Writer: Andrew Hind
Even as he refurbished and re-opened the historic Bala Bay Inn earlier this year, owner Greg Knight focused on the past. The inn would be re-imagined with a restaurant, spa, music venue, and guestrooms, but designers were tasked with melding heritage features into their plans.
“The inn represents Bala’s history but also its future,” says Knight, a developer and owner of nearby Clear Lake Brewing Co. and Muskoka Beer Spa. “Our intention was to breath new life into the hotel and return it to its place at the heart of the community.”
Built in 1910, the hotel always seemed to be at the centre of things in the Muskoka village. For the first three decades of existence, it was a refined resort where wealthy Americans came to enjoy blissful vacations. Amenities included a ballroom, riding trails, and lawn bowling. Later, after Dunn’s Pavilion (now Kee to Bala) transformed Bala into a musical mecca, the hotel would host the most celebrated musicians of the big band era, names that included Louis Armstrong and the Dorsey Bros.
The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw the Bala Bay Inn’s fortunes dip, and for six years it closed, serving instead as staff housing for JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort. Knight, who had great memories of partying at the Bala Bay Inn as a younger man, lamented its closure. When the opportunity to purchase the hotel presented itself, he jumped at it.
“I received the keys on January 1, 2024, and a week later renovation work began,” he explains. A frenzied six months followed, transforming the building into a trendy 35-guestroom boutique hotel. Throughout the process Knight was mindful of retaining as many historic features as possible, and today they serve as characterful anchors to the building’s past.
The most impressive historic feature is undoubtedly the mahogany grand staircase leading from the lobby up to the second floor. Even a century later, the dark wood still exudes an aura of elegance. Looking at it, you can’t help but imagine women with long dresses gliding regally down the stairs, hems brushing against the carpet with an airy rustle. Crane your neck and you’ll see the original tin ceilings, a luxury that only the wealthy could afford. At the time, they would have been painted white to give the illusion of hand-carved or molded plaster.
The Bar Lounge retains the inviting pine bar over which drinks have been served for eight decades. There was much controversy when the barroom opened in the 1940s. When E.B. Sutton purchased the land upon which the hotel sits, one condition for the sale was that the inn would never serve alcohol. The Suttons faithfully stuck to this promise, but successors felt no such responsibility. For many years the barroom would only serve men; because it was unseemly to indulge in alcohol with members of the opposite sex in public, women had to drink in another room across the hotel.
Step outside and glance up at the walls. Near the roofline you can make out painted over Swastikas. The Bala Bay Inn was called the Swastika Hotel. The swastika had been a symbol of good fortune for millennia before being corrupted by Adolf Hitler. As the Nazi party rose to power in the 1930s and war seemed imminent, the hotel’s name was changed to Sutton Manor and the swastikas painted over in an effort to disguise them.
The new Bala Bay Inn opened on June 28, setting a new course with a blend of history and modern comfort.
“An attention-getting historic property is the perfect setting for what we offer,” says Knight. “The building adds character to the dining, overnight stay, live music or spa experience to create a special package.”
