Life Outside the Inbox

For many people, booking/purchasing online with your credit card can be nerve-wracking.

This summer I wanted to take the opportunity to spend some time with my family away from the city. While my parents wanted to go to Cuba, I wanted to opt for somewhere we can take our two schnoodles as well. Renting a cottage has become a regular past time for us – I find it to be a much more relaxing time than any other type of vacation.

I hopped online and began looking through different websites. I found that the most useful and organized website to use was http://www.cottagerental.com. I’m writing this post for those who questioned if this site is reputable as I had to take a chance myself since I couldn’t find any reviews. They provided all the information you need and there really was no questions left unanswered. Each cottage lists out standard amenities. For us we looked for: a paddle boat with life jackets, beach front, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, bbq grill, campfire and of course, pet friendly. Cottage Rental made searching for these requirements very easy.

At first we found the most ideal cottage (www.cottagerental.com/cottages/126) so I simply filled out the form and emailed it to Cottage Rental. They were quick to respond and sent me a more detailed set of forms to fill out. Unfortunately  a few days later, I received an email saying that Cottage 126 was actually not available and there was a mix up with the owners. Cottage Rental returned with a search for similar properties and they kindly waived our booking fee which I really appreciated. We ended up with Cottage 986.

My only concern with Cottage Rental is that they will not reveal the location of the cottage until we actually book it and the charge is made on our credit card. So as we drove up to the cottage, we realized that it was located in a bit more of a remote area as we had hoped – a good 30-40km away from any grocery store so it was quite a trip to drive out to go to hiking trails or just grab groceries to barbeque.

The cottage itself was exactly as pictured, while the washroom upstairs was really dated, everything else was nice. The basement though had a bit of mold and it was pretty damp but we were provided with a humidifier. And with the heat of the summer, we had no choice but to stay down there. The lake front was pretty private with enough distance between the other cottages. We spent the days by the dock, paddle boating, canoeing and barbequing. We were surprised to find a resident (snapping?) turtle that probably lived under the dock and we had fun feeding it cabbage though our pups weren’t a big fan of it. We also found few hiking trails in the area but our car was swarmed with bugs so we couldn’t even manage to get out of the car. At night we spent playing games in the beautiful Muskoka sunroom. We also saw fireflies for the first time and my boyfriend caught a couple in a mason jar.

All in all, it was a great experience and I would definitely recommend Cottage Rental for a hassle free rental. They have a great website and their staff was quick to respond to any questions we had. I also felt more secure providing my credit card info to a business vs. a personal account.