Entire home

Rita’s Retreat Main House ~ Indoor Saltwater Pool ~ with Lake View!

Photo gallery for Rita’s Retreat Main House ~ Indoor Saltwater Pool ~ with Lake View!

Enjoy cooking in the kitchen with a central island, stainless steel stovetop, and appliances.
Interior
Enjoy a serene lake view from this sheltered outdoor deck, perfect for dining and barbecuing.
Enjoy meals in this kitchen with a central island, ample counter space, and a view through large windows.
Stunning home with a charming entrance, featuring a brick foundation, grey siding, and a covered porch.

Entire home

3 bedrooms4 bathroomsSleeps 8

Popular amenities

  • Pet-friendly
  • Dryer
  • Pool
  • Washer
  • Air conditioning

Explore the area

Map
Sydney, NS
  • Centre 200
    ‪10 min drive‬
  • World's Largest Fiddle
    ‪11 min drive‬
  • Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal
    ‪18 min drive‬
  • Sydney, NS (YQY)
    ‪24 min drive‬

Room options

Similar properties

About the area

Coxheath

With a stay at this cottage in Coxheath, you'll be within a 10-minute drive of Membertou Heritage Park and Petersfield Provincial Park. .This cottage is 13.2 mi (21.3 km) from Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal and 5.3 mi (8.5 km) from Bethel Presbyterian Church.

What's nearby

  • Membertou Heritage Park - 8 min drive - 6.9 km
  • Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design - 10 min drive - 8.3 km
  • Centre 200 - 10 min drive - 8.4 km
  • World's Largest Fiddle - 11 min drive - 9.4 km
  • Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal - 18 min drive - 22.9 km

Getting around

  • Sydney, NS (YQY) - 19 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Tim Hortons - ‬5 min drive
  • ‪McDonald's - ‬5 min drive
  • ‪Tim Hortons - ‬7 min drive
  • ‪Governor's Pub - ‬8 min drive
  • ‪Tim Hortons - ‬8 min drive

About this property

Entire place

You'll have the entire home to yourself and will only share it with other guests in your party.

Rita’s Retreat Main House ~ Indoor Saltwater Pool ~ with Lake View!

Unwind or celebrate at this stunning lake view home in Cape Breton, NS. It's antique details give it a luxurious yet charming feeling. Enjoy the lake views with a bonfire by the water, take a dip in our grand indoor pool and relax before bed by taking a bath in one of our two jacuzzi tubs. The basement offers a great space for entertainment with a full bar set up. Check out ritasretreat.com for full property bookings or our IG ritasretreat
Make yourself comfortable in this air-conditioned cottage, which features a private pool. The bathroom has a jetted bathtub and a bidet.

Property amenities

Pool/Spa

  • Heated pool
  • Indoor pool
  • Private pool

Internet

  • Available in the cottage: WiFi

Bedrooms

  • 3 bedrooms
  • Bedsheets provided

Bathroom

  • 3.5 bathrooms
  • Bathtub or shower
  • Bidet
  • Jetted bathtub
  • Towels provided

Laundry

  • Laundry facilities
  • Washing machine

Comfort

  • Air conditioning

Pets

  • Pet friendly
  • Welcoming cats and dogs only
  • Up to 23 kg per pet

Suitability/Accessibility

  • Smoke-free property

Things to do

  • Heated pool

Safety features

  • Carbon monoxide detector not reported (host has not indicated whether there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property; consider bringing a portable detector)
  • Smoke detector not reported (host has not indicated whether there is a smoke detector on the property)

Policies

Check-in

Check-in time starts at 3:00 PM
Minimum check-in age: 21

Check-out

Check-out before 11:00 AM

Special check-in instructions

You will receive an email from the host with check-in and check-out instructions

Pets

Pets allowed
Service animals are welcome, and are exempt from fees
Welcoming dogs and cats only
3 total (up to 50 lbs per pet)
Note from host: Pet fee of $50 per pet

Children and extra beds

Children are welcome

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
Parties and events (including family gatherings, birthday parties and weddings) are allowed on site; maximum attendees: 99
Host has not indicated whether there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property; consider bringing a portable detector with you on the trip
Host has not indicated whether there is a smoke detector on the property
This property is managed through our partner, Vrbo. You will receive an email from Vrbo with a link to a Vrbo account, where you can change or cancel your reservation
Property Registration Number RYA-2023-24-06181612467353499-815

Rita’s Retreat Main House ~ Indoor Saltwater Pool ~ with Lake View! Reviews

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 2 out of 3 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 0 out of 3 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 3 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 3 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 3 reviews

8.8/10

Cleanliness

Reviews

6/10 Okay

Stephen M.

Fun Place to Stay, but Owners Need to Pay More Attention

Bottom line: this is a fun place to stay, and I think you will enjoy yourself if you stay here. House needs (and deserves) some TLC. The house could comfortably accommodate 8 guests, and maybe 2-4 more. We were not really familiar with Rita McNeil prior to our visit, but if you are, this place will be a thrill for you (it's her former home). The indoor pool is a lot of fun, and the backyard is vast and very nice. Its a quick drive to Sydney. The property is large but not isolated. It even has a piano. So I give this place 3 stars instead of 4 because 1: the owners were almost impossible to reach. I sent them 4 separate messages on VRBO and even a direct email to the address on their website just to confirm that they had our booking. I asked for advice on local activities and got a five-word response about kayak rentals. I didn't see the check-in instructions until the day before. 2: The bedrooms and bathrooms are nice, but much of the furniture in the house is dated and in rough shape. A lot of the trim pieces around the pool are missing or damaged. Swing by the waterfront needs to be fixed. 3: The kitchen needs a good cleaning with scratch pads. cabinet handles are gummy. It has plenty of pots and pans and utensils, but most of these were in bad shape. Appliances are dated. Outdoors, we saw cigarette butts between the deck boards and in the yard. I'd say this house could easily be a 5-star destination with a little work and investment.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Carol B.

Liked: Cleanliness
We celebrated my parents 70th anniversary at Rita's. We had the entire place. This is a very large property and it was perfect for our event. Very clean and well equipped. Mike the maintenance man stopped by to ensure all was good and said to call at any time if we needed anything. The pool was amazing and was loved by all from my 8 month old great grandson to my 89 year old mom. The young adults loved all the room for lawn games and the fire pit at night. Everyone is already talking about the next time. Im aware that this is an investment property and it was heart breaking to see this grand house needing some updating. I truly hope the owners will invest in this property to maintain what they bought. It would be such a loss to continue to let it slide.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Kristen P.

Liked: Cleanliness

We will definitely be back!!! Excellent night:). Thank you so much

:)
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2024