Hi Chris, Jody and Rory, staff at Deerhurst

Would just like to share some wonderful news with you.

I have been coming up to Deerhurst for quite some time now, inviting friends as the staff are really great and the accommodations and activities are also awesome!

I got a group of friends together and convinced them to come up for the weekend, selling your $ 99.00 special
Well they all could not resist the offer.

I contacted Rory , for special meals. We as Muslims are required to eat “HALAL” meat, very similar to the Jewish faith.
We brought up our own steak and Chicken

He was more than willing to accommodate us in every way possible.
Food was well cooked and presented, chefs were great!
Staff serving on both nights were amazing
Managers on duty both nights were amazing
We had a private room to seat 40 plus

The Staff at check in were also very accomodating and pleasant at all times
there was not a minute that we did not notice great service
we also enjoyed the rock climbing and again she was a pleasure for our kids and helping them out

Overall the entire experience was just over the top, all my guests have vowed to return to Deerhurst
We definitely look forward to returning and having a great time again
Sincerely would like to thank Rory and his team and all the staff at Deerhurst
Our hats off to the entire staff at Deerhurst, there are just too many names to mention

Asif Sidik Karatella

I just finished a day at Deerhurst mid-week in the dead of winter. I stayed at a 2-bedroom condo with my family. I found the accommodations clean and well-maintained. Mind you, I did find 3 tvs for the unit a bit much, but they were all working well. Wifi was a bit slow, but I didn't need much for my stay. We skied cross-country for 2 days and found the rentals reasonable and in good condition. We used the pool and the games room - both well maintained and nicely done. The snow tubing was not operational yet (ETA for the following weekend), so we did some tobogganing instead. Excellent scenery. All-in-all, was very satisfied and would recommend the resort to other potential travelers.

We've known for several years that this resort existed but never stayed there until now. We had the impression that this was an upscale resort - their website/prices seem to reinforce this image. But the reality is much less impressive. We booked a junior one bedroom suite for 2 nights at a special rate of $149 + tax per night - a winter getaway for my wife's birthday. We were "upgraded" to a one bedroom lakeside condo unit (Birchcliffe "timeshare") because, according to front desk clerk, they weren't busy.

The good: very comfortable king size bed with down duvet; nice view overlooking the lake; woodburning fireplace we actually used; fully equiped kitchen with infrared cooktop/other newish appliances and lots of good quality cookware/dishes etc.; carpet was clean; lots of towels/soap in unit; quiet at night; all sidewalks around the resort were kept clear of snow/ice.

The main negative: this unit is getting quite old/dated looking, dark tiles in the bathroom; dark wood kitchen cabinets; older furniture; sunken living room area...reminded us of some of the ski hotels we stayed at in the 70's. Maybe some of the other buildings at Deerhurst are newer...who knows, but we wouldn't be back.

When I made this reservation online, I asked if there was anything special the hotel could do for us since our first night there was my wife's birthday. They didn't respond so I asked again when we checked in and they advised that "something" was being delivered to the room later in the afternoon. After shopping for some groceries we returned to our room and, some time later, we discovered a very small box containing 4 funny little chocolates and a handwritten note from the reception clerk wishing my wife a happy birthday. Not sure what I expected but that wasn't it.

Other issues: we saw several old cottages in various stages of decay on the property (?); they do have a nice pool/jacuzzi area in the Pavilion building but the afternoon we wanted to go for a swim, that area was overrun with several families with young kids...we couldn't swim, couldn't get near the jacuzzi, and there are many lockers for that area but there are no keys available for the locks; the main restaurant is not open due to rennovations and the only restaurant that was open had a very limited menu and a coffee shop atmosphere. We did all meals ourselves in the condo or in town, which was our plan anyway.

The weather was very cold when we were there. Hiking/snowshoe trails were solid ice so our outdoor activities were limited to walks around the resort property. We did see a couple brave people on the cross-country trails after a bit of new snow and we noticed that the skating rink was being flooded.

Deerhurst has so much potential as they are on a great piece of property, but they need to significantly update, refresh and renovate to be up to par with other resorts that are competing for their business in that general area- eg. the Marriott on Lake Rousseau.
Room was tired and lacked amenities that I know expect in a room- a couple of bottles of water and robes are not alot to ask for.
The gym facility was so out of date and depressing that it took alot to even go in there and workout.
The highlight though was the New Years Eve show called Decades- top notch and thoroughly enjoyed it and the dinner. The concierge Nick was great to get us in last minute instead of eating at Eclipse. Had we not enjoyed this as much as we did, my stay would have been a wash and I would likely not ever go back.