Positive Impact Spotlight: Muskoka BeerSpa & Clear Lake Brewing Co.
The Positive Impact Spotlight is a new series featuring tourism businesses across this region that are doing good for their guests, their staff and their communities. Got a recommendation for the series? Email [email protected] with details.
Welcome to Muskoka BeerSpa & Clear Lake Brewing Co. in beautiful Torrance, Ontario!
A refreshing pool, relaxing hot tub and sauna, and exceptional food and beverages (including award-winning beers) are just some of the offerings you’ll find at this forested, lakeside retreat, which also features cosy cabanas and communal fire pits. So it’s no wonder that Muskoka BeerSpa and the neighbouring Clear Lake Brewing Co. have quickly become one of the most popular – and unique – vacation hotspots in the province. But did you know? Their commitment to sustainability is a priority for the company as well, which results in major benefits for guests, for staff, and for the surrounding communities too.
Awarded a Silver certification from the Green Step Sustainable Tourism Program, Muskoka BeerSpa and Clear Lake Brewing Co. are a prime example of how the regional industry is transforming the way visitors experience the great Canadian wilderness just north of Toronto.
Here are just some of the initiatives the company has undertaken since opening their doors:
EcoFee
Muskoka BeerSpa is striving for a greener future. In order to help them realize their goals, they established an EcoFee, which means that one dollar per-guest-per-day is earmarked for future sustainability initiatives.
After nearly two years of collecting the fee, they are ready for their first project: energy savings by way of upgrading to on-site washing and drying facilities for their roofed accommodations!
Energy Savings
As you can imagine, running pools, hot tubs, saunas, a restaurant and brewery equipment is energy intensive. Muskoka BeerSpa and Clear Lake Brewing Co. uses energy efficient equipment and technologies and promote in-house awareness of energy reducing techniques to conserve energy. Monitoring fuel consumption, L.E.D. lighting, programmable thermostats, timers and motions sensors are used frequently, and they are continually striving to improve these metrics.
Community Partnerships
For Muskoka BeerSpa and Clear Lake Brewing Co. it’s not enough to focus sustainability efforts solely on their own property. That’s why staff regularly get together to lead clean-ups at the nearby Torrance Barrens Conservation Area and Dark Sky Reserve, the first such park in Canada, which sometimes suffers from visitor neglect.
Plenty of hands make for light work and a cleaner environmental for everyone to enjoy, and the company invites members of the community to join them in these clean-up days as well.
Having a positive impact is a journey the Muskoka BeerSpa and Clear Lake Brewing Co. are proud to be on. Without a final destination, it is also a continuous improvement journey that is impacted by every day actions that guests and staff take together.
This spring and summer, when you book your stay or order an ale, ask about sustainability innovations at the spa and the brewery. To read about their commitment to the landscape and their communities, click here.
Be sure to also check out the Bala Bay Inn and watch for its grand re-opening. This historic landmark in the ‘cranberry capital of Ontario’ has been renovated and updated with a whole new vibe.