Fern Resort – All Inclusive

I think I’ve found the perfect family resort for families if you don’t have to be at the ocean. There is still the lake and so lots of water activities by the beach, there are all-inclusive programs for so many specified age groups that your children can be with you or be in organized programs for an hour or all day depending on what suits you or all of you. For Americans trying to stretch their dollar, the exchange rate of U.S. to Canadian is still so good, that you’ll do very well. Ontario is just as hot in the summer as any place, unless you’re heading to northern Ontario which we are not.

Fern Resort is located in Orillia Ontario just above Lake Simcoe. From Toronto, you’d be taking Hwy 400 to Hwy 11 at Barrie, to Hwy 12 at Orillia, and then to Rama Road and Fern Resort Road. There is a mile and a half of lakefront shoreline. The cottages and lodges are almost all in total view of the water outside their door or across the lawn from their door.

Programs for children, teens and adults – I’ve counted ten different age and activity classifications of organized programs and that doesn’t count the art, dance and fitness classes. This is a huge deal for those families wondering if their teens, preteens and younger children will have things to do or whether parents will be exhausted by the end of their vacation.

One of the great things about this place is that there is an extensive list of recreational activities that people can join when and if they want to. To give you an example of activites away from the beach, there is a batting cage, extreme sports challenge course, low ropes challenge course, tennis program, golfing, miniature golfing, archery. There is a fitness room, rec centre, running track, yoga classes, spa day poolside,
Bertyl’s Lobby Bar is the perfect place for adults to lounge in front of two fireplaces and televisions after a day in the sun.

All the meals, accommodation, activities, programs, entertainment, and most sports and recreational activities are included with the price. There is a professional water ski show, comedians in the evening, mad science programs with highly skilled instructors, wildlife presentations including up-close encounters with species, Indian River Reptile Zoo which is one of the most specialized animal centers in the world and will give you your fill of snakes, lizards, reptiles, turtles, alligators, etc. They come to the resort to enable you to experience their extensive exhibit. Musical entertainment at night, comedians, this place continues with a lot to choose from into the evening as well.

What is a vacation without knowing the food options? Everything is done for you. At dinner, there are eight selections to choose from plus a children’s buffet. For lunch there are eight choices to choose from or the poolside barbeque available for five days per week. Breakfast can be either in your room as a Continental, or you can go to the dining room for an extensive array of selections to choose from. The children’s buffet is from 5:30 to 7:30 and this allows you to have the kids fed first, and then they can go to the playroom or nursery where they are supervised, allowing you to relax for a meal. For babies, there is Heinz baby food available in case you were wondering about that age group. The meals and options and menu samples are set out extremely well on their site and worth looking into if you’re curious at all. Modest coverup is mandatory in dining rooms, with no bare feet, no bathing suits, no muscle shirts or hats, in other words, you’re not at the beach, so don’t dress like you are, out of respect for others.

Accommodations – there are 105 rooms and all have fireplaces, most have decks, some are suited to a couple, others are suited to families of various sizes. Checking out the Bayshore cottage style, which is one up from the lowest priced one, there is a five-piece bathroom, a bedroom, and a bedroom-sitting area with another queen size bed/pullout couch, tv/dvd/vcr, small fridge and coffee maker, fireplace, air conditioning, parking at the cottage.

I priced out a Bayshore cottage from July 12 – 17, so for five nights all inclusive for one adult and two teen/preteens, I would pay $2728.00. That covers all food, recreation, accommodation, entertainment and lakefront activities, supervised programs for my children if they want at that age, skilled instruction and use of all facilities. Definitely worth checking out and the ratings for this place are very very good.

Fernresort.com can also be called at 1-800-567-3376. Their website by the way is one of the best I’ve seen for layout and user-friendly access.