Blue Mountain, Collingwood, Canada (Rivergrass Condominiums)

The Rivergrass condominiums in Blue Mountain have that rare mix of vacation ingredients that make it a home run.  None of the features are particularly impressive individually but together are a powerful combination for family fun and relaxation.  Convenience, functionality, transportation, and kid-friendly are amongst these desirable family travel features.

Incidentally, for more about Blue Mountain and its village that we enjoy so much please see our assessment of Club Intrawest.  

We traveled here for the skiing and we were not let down.  The conditions were excellent as Ontario skiing goes and we were pleasantly surprised that the resort was not more busy on a New Year’s Eve.  

We rented our 3 bedroom Rivergrass Condominium directly from an owner and it was gracious and easy to deal with through VRBO - their site link is here.  We have no affiliation with them. 

We were suitably impressed by their efforts to make everything as comfortable as possible.  They even left us a bottle of wine and some chocolates for the kids as a lovely welcome gift for our arrival!

The condos are not extravagant and are well laid out for their intended purpose of providing skiing weekends for families. The kitchens are small and functional and the fixtures are middle of the road.  Ours was on the second floor and you will see from the photo that the stairs are steep and this is perhaps the only drawback in using this type of unit with small kids (see our photo above with stairs in the background).  In all fairness to the owners, they warned us of this. There is a ski locker for all of your hard gear so that the unit isn’t exposed to excess wear and tear from skis and ski boots coming and going. A cozy gas fireplace is available on the first floor and we u-u-u-used it! Our unit kept was impeccably clean and spotless.  

Where this complex really excels is in its perfect proximity to the Blue Mountain Village.  It is close enough to be walkable with small kids and yet far enough to feel like you are not living in the action.  It has great views of the mountain from the master bedroom and the front porch.

There is a convenient shuttle service provided by Blue Mountain that picks people up right in front of the unit, skis and all, and will drive you to the far ends of the resort or to the central lift, whatever you like.  This was a godsend with our 2 year old as we came and went to meet our older son as he returned from the slopes.

The Village also has a great waterpark that operates year round.  We had a delightful afternoon frolicking in the pool and swimming together as the snow came down around us - it was magical.  Our son still talks about it.  

One last mention.  We found ourselves on several occasions needing some small grocery items and the Village’s mini market was just fantastic.  What is more, the unit is a 5 minute walk to the mini-mart.  The convenience is just great.

In conclusion, could stay here for a week, ski every day, and never have to get in their car even once.  We loved it!

© Paul-Sarah 2013