge
email:
gryffin@vianet.ca
Call:1-800-565-7491 9:00 A.M.-9:00 P.M.
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"Gryffin Lodge blends rustic Muskoka with frills
where they count" by Laslo Buhasz, Travel
writer, Huntsville, Ont..
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 realestate 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
tenniscourts 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 acommodations 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, flanked by a
bright, wood panelled 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-storey 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, Maria was a major in
the British army, before emigrating 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 sirop, and served with a cilantro
fruit salsa - and pondered the meaning of rustic ...
From the GLOBE AND MAIL (Toronto, Ontario), August 29, 1998.
The original article has been slightly condensed to
be adapted to available space.
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