HORNBY ISLAND
HOUSE
Ruth & Avi
Hess-Dolgin
(604) 879-4466
(in town)
(250) 335-1955
(in Hornby)
HORNBY ISLAND - sits in the sheltered waters east of Courtenay. Travel time to our house (if BC Ferries
co-operates) is approximately 4 hours from Horseshoe Bay, 2 hours from
Nanaimo. Hornby has wonderful beaches -
vast sandy beaches with sheltered swimming, several rocky intertidal-life
beaches, a nudist beach, a fossil beach, quiet gravelly beaches for launching
kayaks, etc. There are two provincial
parks with good walks affording wonderful views. You can rent kayaks &
bicycles, hike to magnificent views, eat pizza or salmon chowder, sample local
ciders and meads,
attend the farmers’ market, shop for pottery, quilts or other
crafts, or simply read a book in total stillness.
OUR HOUSE - NOTE:
The house underwent significant renovations in 2007. We enlarged the living room, added a second
bathroom, rebuilt the deck, added a front entrance, enlarged bedroom closets,
rationalized the kitchen, replaced the roof, etc. Further work in 2014
redesigned the top floor and added safety railings to the upstairs deck. In
2022 we renovated the bathroom and upgraded the wood stove for winters.
This is a fully equipped (the usual microwave, hot showers, washing
machine, fireplace, etc – but NO WIFI) house with
four separate sleeping areas. The main
floor has the kitchen, living/dining rooms (sliding doors to ground level
deck), one bathroom with a shower and another bathroom without, a small bedroom
(which has a double bed) and a large bedroom (which has a king-size bed and
better drawers). Stairs lead to the second floor
(queen-size bed, sliding door to rooftop deck). Stairs continue to a third floor
where a bright room (lots of windows) has several single beds or makes a good
kids’ playroom.
The kitchen has all the basics - tea, mustard, napkins, etc. - so just
bring the foods you'll be preparing.
Everything can be purchased on the island, though many folks find the
co-op's meats and vegetables to be limited and expensive. We ask that you replace anything of ours
which you finish or seriously deplete so that whoever follows you can rely on a
supply of ketchup and dishwash liquid being there for them.
The house has all the basics as well - microwave, washer/dryer, cassette
deck & CD, TV with DVD player, old National Geographics, pillows &
blankets, beach umbrella, extra sweaters, nature books, games, decks of cards,
etc. Sorry, no wifi,
but you can get a decent cell reception and read your email on your smart
phone. Because of visiting grandchildren we now have some kids’ toys and games. The house is not fancy - your kids won't
break anything. Reasonably disabled-friendly (no stairs into the building or
inside - unless you use the upstairs bedrooms as well).
There is limited cleaning service in summer. Someone will come in after
you and do the floors and bathrooms. But you still commit to cleaning up after
yourselves. That means, at a minimum, returning all furniture, games, etc to
their places, cleaning the kitchen (wash all your dishes, clear out the fridge)
and removing all garbage. There is a
washer and dryer there - though we ask that you bring sheets with you (and
launder them at home).
There's a house manual there which will answer all conceivable questions
concerning the fireplace, spare candles, feeding the goldfish, hanging the
hammocks, emergency contacts, etc.
Our yard is private with a flower garden and fish pond. It is five
minutes from the water (but if you want the sandy beach, it's 10 minutes by car
or 20 by bike). It's in the Galleon
Beach area, and each evening the locals gather at nearby Grassy Point to watch
a spectacular sunset.
The cost is $1600 per week in summer plus $80 for
cleaning. It's less at other times -
including June and September which can be beautiful and are really quiet.
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