Northwind Lodge - An "old-fashioned" resort

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I find it difficult to watch speculative developers literally take over what was once the beautiful North Shore and turn it into a cold, money-making menagerie, and worse yet, watching the masses of the oblivious doing the North Shore "rustic" thing in some massive, color-coordinated pastel apartment unit they now market as a "condo".   The old resorts along Lake Superior and sadly, many of the resorts in the Ely area are showing signs of following suit.  Heck, now I'm getting emails from those who have been warped by today's "improved world" asking if I can "check with any of the investors" to see if they are willing to rent a property located here at Northwind Lodge for a few nights. Isn't that a sign of the times? It's not their fault but it's a real shame that these newbies don't even know what a "resort" is anymore!

Well, the world may pass us by, but Northwind Lodge is not following anyone, nor will we ever.  So far and since 1939, we still can actually afford to own our property. We haven't been sucked into "the-get-rich-quick" way of doing business that is so prevalent here on the Fernberg road NE of Ely. Like dominos, so many resorts here are giving up, sectioning up, and selling out and otherwise disbanding operation as a resort. In this process, the very character of Ely is dissolving into the ordinary. At Northwind Lodge we don't view our resort as merely a property to be bought, sectioned up, and sold.  That may be the current American way of doing business, but this place isn't just a business to us. It's always been our home first, our business second.

So, if your idea of a vacation is to get rid of the kids with anybody other than Grandma for a week, you'll probably need to find a more "enlightened" vacation place on maybe a condo with a nanny or a cruise with plastic figurines and fairy dust, perhaps.  If you are looking for a simpler place devoid of noise, traffic, and itineraries where you can cook your own dinner on the barbecue, go into town once in a while to eat and kick back to simpler times. A place where people from all over the country still talk to each other down at the beach, you'll like our resort a lot. This describes the majority of our guests who stay with us.  If you can understand my musings without feeling offended, you'll probably fit in well at Northwind Lodge. 

Joe Baltich, Jr.
Co-owner & Webmaster

Considering renting a "vacation home"? - You might want to read this first.

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