Villas Marina of Lake Muskoka

It was a beautiful cottage with very nice and friendly people running the place. Andy was helpful and pleasant. Cottage is in a very nice place. The cottage itself is nice and has everything that one needs but the couches are dated and could be replaced. The upstairs is beautiful but with no Aircondtioning is impossible to sleep in , luckily weather had cooled down a bit being 2nd week of August so opening the windows made it bearable. Please do bring your own water. Overall a great place but needs some work.

The place was clean, well-kept, and beautifully located. I am definitely going to return again. The property manager was very helpful and flexible with our schedule. He was available whenever we needed and overall it was a great experience. The space is good for groups of 4 adults if everyone wants a bed.

Rented island cottage for a week with family. Booked in early March for late August vacation. The property and layout of cottages were as expected with main cottage, bunkie and boathouse. The dock was excellent to sit on and to jump into water. The property and cottage itself are not well cared for. This cottage is not loved and is simply for rental purposes only. When we arrived we were told not to use water in boathouse and that they had called a plumber. On our 5th day the bunkie cottage water backed up and was not fixed until our 2nd last day. Prior to our arrival we did not receive anything from rental company advising what to bring. When we arrived there were no spices at all. Small amount of water down dish detergent and laundry soap. One dishwasher pod. No other cleaning supplies were there. The place is not clean at all and does not look like the windows have been cleaned for years. There was no brush to clean bbq. Not one window has window coverings. When loading dishwasher the dishwasher falls out of cupboards. The place is falling apart and when dealing with Derrick and others they really could care less. The window screens are all falling apart and if renting in early spring you will be in trouble.

Strongly recommend not to go this place or rent a boat there: rented a boat there and was charged a heavy amount for propeller damage a few days ago. No any advise on the shallow rocks in the lake not far away from office, that might damage the boat and cause accident. No water map provided, just told if propeller damaged, or boat scratched, how much would be paid, not interested in telling you how to avoid. it seemed they were certain that the propeller would be damaged and we must pay. We were boating with extra cautions and common senses and ended up paying the damage. Feel like very suspicious. Anyway, they don’t tell you what they should, to let what shouldn’t have happened happen. By the way, there’s a lot pests in the cottage rooms and bit kid’s face while sleeping.

The people who run Villas Marina (as opposed to the boat service business One Way Marine which is appended within the Villas Marina site and who are delightful to deal with) are very unkind people who literally predate on their customers. They should be avoided at all costs. For decades I have had my boat serviced by One Way Marine, now located at Villas. On Victoria Day weekend, I had my boat launched at the Marina which I have done every year. I also bought $125.00 worth of gas at the marina (some of the most expensive gas on the lake), as my boat had been moored at one of the docks. The Marina has signs in its parking lot denoting where electric cars can preferentially park. By so doing they preferentially invite electric cars to park there. I guess the owners want to appear enlightened! I drove my Chevy Bolt, a fully electric car, to the Marina and parked it in the spot designated for electric cars. I then drove the boat to its Muskoka Lake location. A friend then drove me back to the Marina to pick up my car. The personnel at Villas Marina had placed a large blue tractor behind my car, making it impossible to leave! I asked them to move it and they refused becoming abusive and condescending in the extreme. Notwithstanding that I was a customer and had parked my electric car in the electric car parking place, they would not let us leave! Needless to say I was not happy as a customer being detained solely for parking where they invited me to do so !! I had to call the OPP who eventually got them to move the tractor. My friend and I were detained for over 1 hour. I also called One Way Marine. They responded immediately and came to the site (they had closed) and were very supportive, and embarrassed--albeit to no avail with the Villas Marine people. Villas Marine does have a policy of placing a flyer on car windshields in the event of inappropriate parking--but they did not do this with me, instead blocking my car and preventing us from leaving. They seemed to enjoy seeing us "swim a little" at their refusal to move the tractor. I have never been treated so horribly by a business I have patronized run by adults. These people are not kind, and they enjoy causing hardship. Without the OPP intervention we were stranded (my friend would not leave me there without my car being freed). The OPP officer made an astute comment that the Villas Marina will quickly lose business treating people this way. The Villas Marina has acted in a way in which it deserves to lose customers, but I am not sure they care. People having to deal with Villas Marina should be on their guard and be very careful in their interactions with the personnel there. I have never had to write a review like this for a Canadian business before.

