13 minute read
Destination Unplugged Lungovita Beach Retreat Offers Visitors a Unique ”Glamping “ Experience By Jen Brignall Strong
DESTINATION UNPLUGGED
Lungovita Beach Retreat Off ers Visitors Unique ‘Glamping’ Experience
By Jen Brignall-Strong Photo by Six Langemann
Sweeping cliff top views. Idyllic pathways lush with greenery. Calm waterfront breezes. While Lungovita Beach Retreat may only be a half hour drive from Windsor, the little slice of paradise feels miles away from the hustle and bustle of city living.
“Lungovita was designed to help people extend their life by reconnecting with nature and disconnecting with the busyness of their day-to-day lives,” says co-owner David Haas.
Located in the heart of wine country, Lungovita (pronounced “loon-go-vee-ta”) is Canada’s fi rst adults-only ‘glamping’ retreat. With nearly 40 fully furnished geodesic domes and tents, a gorgeous in-ground pool, hot tubs, and cedar barrel saunas, the sprawling 16-acre property off ers the amenities of a hotel in the natural, open air setting of a campground.
“People are so amazed that something like this exists in Essex County,” says Haas. “It’s a super unique property that’s not developed and just wide open with 600 feet of beach front. It’s also on an 80-foot cliff overlooking Lake Erie. There aren’t many places around here where you can soak in a view like that.”
The park’s name means “long life” and its unique concept was something Haas and his business partners Andrew Facca, Craig Higginbottom, and Chantal Vallée had been dreaming up for years before it came to fruition last summer. After scouring the globe for the perfect piece of land to suit their vision, the ideal space presented itself right in their own backyard when the former Caboto Park went up for sale in late 2020.
“We’d been holding in mind this idea since the creation of AirBnB,” says Haas. “This property was a perfect fi t because it was already zone as a campground so we could do exactly what we had in mind.”
The group took possession of the park in May 2021 and worked quickly to update the facilities; completely renovating the bathroom and shower facilities and erecting 23 ‘glamping’ tents complete with queen size beds, seating areas, and space heaters.
Haas says upgrades to the property are ongoing. By the end of this summer, they hope to have 42 geodesic domes and 20 ‘glamping’ tents available for nightly rentals. In addition to the pool, saunas, and hot tubs, they also off er bike and kayak rentals for those wishing to explore the natural beauty of the area.
“We’re just going to keep adding,” Haas explains. “Our plan is to continue to make this place as beautiful as we possibly can with as many amenities that are all in the realm of relaxation.”
The property also off ers a shared barbecue area and is dotting with picnic tables, hammocks, bonfi re pits, and green space for visitors to enjoy.
“We’re also allowing the 30 foot perimeter around the park to go back to nature so eventually it will be just like a forest and we’ll
be able to host forest walks,” he adds. “We want people to walk around barefoot; put their feet in the grass, put their feet in the sand.”
Lungovita will also eventually host a variety of spiritual healing retreats and workshops. Both Haas and Facca work as Certified Coaches, helping people heal, achieve their goals, and realize their true potential.
“We were always renting out venues for retreats and thought, ‘why not create our own?’” says Haas, noting they’ve already had several other coaches book events at the site as well.
“We’re attracting a lot of like-minded people that are interested in helping get people back to nature and reconnect with their true self so they can become the best version of themselves.”
“We’re so ‘connected’ these days with technology and social media, we don’t really take the time to actually disconnect,” says Haas. “It used to be that you’d go to the office 9 to 5 then you’d go home and have some peace. Now the emails come at all hours of the day and we feel a sense of obligation to reply quickly. Now, that time you used to spend in nature or with your family, you’re no longer present and it’s detrimental to our health because we’re constantly in this state of fight or flight.”
For those wishing to unplug for the day without staying overnight, Lungovita also offers $20 day passes.
“We have day passes available where people can come and enjoy all the amenities: they can use the bikes, use the kayaks, swim in the pool, hang in a hammock, and just enjoy the park,” explains Haas. “It’s a great place to bring your friends out for the afternoon and have a little picnic.”
Haas and his team are thrilled that the community has welcomed Lungovita with open arms and credits the Town of Essex for supporting their vision.
“They really see the value in what we’re doing,” he says. “We see this as something that will attract people from all over Canada and the United States.”
“The great thing is that we’re completely complimentary to everything that’s around us too,” he explains, noting that they’re in the process of creating special package offers with some of the other local businesses. “We want people to go to the restaurants and the wineries and explore everything the area has to offer.”
“Ultimately, we want people to come to Lungovita for the weekend and have a transformational experience. D
Penalty Box Expands to the “Delight” of South Windsor
Home of the Original Chicken Delight.
