Pentiction holiday cottage

My girlfriend and I stayed at STARZ Vineyard with another couple for Ironman week at the end of August 2009.

Location: just over an hour from Kelowna airport, about 10 minutes from the center of Penticton, 3 minutes from a quiet lakeside beach (Skaha Lake) with swimming and sunning areas. Beautiful view of vineyards, the lakes, mountain vistas. Very convenient to the surrounding areas. Quiet during Ironman week without the hustle and bustle, also without the energy that you might see in town but you can go into town easy enough if you want that. Really easy to find.

Owners: Stuart and Tina, two daughters, two labradors. The dogs will leave you alone if you're not a big fan but they will come and say hello whenever you come home. Incredibly friendly and will chase a ball (a slimy one) all day if you can keep up with them. The two daughters are great company. Stuart and Tina are some of the nicest most accommodating hosts I've had the pleasure of staying with. Will make sure you have everything you need, even if it means pulling it from their own house for your use. I'm not promising anything but Stuart and Tina entertained us with 10 or so liters of his "wine" (a delicious and refreshing concoction from the grapes he grows) over the few days we stayed and some great evening hours on the front porch.

The Cottage House: Perfect size for two couples. You can't hide from each other too much other than your own bedrooms so hopefully you get along. Kitchen and barbecue with full accompaniment of utensils and cookware, tv with plenty to watch when you just want to put your feet up and zone out (lots of hockey and soccer coverage in Canada for those of us from the states). 3 garages but park in front, there's equipment and soon to be a hot rod and maybe boat taking up the space. Lots of windows and operable skylights for a nice breeze in the summer. Also has an a/c unit. Everything is upstairs (tough post-ironman race day). Shopping in Penticton. Fruit stand with veggies and other small items on the corner. Has washer and dryer in unit.

Ironman week: Really close to town. Parking in town is easy. Even on race day it wasn't a problem. Quiet at the house. Good roads for biking. Good spot to head up yellow lake backwards and check the last 20 miles of the bike course. Big table and floor space to lay out your gear. Laundry room downstairs to put bikes and stinky clothes. Awesome reclining couch. Perfect pre- and post-race day relaxing.
Incredible stay