As far as I know, this is the only place in Toronto where you can lay about around the pool whist…read moreenjoying a beer and a burger, then play a round of mini golf.
This entertainment complex has a lot going for it, but there's also a lot of work that needs to be done. For one thing, it feels like a creepy abandoned amusement park. Sure, there are beach volleyball courts, a driving range, mini golf, a rock wall, a restaurant, a couple of bars and a pool, but it's all just plopped down on a giant swath of concrete, not unlike the CNE. It's also virtually deserted. If it were me, I would try to hide the lots full of trucks and generators with a wall of hedges. And have more greenery dotting the place. Maybe some fake palm trees around the pool. And real trees in planters in the GIGANTIC patio area (which also has pool tables, ping pong and fooz ball tables). Polson Pier makes Ontario Place look like Disneyworld.
The pool area is small, but pleasant. There are about 50 deck chairs and 4 giant bed sort of things that you can lay about on (down from 8 last year, boo). The pool itself is kind of like a big fountain. It's 4 feet deep with a ledge all the way across where you can sit. It's chlorinated, which makes me thirsty and sleepy. The pool area has a bar on the side and a great view of the city. It's also got a pretty wide range of visitors, from young families to a group that could only be described as "Vin Diesel and his stripper friends." Use of the pool is $10, you buy a paper bracelet at guest services.
The bar and food is fine. We drank tall boys of Rolling Rock, which were $7.50 each. Not cheap, but not ridiculous, considering you're so far from everything. You go to the bar to get drinks. This place might have gotten another star if they had servers in the pool area. I got an order of deep fried pickles at the cantina, which were fine, but pricey at $5.25 for 4 strips.
A round of mini golf is $9 each. Also pricey, and the course is full of pits, but it's laid out well. Plus, I managed to tie with the Hubster, which makes me happy.
If there was more going on, we might have stayed later and took in a movie at the drive-in (which doubles as the driving range), but the place was so deserted, we opted to leave.
Honestly, this could be a really awesome way to spend a day if they just made a few changes. For one thing, maybe have a shuttle bus or something so that people could get there really easily. Then spruce it up a bit, bring the prices down a bit, and advertise the living hell out of it. Also, have two pools: the family pool, and the 19+ pool.
We'll definitely be back again, because it's a genuinely relaxing place to hang, but if we found a decent replacement, we'd go there instead.