Skandia House Bed & Breakfast

“Why would you go to Nipigon?”  The woman in the elevator asked about my Raptor’s sweatshirt. The question came when I said I bought it in Nipigon, Ontario. It is too bad the elevator door opened to my floor and she never heard my answer. “It’s a great small Canadian town at the Top of the Lake…Lake Superior that is.”

History Preserved

I discovered Skandia House on a recent trip to the Top of The Lake. I’ve taken the business loop off Hwg.11/17, driven into Nipigon for lunch and a walk around downtown several times but this time I went to stay overnight   I bypassed the motels and reserved a room at the 100 year old Skandia House. I don’t want to mislead you. The name, and some of the architecture, is truly 101 years old but the B&B is a house that was converted into a family home from the 1909 three story boarding house. This remodeling done many years ago resulted in a family home until 2007 when three entrepreneurs converted the house back to its roots as what might be called a modern day, short-term, boarding house, or Bed and Breakfast. 

Relaxation

Skandia House invites you in with a new walkway and a windowed front porch. It is the ten foot tongue and groove hardwood ceilings of the living room and dining room that give a glimpse of the old Skandia House. Once you are registered you find your way upstairs to the room that has been given to you. This B&B has a shared bathroom, three lodging rooms, one with twin beds, plus a bed-sitter room with a rocking chair, books and magazines as well as one bedroom that is set up to be used for Reiko massage and/or Reflexology. The innkeeper, Tasha Sutton is a certified Reflexologist and Reiki practitioner. There is no expectation of any kind that you must book a massage but from personal experience I can tell you that your whole body will rejoice at the time you spend having reflexology.  

Breakfast

One of the wonders of staying at a B&B is, of course, the breakfast part of the stay. Innkeeper Tasha served a fresh fruit cup, wondrous baked Finnish pancake, bacon, and French pressed coffee or those of us at the table could have had toasted homemade bread with fresh homemade jams and jellies, or some of everything. There was no hurry or worry served up at the beginning of our Nipigon day – sunshine warmed the old dining room hardwoods so that they gleamed and reflected the mission of the B&B owners – simple living, cultivating warmth and classic charm. The food, the linens, soft music and the service allowed us to ooze into our day relaxed and ready to explore the area.

Meet the Owners

Four or five years ago Tasha, along with her friends Levina Collins and Patricia Dellacecca shared dreams of owning a business. They are members of a local New Beginning Circle, which is a network for new start ups for women in business. Their group started a business by trade marking “Nipigon Nylons” which turned a local legend into a worldwide market.  That wasn’t enough for the three friends and as they sorted through business ideas the dream of a B&B rose to the top of their list. Their search for a house to buy led them to the O’Neill house at 17 Second Street. Its spot on the “Historical Walk Through Nipigon” roster helped it be a known location and the nearly 100 years as a public and family building was great to build a future on.

The idea grew, the business plan was written, the house was purchased by the women and they were on their way into the business of their dreams.  The work they did to modernize and furnish the house was ready so that Skandia House B&B was ready to celebrate its centennial, along with Nipigon’s centennial in 2009.

Experience Nipigon

From the beginning the women kept in mind the goal to bring people in and keep people there that is part of the energy of Nipigon. I wish I could talk to that woman in that elevator again. I’d tell her that in Nipigon she could take her children through the new Paddle-to-the-Sea Park, send her husband (or take herself) fishing in waters that produced the world’s largest brook trout as well as nearly any freshwater sport fish you could want. Beyond fishing there are hiking and biking trails, or cross country skiing depending on your choice of seasons. Boaters will be delighted with the marina and the beauty of the Nipigon River and Bay as it feeds into Lake Superior. Nipigon is part of the  shoreline of  the world’s largest marine conservation, the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area.

With all of this, and more, to do in Nipigon you may want to make time to stay longer at Skandia House. As Innkeeper Tasha said “everyone arrives as strangers and leaves as family.” This could be said of the whole Nipigon experience. 

Submitted by Sharron D. McCann

For more information, visit the Skandia House website.

Showing 'Edited Body' is no longer supported.