Welcome to Caledon’s Nordic Spa Hotel
In the pleasing hamlet of Cataract, the Liberty Inn reimagines a 19th-century landmark as a rejuvenating getaway
There are some hotels that make me say, “This feels like a space I could live in,” and The Liberty Inn is one of those places. Each of its five suites has more of the tenor of a country cottage than a hotel room. Thoughtfully furnished living and dining areas invite lingering, smart kitchenettes welcome whipping up a meal and bespoke bathrooms beguile. The fridge is stocked with homemade strawberry jam, ready-to-bake croissants and oat and dairy milk. There’s a woodland spa and a garden, both within a pastoral setting, replete with birdsong, just steps from the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. Though this boutique hotel is just a 60-minute drive from Toronto, it feels like a world away.
“We wanted to build a place where people could slow down, feel inspired by their surroundings and reconnect with what matters,” says Jacqui Liberty, who bought the inn with her husband, Bruno Roldan, a former tech VP, in 2022. The 1855-built structure, originally a post office and general store, had been through many iterations—inn, restaurant, speakeasy, private residence—before the couple made it their own. They envisioned creating an enlivening space that melded heritage features, such as original exposed limestone walls and stained-glass windows, with mod cons, like contactless check-in and check-out, red-light therapy masks and, in some suites, steam showers and an infra-red sauna.
Liberty and Roldan enlisted Kingsgate Construction and Tiffany Leigh Design to transform their vision for the hotel into reality, and hired SBK Design Studio to craft the tranquil outdoor spaces and burgeoning gardens. The inn’s original building was kept intact, but its seven suites were reconfigured into five larger ones (two of which have two bedrooms) before the grand opening in Spring 2025.
I stayed in the Florian Suite and, like all of the individually decorated accommodations, it is proof that The Liberty Inn doesn’t do cookie-cutter. Every mug, bowl, plate and over 10,000 of the bathroom, kitchen and floor tiles were handcrafted by Liberty at her nearby Soft Fire Ceramics Studio. All of the inn’s artwork is Canadian and the paintings in my suite were by Quebec-based artist Karine Ménard and local painter Melissa Mary Jenkins. Weighted robes hang in the bedroom ready to wrap you in soothing pressure that calms, and there is an array of all-natural, Canadian-made skincare that feels spa-like. The attention to detail runs deep and extends to the private Nordic spa, bookable in advance so it’s entirely yours. It is a favourite of the owners. “Moving between the Finnish sauna, the cold plunge and cedar hot tub, all surrounded by birdsong and clean air, is incredibly restorative,” says Roldan. “It’s peaceful, immersive and always brings me back to the present.”
Given the creature comforts, The Liberty Inn is hard to leave—they even offer, on request, frozen homestyle meals like locally made lasagne or chicken, leek and bacon pie to enjoy in your suite. But when you do go out, options abound. “We’ve become a gateway to Caledon,” says Liberty. “Guests stay with us and end up discovering everything the region has to offer, from Forks of the Credit Provincial Park to breweries, skiing, golf, cycling and incredible local makers and artists. It’s amazing to see that ripple effect.”
They’ve created a place that lowers the shoulders and I’m not the only one who feels like I could live here. Liberty says, “One guest told us the inn felt like a home that was made by people who care. That really stuck with us – it summed up exactly what we hoped this place would be.”
