A posh room at one of Canada’s top hotels. And time to listen to the loons and inhale the sweet smell of pines at one of the country’s most popular outdoor playgrounds.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Jayne’s Luxury Rentals recently treated travel advisors and a few members of the travel media to an evening in Ontario’s Muskoka district, including a fashion show that was part of Muskoka Fashion Week, and an overnight stay at one of Jayne’s Luxury Rentals properties. Yours truly media in attendance on a night that featured cool temperatures but plenty of hot fashion, locally made art and jewelry, and fine food and drinks on the dock at a luxurious Lake Joseph cottage.
It’s a fairly new working relationship, but the Ritz-Carlton Toronto and Jayne’s Luxury Rentals have undertaken a few fam trips for advisors and the media so they can check out two distinct areas of Ontario. They also are working with advisors to promote both the city and Muskoka.
Mimi Auyeung, Senior Luxury Leisure Sales Executive at The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto, said she’s already seen a lot of interest from advisors, especially in the US.
Photo courtesy Jayne’s Luxury Rentals
“We are able to arrange transportation for guests with our concierge team, if they wish,” Auyeung told me. “They can also work directly with Jayne’s concierge team. The best way would be to work with a travel advisor who could coordinate the stay and transportation with both me in Toronto and Jayne’s team in Muskoka. Jayne’s has cars that can do pick ups in Toronto and take them to their cottages.
Auyeung said the Ritz-Carlton can show the guests options for Cottage Air float planes that can whisk guests to a lakeside retreat, but that the hotel concierge doesn’t book flights.
“Again, I would recommend that the guests book their transportation with their travel advisor,” she said.
Jayne’s Luxury Rentals founder Jayne McCaw told me that Auyeung or the Ritz-Carlton concierge can help with Jayne’s rentals. Her company can pick guests up in Toronto and deliver them to their rented cottage. Jayne’s Luxury Rental guests also can set up grocery delivery, private chefs, massage therapy, yoga classes and other special programs while at the rented cottage.
For Jayne’s cottage guests, the Jayne’s concierge can provide transportation to the Ritz-Carlton, which bills guests directly for their Toronto hotel stay.
Fashion show in Muskoka. Photo courtesy Jayne’s Luxury Rentals
“Together, we aim to offer seamless journeys; from the cultural vibrancy and world-class gastronomy of downtown Toronto to the tranquil, tailored elegance of cottage life in Muskoka,” Auyeung said. “With floatplane access from Billy Bishop Airport to private docks, or door-to-door ground transportation, our teams are committed to delivering bespoke stays that reflect the very best of both destinations.”
“I love the way Mimi and I are working together as we target the same guest and as we all know, guests like to have different types of accommodation for different types of stays,” McCaw said.
McCaw is a former marketing and sales executive who transitioned her passion for travel and business into a company that provides private, luxury accommodation and five-star concierge service.
In 2019, she won the Women of Influence award for a start-up business, an award sponsored by RBC. The company now manages nearly 300 properties, primarily in Muskoka, but also in Collingwood, Creemore, Thornbury, the Kawarthas, Parry Sound, Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The website lists at least one property in British Columbia.
“Some of the properties are sensational,” one advisor said at the Muskoka event. “I’ve seen some with helicopter pads.”
A view of Lake Muskoka from the Villas of Muskoka, part of Jayne’s Luxury Rentals. Jim Byers Photo
Following the event on Lake Joseph, I was lucky enough to get a three-bedroom cottage for just my wife and I at the Villas of Muskoka, a fine development on the eastern shore of Lake Muskoka, just a few minutes north of Bracebridge. The cottage was done up in what I would call “upscale casual” and featured a full kitchen, a nice patio with a bbq, docking space and much more. It would be a great place for a family trip or a guys/girls getaway, and super convenient. It’s also directly across the road from one of my fave golf courses, the delightful, nine-hole Fairways at Kirrie Glen.
“A visit to Muskoka is often paired with Toronto, so it’s important we highlight the proximity and the contrast of experiences, with city and nature just a short drive apart,” said Val Hamilton, Executive Director, Muskoka Tourism.
One of the major attractions in Muskoka this summer is the recent launch of Wanda III, the former Eaton family yacht that dates to 1915. The ship has been electrified, and the gleaming wood exterior and interior work has been fully restored. Tours are taking place on Lake Muskoka this summer.
LANO, the new lobby bar/restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto. Photo courtesy Ritz-Carlton Toronto.
Hamilton said other highlights include a Group of Seven Outdoor Gallery, an outdoor walking tour in a variety of Muskoka locations that now includes weekly guided tours of 103 replica murals, and even paint classes. The Muskoka Chatauqua Summer Festival features more than 60 curated art experiences in Windermere from August 1 to 10.
The Ritz-Carlton renovated its airy lobby last year and has opened a new Italian Café and Bar in the lobby called LANO (short for Milano). They now have a vinyl brunch at the restaurant on Sundays.
