Rental ‘home it’ll be:’ MacNeil’s sprawling Cape Breton abode now a fan retreat

By David Friend, The Canadian Press

Owners of a new vacation spot in Cape Breton hope Rita MacNeil’s enduring legacy will draw fans to their sprawling property.

The late East Coast singer-songwriter’s former six-acre home in Coxheath, N.S. has been repurposed as a three-unit Airbnb rental called Rita’s Retreat.

And the waterfront getaway has MacNeil’s past woven throughout the property.

Inside, guests can sit at her grand piano or swim in a 15-metre saltwater pool chosen by MacNeil when she helped design the home in 1991.

The backyard features MacNeil’s beloved garden and a chair where the owners say she wrote some of her best-known songs, including “Working Man” and “Flying on Your Own.”

Property manager Victoria Serwatuk says her father is a longtime fan of MacNeil and thought keeping some of her items intact on the property would be a tribute to her lasting influence.

MacNeil died in 2013 after complications from surgery. She was 68.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2021.

David Friend, The Canadian Press

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today