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This was an interesting day
and a real eye opener as Kelly took me around some of the Condo's that
he's contracted to look after for the owners.
These Condo's are curently
purchase for between 250,000 and 750,000 canadian dollar. Most owners then
use a management company to hire out free weeks during the year and Kelly
is in charge of ensuring all is clean, nead and tidy for the next visitors
and ensure phone lines, hot tubs, BBQ equipment, etc is all in tip top
shape.
I scanned in a wee brochure
of the complex for you to see...
Kelly told me that these
Condo's can rent out for around $650 - $750 (Canadian) a day but when you
consider that some of them can sleep up to 19 people that pretty
inexpensive. For skiers that also means you can ski directly from the
Condo in some cases and in the case of the Northstar Mountain Chalets
there is a ski lift right at the door and the big Marriot Hotel is just at
the foot.
So here are a collection of
photos I took while I was out and about where I'm mostly trying to show
you three Condo complexes...
Ah.. forgot about this picture which was taken
in the pub the night before. Of course you'll notice I'm wearing the
Electric Scotland cap and T-Shirt :-)
We're now on the way to the
Northstar Mountain Chalets...
View while on the way up and view when we got
there
I should point out a couple of things. First
all those Condo's have one or two Hot Tubs and a BBQ on the decks.
Second and as important here Kelly is demonstrating his patent lifting
gear for the Hot Tub cover. These things weigh some 60lbs but with Kelly's
invention it reduced it to a 10lb lift. And the mechanism can work with
different shaped units as well.
As you can there is a whole variety of rooms
on different levels and some bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms. There is a
fully equiped kitchen and really everything you need to have an enjoyable
couple of weeks. The sofas can be turned into beds as well. So.. in
this particular Condo you can actually sleep 19. The price I believe is
$750 (Canadian) per night. Now as I work in British pounds that's
around £280 a night but with individual rooms for 3 couples and enough
other space to cater for say 4 children then that really is very
inexpensive accommodation.
And note that even individual bedrooms have TV
and a microwave. You also have a washer and dryer provided.
This is the outside of the Condo and a view
down the hill to the Marriot Hotel. I'm told they are due to build a small
shopping complex on the other side of the Marriot where you can get beer,
wine, etc and there will be a small shop where you can get milk, bread and
other basic foods.
The complex is still in development as you can
from these pictures. There will be garden landscaping as it nears
completion and out back they will be installing a swimming pool complex
for the residents. Note also the ski lift in the right picture above. This
lets you put on your skis as the top and then take the ski lift down to
the Mariot where you'll get other ski lifts up onto the hills. So it
really is a ski in and ski out place.
You can perhaps see the ski lift a little
better from this view
And the ski slopes just up the hill.
These pictures were us passing the golf course
as we headed back down the hill to look at the next complex.
And here we are at the
Copper Springs Chalets...
A neat colourfu complex and from there you can
again see the Marriot Hotel just up the road
This is the view out back and again you might
notice the Hot Tubs and BBQ's on the decks
Another option for the kids.. bunk beds!
I might add that this
complex is designed to offer more flexible accommodation as there is a
locked door between units but if a bigger party wishes to rent then the
door can be unlocked to provide a much larger unit with 2 kitchens and 2
living rooms, etc.
And again we see Kelly's patented cover lift
:-)
And a huge garage
And stairs to another level
And as you can see another kitchen! As I
mentioned earlier this can come in two small appartments or one large one
And this concludes our tour of Copper Springs
Chalets
We're now going back up the
hill toward the final complex which is The Lodges at Kimberley Range
And we find the usual hot tub :-)
Another view towards the Marriot Hotel
This is the newest of the complexes and lots
of landscaping still to be done
You can see from these pictures that
landscaping is being done
And down through the trees you'll find a river
You can imagine how the other half will now
look as they get to the landscaping
Kelly also showed me a couple of other homes
that use his clearning and maintenance services
And so we end our tour of the condo's and the
upper ski area of Kimberley for which many thanks are due to Kelly for
letting me into these condo's to take a wee look around
Just on a finishing note I
was telling Kelly that I still hadn't been able to get any photos of
fishing and hunting and so he kindly have me the below photos for the
site...
This at Buffalo Point
And here is Kelly on the left and his guide on
the right. It is advisable to rent a qualified guide to take you around
the area. |