2151 Walker Road | 519-253-3310 525 Cabana Road E. | 226-674-0188 penaltyboxwindsor.com
shop local
(Located in the St. Clair Beach Plaza)
Summer SHRIMP PASTA
INGREDIENTS 2 portions of your desired noodles (I used fettuccine for this recipe) 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato, chopped 1 tsp oil from the sundried tomato jar 2 cloves garlic ½ sweet onion, thinly sliced ½ tsp chilli fl akes 1 tsp sriracha 8-10 shrimp 1 cup chopped Swiss chard ¼ cup corn 3 tbsp salted pasta water Freshly shaved parmesan
DIRECTIONS 1. In a pot with boiling water and a pinch of salt, cook noodles until al denté. 2. In a large frying pan set to medium heat, add butter, sundried tomatoes and oil, garlic, sweet onion, chilli fl akes, sriracha, and shrimp. Cook until shrimp is almost opaque. 3. Once the shrimp is about done, add the Swiss chard, and corn. Once it’s cooked, add 3 tbsp of the salted pasta water and stir. Let it continue to cook/boil for a min or until the water has almost evaporated, leaving behind a light sauce. 4. Add the cooked noodles to the pan and combine all the ingredients. 5. Last, sprinkle fresh parmesan over top and enjoy! D
Photo by Mona Elkadri
Mona Elkadri is a lifestyle blogger with a fondness for everyday living and entertaining, from sweet recipes to home décor and DIY, and everything in between. Ohsomona.com
WE’RE GETTING FIT WITH THE SHRED SHOP
Owner Sawyer Telegdy discusses survival, growth, and recognition
By Devan Mighton Photo by Syx Langemann
This is the story of the Shred Shop. How a coff ee barista with a workout hobby became a bodybuilder and eventually the owner-operator of the hottest workout facility in Windsor-Essex.
Sawyer Telegdy was born and raised in Windsor. She had always participated in solo sports and was accomplished in downhill slalom racing and ballet. Working at Starbucks, she enjoyed working out but kept to herself.
In 2010, both of her parents were diagnosed with terminal cancer, and her life took a turn. She took eight months off from the coff ee shop to help care for them but the stress of the situation was taking its toll.
“I had to fi nd an outlet, I had to fi nd something to do,” recalls Telegdy. “A gentleman, in particular, who was a bodybuilder at the gym, saw that I was really in the zone, really focussed.
“Going to the gym and working out was my stress release. It was the only thing that I knew. I didn’t feel very social, obviously. I didn’t feel like talking to a lot of people and I didn’t want to go out. I was too young to drown my sorrow in a bottle—I just went to the gym—that was my escape.”
She says that he took her under his wing and taught her everything he knew about form and body mechanics. They met at the gym daily and she soaked in everything she could, and, at his suggestion, she started competing as a competitive bodybuilder.
Things were going well for Telegdy, her parents survived their ordeal and she started to place well at her competitions. People started recognizing her at the gym, asking for advice, which led to a little off -the-cuff training. A friend of hers off ered to let her train at her personal studio if she would agree to teach group classes on her off -hours away from Starbucks.
“That’s when I got introduced to group-style,” explains Telegdy. “I was always so independent, doing one-on-one stuff . This group shit started getting pretty electrifying and I just had a blast with it. People were coming together and motivating each other, as opposed to a
trainer in a one-on-one setting. The energy was so great and everyone was so motivated, I really started to understand why group training was starting to take over.”
Group training and crossfi t were all the rage and she says she jumped on the bandwagon and her classes expanded until they were too big. So, Telegdy opened the doors to the Shred Shop on Jeff erson Blvd.
“I thought, people would really like it if I added more weight instead of a body-weight boot camp,” she says. “I added some resistance, some high-intensity intervals, a little bit more structure, superloud music, microphones with the coaches—so loud you can’t even think—and created an oasis where people can walk in and do what I did in the gym years ago.”
She explains that the Shred Shop fuses high-intensity circuits that include resistance-based movements, building muscle mass through lifting weights, and explosive cardio intervals.
“The way that we train the functional movements that we perform here, they create the optimal metabolic demand for overall conditioning,” explains Telegdy. “The reason why functional fi tness is so important is that it translates outside of a gym setting. A bicep curl gives you bigger biceps, but a bicep curl doesn’t make you squat and pick something up off of the fl oor pain-free for the rest of your life.”
Although, on start-up, it was a two woman show with Telegdy and her admin tech, Amanda, Shred Shop now features an all-female workout crew that is both pre- and post-natal trained. Classes are 45 minutes with a mobility cooldown at the end, also their coaches off er a one-on-one personal training experience, and during group classes, they aren’t up on some stage calling out instructions—they walk around and correct movement patterns for better training.
Within six months of opening, Shred Shop’s clientele exceeded the space at their original location and they relocated to 815 Erie St. E and, in November 2021, they opened their second facility at 6020 Malden Rd. in LaSalle.
“We service both men and women,” states Telegdy. “Just because it’s female operated doesn’t mean it’s a women-only type of thing. We do have lots of men who train here, but, to be honest, there are a lot of powerful women and I think that women in fi tness is a very inspiring thing for other women. We’ve had a lot of feedback from members saying they are very comfortable getting direction from a female—we have a niche.”
This year, Telegdy was honoured by the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce as the 2022 recipient of the Young Professional of the Year Award at their annual Business Excellence Awards.
“Honestly, I genuinely wasn’t expecting it,” she admits. “I couldn’t believe that I’d earned that, that I deserved that kind of award, so it was really humbling.” She adds that she is proud of her staff and their resilience during the pandemic and the community that has helped them grow.
This summer, there is more in store for the clients of the Shred Shop, including a spin studio, which will give clients more options and variety in the workout choices, and Telegdy is actively building up her one-on-one and group training teams.
In the end, the Shred Shop is all about self-improvement and the betterment of living for their clients.
“That’s what we do here—that’s the diff erence,” states Telegdy. “We teach people to move their body, under pressure for long periods of time, with power and no pain. We teach that pattern so that they are functional humans outside of here—anytime, any day, in everything they do.” D
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