I have been to this farm twice for Wedding receptions only....both in different buildings that were different but just as lovely and spacious and with high sealings so not stuffy....I love the Country setting, the 2nd time we went was at the end of September 2013.....we brought our R.V. to sleep overnight since it is a long drive for us to get there and we wanted to be able to enjoy our evening without worrying about a designated driver or late night return...the parking lot is huge, it has a couple of sections, there was no problem for us parking our big truck & R.V. there, they had a couple of hired parking attendants to direct parking and direct people to the correct building....parking is free...even for overnight with an R.V. ...we were parked right next to the horse padock and got to enjoy 4 lovely work horses who greeted us at their fence.......My only concern with the experiences I had there is that the pathways are not lit well enough....it does look really lovely with the white paper bags with tealights in them to guide you, but I still find it a little too dark, especially on the return back to the parking lot when some tealights had burnt off and not enough lighting in the parking.....The grounds look amazing, although both times I went was at night and did not get a chance to experience it all....I hope to return again for some of their events.
I attended a friends wedding here and it was really nice. We were not able to see much of the grounds due to the time of year but with the little bit of snow it looked really nice. The food was AMAZING, prob best wedding food I have ever had! Service was great as well. From what I could tell the Bride and Groom where very happy with everything as wel.
With two young kids we have visited quite a few sugar shacks in the Ottawa area. Stanley's is our new favourite especially when it comes to food - served buffet-style in a large, airy dining hall. Staff are very friendly and helpful (actually I think it's family owned and run?). Compared to other sugar shacks, the food is tasty with many choices (unlike other places), and the price is very reasonable. They also host weddings, and the facilities are beautiful and clean. They have animals in a barn that are fun for the little kids and horse-drawn sleigh-ride when snow's on the ground. They also have a little shop, maple taffy, and a maple syrup making demonstration. And the people are great!! Stanley's is our new go-to sugar shack. Thank you for a wonderful morning.
The location is very close to Ottawa and worth the short drive. We attended a wedding, the grounds are well maintained and inviting. The food was excellent, the facities were well cared for and the staff were very efficient and made you feel welcome. They have available a horse and buggy which was nice for this wedding. A great event and very enjoyable in every way.
We just had our wedding at Stanley's. This location is amazing and gave us a picturesque outdoor wedding. The food was outstanding with generous portions. Stanley's staff is very friendly and helpfull! Highly recommend stanley's
Went today with my family for their breakfast/brunch buffet. The adult cost was $16.50 each.Arrived at 10:10am and had to wait in line for 30 minutes to pay before entering the banquet hall.Menu was limited to pancakes, french toast, waffles, ham, sasauge, egg frittata, and baked beans.I sampled everything but the ham. Pancakes were horrible and inedible. I had went up twice and got sasauge both times - the second serving was disgusting and inedible. Had a "spoiled" taste to them. Everything was cold except my second serving of frittata, but it was the first serving out of a brand new pan. Of all thigs you'd expect a sugar camp to get right was the maple syrup, but sadly that was not the case. I'm not sure why but it truly tasted watered down. Certainly didn't inspire me to purchase any from them.Decided to walk around and check things out. The "petting zoo" was poorly construced, old, run down and just reflected poorly on the farm.I did get a snow taffy but it too was a disappointed. The servin was about pinky finger sized and the flavour was very weak. $2.50 was way overpriced!Horribly dissappointing and I would NEVER waste my money here again. The line was 5 times longer for breakfast when we left than when we arrived.Parking lot was very poorly maintained and was difficult to get out of.
Disappointed to eat off paper plates and cups with plastic forks after paying $17.00 per person for school cafeteria style serving. Then $2.50 more for maple taffy. Would return for china plates mugs and stainless cutlery and not before
THE GOOD:First off, the property is absolutely amazing. Perfect setting with a variety of locations for outdoor weddings as well as a few nice indoor spaces. Makes for amazing pictures. Secondly, the location is close to Ottawa yet still rural so that you can avoid the hustle and bustle of the city on your special day. Finally, Stanley's is well connected to many businesses that provide any kind of service possibly needed at a wedding...sky is the limit.THE BAD:First off, bad communication between the owner and the coordinator results in a lot of promises that are not fulfilled. The coordinator promises the world and the owner goes back on all these promised UNLESS "you take out your pocketbook and start writing checks" ---direct quote. Secondly, money issues again. You tell them the budget and they go with it and then nickle and dime you to death on everything else that you need so that you are forced to go way over budget. (It should be assumed that at a wedding venue, most normal things are included...here you are charged for every chair (plastic patio chairs), napkin, fork, and plate that is used.) Many things that were promised for our daughter's wedding day were MIA on the big day---profuse excuses were given, but no apology. A rain plan building was promised free of additional charge if it happened to rain on the wedding day (full guarantee was promised), however when the big day came---and it poured---the "rain plan" location was already booked by another party and thus there would be an additional charge for a suitable building ("take out your pocketbook and start writing checks"). Thirdly, there is an extreme lack of professionalism portrayed by the owner (see above shady money comment) and the coordinator, who confidently says she organizes hundreds of weddings annually and has been in the business for quite some time. This is very unapparent in her lack of people skills and overall coordination on the big day. RESULT:Incredibly beautiful location---almost unparalleled in this region.Horrible personal experience that led to a very stressful pre-wedding day nightmare. Anything surrounding money, is sketchy with this company at best...should definitely be reviewed by the Better Business Bureau.Would strongly caution any of my friends that were planning to have a wedding there, so that they could:1. Get their own wedding coordinator.2. Bring a lawyer when they signed the agreement.3. Draw up their own contract regarding what is promised for the big day, and have that signed by Stanley's as well.
Close enough to Ottawa (30 minutes from the 416), the farm is a good place for families with young kids during the maple syrup season. The pancake house / banquet hall lacks the rustic flare of the sugar shacks farther into Quebec as the farm also hosts weddings and other events throughout the year. Arriving to a full parking lot we were relieved to find little wait (especially important for impatient kids) to get seated. It was communal seating and there seemed to be an army of servers. The all-you-can-eat brunch had nice sausages, waffles, beans, egg frittata, french toast and pancakes. The pancakes were a bit doughy and chewy (not to my liking) but the other food was great. Plenty of syrup. As much as you would like. The farm also has a barn full of animals including cows, goats, horses, pigs, bunnies and peacocks. There is also a play structure and giant bales of hay the kids could play on. We took a sleigh ride through the bush which was very pleasant.The sap was not yet running (its been a long winter) but the sugar house still had the evaporator working, albeit with water and not sap, for demonstration purposes. All in all a pleasant time for us and our friends with two littles one. A nice place to spend a morning.
I go to Stanley's almost every spring for the pancake breakfast and to visit the animals. It's definitely a good place for a family outing. The food is a bit on the expensive side, but drinks and tip and tax are included in the price, so it's not really any more expensive than going out to a restaurant. They have an Easter egg hunt for the little ones each year. There's a barn full of animals, a small playground, and horse-drawn sleigh rides. There's lots of free parking. It can be muddy, so choose your shoes carefully. The food is great and it's all you can eat. What sets this sugar bush apart is that there are bottles of maple syrup on every table - it's not rationed to each guest in pitiful little plastic cups like at other places. Last weekend there was a line at the buffet, but I've never seen that there before. I think it was extra busy because it was Easter. Every other year, there's been no line to get in or to get food. The menu and hours are available on their website: www.stanleysfarm.com