Warning: Do not come here for any of their services!!! When I first spoke to them on the phone to reserve a pontoon, everything seemed ok. They have heavy Chinese accents but they understood everything I was saying and I made my boat reservation without issues. Upon arrival the marina appeared a bit dirty. They had weird mattresses and old broken furniture In the corner. They sold strange items like firecrackers (which I think is only legal during certain parts of the year and not all year round) and odd paintings. When asked if they sold worms or live bait they said no. We got on the boat and enjoyed a great morning. At noon, we came back to the marina to dock the pontoon and use their washrooms and have lunch. I asked the lady where their washrooms were. She reluctantly told me the second door on the right. When I went inside, it was the smelliest and dirtiest washroom I had ever seen. Honestly, I don’t think they ever cleaned it once. However, I was desperate so I quickly used their washroom and left. We had such a great time we decided to rent the boat for the next day as it was available. The second day is where we had all the issues. On day two, we did the same thing. Went to the lake and headed back at lunch to use their washroom. I already knew where it was located as I had used the washrooms the previous day so I politely said hello and proceeded to the washroom. That’s when I heard the man (I’m guessing he is the owner) demanding to know where I was going in the rudest tone I had ever heard. I informed him that I was going to use their washroom and that I was the person who rented Their pontoon for two days (I also spent almost a thousand dollars there but did not say that). At that time, the owner strictly informed me that the bathrooms were not available for public use. I was quite confused and told him I had just used their washroom several times the day before and my husband used it that very same morning. The guy then told me that just because he was SO KIND to offer the washroom to us before does not mean I can repeatedly take advantage of his KINDNESS. First of all, I didn’t realize offering a dirty, smelly, bathroom to a customer who has paid almost a thousand dollars was kindness but just common sense and good business practice to continue attracting customers. Especially considering this place is in the middle of nowhere with no other businesses nearby other then a rundown sushi restaurant next door. I informed him that because I am a lady, I cannot just do my business in a bush somewhere and that I was in dire need of a washroom as I was holding it all morning. I assured him I would be quick. He then stood up, was unmasked with no face shield or covering whatsoever and demanded that I leave his store at once. Stating that by me using his washroom, public health would surely shut his business down. I informed him that as a business owner myself, he shouldnt worry about that. As a business owner, I provide washroom access to my customers all the time and had never had public health shut me down for doing so. Although I didn’t say it at the time to be polite, I did think him not wearing a mask may shut him down however. He became aggressive and insisted I leave. I asked him if he could suggest where I could possibly go, seeing as how we were in the middle of nowhere and I was in urgent need of a bathroom. I pleaded with him and all he said was that it was not his problem. He then suggested I go knocking on people’s homes to ask if they would let me in!!! As a paying customer who is always respectful and kind to others, I have never been treated like that before. I was dumbstruck at his horrid, cruel, and unexplainable inconsistent behaviour. I left the store in tears! I would highly suggest finding a place that will be more compassionate to your needs and finding a place that will treat you with more dignity and professionalism. This place is awful and the people just plain horrid. Support nicer people with your business! Go elsewhere!!!

The owners are rude, ignorant and miserable. They do nothing to welcome owners or guests or make the marina a place anyone would want to come. It’s all about profit, power and control for them and it shows. Do NOT recommend.

The owners of the marina physically assaulted a guest who arrived to visit us and was trying to find out where to park at the marina. When I arrived to try to intervene the owners were yelling at my guest and then proceeded to physically intimidate me (I am a 115 pound woman and these were large men). They yelled at me and would not let me get back to my boat (I pay for a boat slip at this marina as we live on an island). You will no doubt receive poor service at the marina but this year you may well face physical threat by the owners. I would warn your guests if you are a renter of a boat slip at this marina.