Writer: Andrew Hind
I recently authored a book called Timeless Hospitality: Historic Resorts of Muskoka that traced the histories of almost two dozen properties from across the region. But for every resort that was included, ten were omitted. That’s how many resorts operated in Muskoka at one time or another. One of those that didn’t make the cut was Bala Falls Hotel.
Englishman Henry Culley Guy was one of the early settlers Bala. He took up land that included Edwards Point, a point jutting into Bala Bay just above the Falls. Here he established a small boarding house catering to sportsmen. Guy’s stay was short; in 1889 he sold the land, hotel included, to Thomas Currie, the nephew of village founder Thomas Burgess.
Currie was thirty-six years old at the time. He towered over most men and was built like a bear but was a gentle giant with an amiable nature and bellowing laugh. His wife Annie, eight years his junior, was an excellent cook and with appealing warmth. Both were born hoteliers.
Initially calling their newly purchased resort ‘Currie’s Hotel’ it was, and more famously, known as Bala Falls Hotel. The couple experienced immediate success. This was partly due to the enviable location that offered picturesque views of both the falls and Lake Muskoka, where one was lulled to sleep by the rushing of the water as it tumbled down into the Moon River. Success was in no small part also the result of the hospitality guests experienced.
Driven by surging demand, the Curries would continuously expand the property over the years so that guest capacity went from a modest thirty-five to 135 early in the 20th century, by which time the hotel had expanded to a sprawling 75 rooms.
When the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Bala in 1907, resorts, inns, and boarding houses began popping up like trilliums in a spring-time forest so that at one point there were more than a dozen in the bustling village. Despite the competition, the Bala Falls Hotel continued to thrive. It helped that the station where passengers disembarked from trains was a short walk away from the hotel. Nonetheless, not willing to rest on their laurels, Thomas and Annie kept the place fashionable and up to date by adding an entertainment hall where guests could dance the night away to the tunes of local bands. It was the dawn of an exciting new era.
Sadly, the landmark hotel never really enjoyed the full benefit of the railway’s arrival in Bala because on the evening of March 13, 1913, it burned to the ground. All that remained were an annex and some outbuildings. It was a stunning blow.
The Currie family, dejected at the loss and looking for fresh opportunities, picked up stakes and moved to Saskatchewan. They never returned.
The Bala Falls Hotel story wasn’t quite finished, however. Decades later, the surviving annex was reopened as a small lodge called Bala Manor. Ironically, Bala Manor welcomed guests longer than did its parent property, providing summer memories from 1946 to 1971
Though it was short-lived, the Bala Falls Hotel was largely responsible for putting Bala on the map as a tourist destination.
Andrew’s book is available on Amazon!
