If you want to stay in a lovely cozy place with a host whose gentle warmth rivals that of the real wood fireplace she has in the house, stay here. The location is very accessible at only 10-15 mins drive away from Parksville and Coombs, but entering into the area is like visiting an enchanted forest in another universe. It is a quiet, serene place and a wonderful place to escape to if you want to inject a bit of peace and tranquility in your life. Upon arrival, our host Anneke had afternoon tea ready for us with homemade apple strudel that she baked fresh for us. We stayed in the spacious family room that had two beds and overlooked the beautiful property from the second floor. Inside it had everything needed to make your stay comfortable: plush beds with multiple pillows, a dining table, an arm chair to read from, mini fridge, microwave, dishware and cutlery, wifi, etc. Outside, you are surrounded by a forested area, where the only thing we could hear if we paid attention to it is the soothing babbling of the small fountain by the patio. I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet — good lord are the breakfasts here EPIC. As a serious foodie, this isn’t something I take lightly. Anneke is modest about it but I swear, she must have been some sort of professional chef in a past life or...If you want to stay in a lovely cozy place with a host whose gentle warmth rivals that of the real wood fireplace she has in the house, stay here. The location is very accessible at only 10-15 mins drive away from Parksville and Coombs, but entering into the area is like visiting an enchanted forest in another universe. It is a quiet, serene place and a wonderful place to escape to if you want to inject a bit of peace and tranquility in your life.

Upon arrival, our host Anneke had afternoon tea ready for us with homemade apple strudel that she baked fresh for us. We stayed in the spacious family room that had two beds and overlooked the beautiful property from the second floor. Inside it had everything needed to make your stay comfortable: plush beds with multiple pillows, a dining table, an arm chair to read from, mini fridge, microwave, dishware and cutlery, wifi, etc. Outside, you are surrounded by a forested area, where the only thing we could hear if we paid attention to it is the soothing babbling of the small fountain by the patio.

I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet — good lord are the breakfasts here EPIC. As a serious foodie, this isn’t something I take lightly. Anneke is modest about it but I swear, she must have been some sort of professional chef in a past life or something because each meal we had with her was amazing. Her massive cheese soufflé’ with its beautiful golden puff is probably something that will be forever etched into my memory. And it’s not all just show and spark, there’s real heart into what she prepares — it’s like as if your mother made you all of your favourite foods and laid them out in a celebratory fashion as if it was Christmas or something, and you knew she put in 110% effort to make it extra special. Come with an appetite because she will feed you, there was more than we could consume, some of which turned into snacks for us during our travels later.

The eggs from brekkie can’t be any fresher — there are hens that roam about that Anneke keeps and the most curious thing to me, as someone who does not get to see fowl life often, is how joyful and happy they are to see her when she comes outside. They run to Anneke with the same kind of gleeful enthusiasm as a puppy when you return home. When you see how much care she puts into raising them though, it all makes sense. It was so magical to me watching Anneke call them into the hen house to put them in bed, she even sang a sweet little lullaby to get them ready to sleep. There were also two wild rabbits that hung around daily and watching them happily munching away on the grass there was a joy too.

I can’t say enough good things about Anneke. She is a clever intellect who has lived in many parts of the world and conversations with her were easy and can also run deep. Her wealth of stories drawn from her personal experience made me feel really connected to her in the short time we had with each other. She was a great listener as she was a great conversationalist and everyone in my family enjoyed her presence.

I know some people see accommodations as a place to sleep only, but genuinely, you can make Cedar Song your vacation destination and truly it would be time well spent. Being with Anneke was a real highlight for us and my family is already talking about when we might be able to visit her again.More