ANDREW HIND’S LATEST BOOK ‘TIMELESS HOSPITALITY: HISTORIC RESORTS IN MUSKOKA’ COVERS TWO-DOZEN WELL-KNOWN, OBSCURE PRE-AIRBNB SUMMER ACCOMODATIONS
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
MUSKOKA — There’s a lot to know about Muskoka’s rich, long history of local and lakeside residents and cottagers and locations.
And some fine writers and pictorial purveyors of the past, but one of the best and most passionate is Andrew Hind.
The books and articles of the former Muskoka resident and writer are on many local home and cottage bookshelves.
And he has another to add to your collectables and charm you this summer reading season.
Not to speak of pleasantly informing you — if not a full accounting of accommodations over more than a century. But a deserving, deeper dive into short-stays long before Airbnbs turned mega cottages into havens for love-starved hockey moms.
“Timeless Hospitality: Historic Resorts in Muskoka” is his latest foray into not just ships and communities, but brings under one cover a collection of some the most known — and a few you may not have heard of or remember.
Nonetheless they are all interesting, intriguing and informative for Muskoka buffs.
The book was launched early last month and is available from Indigo/Chapters/Coles and Amazon of course.
And is now starting to appear in area retailers like Cedar Canoe Books in Bracebridge and Huntsville; and Muskoka Shipyards in Gravenhurst, who have it now. Pure Muskoka and Hilltop Interiors in Rosseau will soon have it for sale on their bookshelves.
The book details the history of almost two dozen resorts: some large, some small, some famous, others more obscure, some still with us, others relegated to faded memories and dog-eared photos.
Some resort names most readers will be familiar with.
“Muskoka’s resorts aren’t just places to stay,” he says. “They are cultural symbols that continue to define what people imagine when they think of ‘cottage country.’
“At one time or another there were more than 200 resorts of various sizes and fame scattered around the Muskoka Lakes. Each with their own unique culture that reflected the owners and returning guests, many of whom came back summer after summer for decades or even generations.
“Sadly most are gone.”
He writes “Deerhurst Resort, in Huntsville, remains iconic after 130 years. Sherwood Inn maintains the intimacy and casual elegance that had been its appeal for more than eight decades, and JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort has cultivated a reputation of elevated experiences as the successor of family-run Paignton House.”
Readers will also be introduced to many resorts that are long gone whose names are slowly slipping from our collective consciousness — names such as Hamill’s Hotel, Pleasant View House, and Stanley House.
“Timeless Hospitality” seeks to preserve the history, the personality, and the special stories of a selection of Muskoka’s resorts.
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