BY ED VEILLEUX
For Wild Northerner Magazine
If you're looking for accommodations with a TV in your room, look elsewhere.
The Killarney Mountain Lodge offers a wide range of services and amenities, but a television set in the bedrooms isn't one of them, according to new owner Holden Rhodes.
“There are no TVs in our rooms,” he said. “It's not a city place. It's a country place, for relaxing.”
Rhodes is a London-based businessman with strong ties to the Killarney area. These ties, along with a perfect opportunity, swayed Holden Rhodes and his wife Carey to buy the Lodge in January 2015.
“It was a nostalgic idea,” Rhodes said. “My mother grew up in Killarney and we used to go up there a lot as kids, my sister and I. Every long weekend, and summers, and Christmas and Easter, we would be up there. We spent a lot of time, growing up, in Killarney. My mother's side of the family goes back several generations there.”
As these things sometimes work out, Rhodes heard about the Lodge being for sale during his parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary.
“My mother brought it up as dinner conversation,” Rhodes recalled. “I looked it up online and started a discussion with the owners. Four months later we worked out a deal and thought it would be a great family tradition to continue on with. I love the area and the idea of people being able to enjoy that type of accommodation for years to come.”
The Killarney Mountain Lodge was established in the 1940s. The last owners of the Lodge ran it from 1962 until January 2015, when Holden and Carey Rhodes bought it.
The Lodge offers hiking, kayaking and canoeing, as well as guided fishing tours. The Lodge also has a 46-foot sailing vessel on site, named “Stormy Night,” which Holden jokes might be in for a name change.
Rhodes said the Lodge offers something for people looking to escape the city life and get in some quality relaxation time. To this end, the Lodge has a pool and tennis courts.
“There are quite a few activities to do, or you can do nothing. It's your call. The Lodge is set up for both sides of that equation.”
In the short-term, Rhodes said the Killarney Mountain Lodge is getting some needed infrastructures improvements, while “maintaining the character” it has had for generations.
“When you walk in there, the feeling of it, it's sort of a time-warp. You almost go back a few years in a way. I don't want to mess with that sort of historic feeling. But, we do want to improve the services there, and that's what we've been focusing on for the last few months.”
The focus of upgrading has been wide-spread, with everything from the electrical, plumbing and docks being upgraded or replaced. The carousel-bar on the inside, the furniture, floors and washrooms have been replaced, as well, and roughly 100 box-springs and mattresses, duvets and linen have been brought in, according to Rhodes.
“I've had some great comments about that over the last week from guests that were there,” he added.
There are plans to build a coffee shop on site, as well, near the marina.
The Killarney Mountain Lodge will have its grand opening on June 20, which will include artwork, music, a fish fry, attractions for kids, and fireworks.
Killarney Mountain Lodge full of character and new energy
Photos supplied by Killarney Mountain Loge