Blue Bayou Resort, Cape Breton

The word luxury, which is abused when describing the Blue Bayou is totally inappropriate. The domes are very close to each other (so anyone can look into your dome) and along a ring road on which cars and motorcycles park close to their and probably your dome. The noise of Harley Davidsons and trucks turning on and off starts at 630 am and finishes at 23. Of its raining as it did during our stay there is no place to put shoes outside the dome and now way to take shoes off on the wet earth outside. So you have to walk into your dome (no door mats provided) with dirty shoes. There are no mats for the shower so you get the bathroom wet at the first shower. The hot water lasts for only one, max two showers and then you have to wait for a half hour for it to warm up again. We booked a family dome for 4 so it wasn’t fun. The toilet is literally behind the bed just covered by a screen. There were only two chairs in the dome but we paid for 4 people. There is only a sink with a coffee machine in the dome but no plates and cutlery. We were supplied these after asking though. We also asked for outdoor chairs to put around the fire but it had rained the day before and the chairs are stored outside so they were soaked. No food, no washer, no dryer, no nothing available on premise and the closest store is about 15 minutes away Luxury??? No!! Nowhere close

For the record, I am NOT a picky pampered person. And I have never written a review for anything .. but this time, I’d like to warn everyone looking to book a stay here. On the plus side, the owners were very nice and helpful. The grounds are peaceful, clean and overall it seemed like we were going to have an amazing night as a family. Domes are sturdy and amenities are impressive given the setting BUT as soon as the sun went down, our dome became INFESTED with earwigs. On the floor, on the walls, hidden in our belongings, AND EVEN falling from the ceiling into our beds… I slept in our car. It was awful. I will never take my family to a glamping dome again.

We stayed here one night to try a dome. The dome was neat, but quite warm during the day (there is a fan). The beds were pretty firm, and the amenities sparse (no hand soap, no dish soap, 2 chairs for 4 people, etc.). Also, the domes are pretty close together, so you can hear others' conversations. Would not recommend if you are looking for privacy. Upside: glorious saltwater body (pretty warm) where you can paddle for free (canoe, kayaks, SUP) or have a lovely swim. Also a zip line for kids. Tip for using the grill: bring or buy ($8!) your own charcoal briquettes unless you booked a place with a barbeque.

Domes were clean and as described. Stayed in dome 15 which was a bit noisy as the kid's zip line was right out front. Would request a dome a bit further away from this centralized area. If you are looking for an upscale stay, this is not the place for you. Sitting by the water in the evening with a bottle of wine was perfect.

This was our second visit to the Blue Bayou Resort in Cape Breton. We had dome #1 which was as close to the water as you can get, a King waterfront suite. It was truly wonderful to be this close to the water and enjoy seeing the water and mountains in the distance in different light and weather. The owners were warm and welcoming upon our arrival and gave us some local hiking recommendations(White Point and Kauzmann). We did manage to get one hike in at White Point which had stunning coastal views. We hope to do the Kauzmann hike during our next visit as we had a day of rain during this trip. We stayed for 2 nights and enjoyed the standup paddleboards, kayaks and swimming at the dock. We wore watershoes as there are lots of shells etc at the bottom of the estuary. We went out when the water was calm and explored the inlets and even made it all the way over to the South Harbour Beach. We saw Eagles, piping plovers, cranes and beautiful views. This time we brought our own pillows since we are picky on pillows and brought an extra blanket since there was rain in the forecast and we anticipated cooler temperatures. We only used the extra blanket one of the two nights. The space heater in the dome was more than enough to keep us warm. They have also installed pellet stoves in the domes which would be handy in the shoulder seasons towards October. We brought food in a well insulated cooler with us that didn't require much preparation, as well as our own plates and cutlery. We were able to buy more ice on site and do some dishes in the small prep station in the dome. During our visit we also ate at some of the local eateries. Morrison's Restaurant for lunch was amazing and only 7 minutes away. In Ingonish we had Andrews Pizza, highly recommend and we got Gelato from the Groovy Goat Farm (29mins from blue bayou). We also had lunch at the Clucking Hen & Bakery (1hr 8m away) so tasty!

This is the first time we’ve been “glamping,” and it was a wonderful experience. We stayed in one of the geodesic domes, which was nice and clean. Our second night, things were a bit damp for getting a fire started, but the owner stopped by to ask if we needed help, and within minutes, he had the fire going. He was also very helpful with suggesting places to see. Beware…you will want to prepare for bugs if you’re going during warm weather.