Budgeting for food expenditures during your vacation to the Haliburton Highlands can be almost as difficult as forecasting the week's weather. When staying at a traditional hotel or resort, the challenge is multiplied as travelers face the added expense of dining out for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While the majority of quality hotels do not offer full kitchens, professionally managed cottage rentals allow guests the benefits of their favorite home-cooked meals and snacks (often healthier), as each cottage provides a full kitchen stocked with clean utensils, pots, pans, plates and ample cabinet/refrigerator space for food storage. There are many benefits of a cottage rental home-cooked meal.
"For my family, including grandkids, the best part of staying in a cottage rental was having breakfast in our jammies," explains Kathy Ogden, a traveler from Clovis, Calif., who stayed with Monterey Bay Property Management. "We loved the freedom to have meals at our leisure and have home-cooked meals instead of dining out."
Often costing less than a single hotel room, cottage rentals in Ontario afford travelers an accommodations lifestyle unlike any other, providing considerably more space (both for living and dining), amenities, guest services and privacy than other, more traditional lodging options.
Dining on a Dime
The average daily cost for lunch at a full-service restaurant for a family of four is approximately $80.00; dinner prices can jump as much as $10/person/day. As the majority of traditional hotels do not offer in-room kitchens or adequate amounts of pantry space, many families are forced to dine out for all three meals per day. Access to a full kitchen at your Haliburton cottage adds up to major savings throughout trips of any duration - For example, enjoying cereal for breakfast or sandwiches for lunch, rather than a full-scale restaurant meal, can save enough for additional activities, a nice night out, or more!
Sticking to a Healthy Living Meal Plan
While on vacation, travelers can easily consume more than 4,000 calories a day, translating into an average 5-pound weight gain for a one-week trip. With an in-home kitchen, cottage rental guests are no longer slaves to fast food or other high fat dining options, but are now back in control of their personal menu, allowing them to cook their food, shop for healthy snacks and accurately monitor their caloric intake.
A Chef Just for You
Some professional cottage rental management companies offer personal chef services, catering to travelers whose idea of a vacation may be far away from the kitchen. During their stay, trained chefs are available to prepare a romantic dinner for two or an entire family. Chefs may even cook up to one week's meals in advance, ready in the refrigerator or freezer upon guests' arrivals. All entrees are customized for guests' nutritional goals or restrictions.
