Serena Donovan is the first to open a one-of-a-kind hotel in Mossleigh.
Donovan is working to change the narrative around cannabis with the first cannabis-focused event and retreat education centre in Canada, the MaryJane Manor.
Growing up, Donovan struggled with anxiety that stopped her from trying new things.
It wasn’t until she began suffering from debilitating migraines that she started to look for alternative medicine and found CBD oil.
“I have found huge relief in CBD products. I found a passion for this plant, that I had not been able to find in traditional medicine,” Donovan said. “I don’t go home and have a glass of wine; I go home and have a puff. I’m chill, I relax, I decompress, I don’t have a hangover effect, and I’m quite happy with the positive effects that cannabis has brought to my life.”
Donovan completed a cannabis marketing course, and a cannabis plant maintenance and facility management course, that sparked her interest in building a cannabis micro cultivation facility.
When the hotel in Mossleigh came up for sale, Donovan decided to take the risk to purchase the building with the intention of turning it into something creative.
Donovan and a team of contractors began the process of renovating the building and giving it a facelift.
“We started doing renovations, and my creative juices started to flow,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of fun with playing with colours, things I wouldn’t be as daring in my own house, but it really works, and I will continue to add features.”
Donovan decided to age-gate the facility to ensure it could be the first cannabis-focused event and retreat education centre.
“It was a hard decision. I realize we will be excluding some of the population that like to travel with their kids, however, this was a business choice,” Donovan said.
Although the manor has not been open long, it has already received a lot of encouraging feedback, and positive responses.
“We’re very proud to be the first cannabis-focused, and 4/20 friendly facility in Canada so far,” Donovan said. “The word has spread so-so fast, the feedback has been huge, people want to come and rent the space.”
The manor is run like a bed and breakfast, where the entire facility must be rented out for a minimum of two nights.
“We’re trying to make it an inclusive area and keep Mossleigh on the map and offer this facility in a very intimate setting,” Donovan said. “It’s an intimate, quiet setting, you get to set the tone, it’s not planned from minute to minute, it’s not a hustle and bustle.”
Groups who do not come from a cannabis background are also welcome to stay at the manor, and no one will be excluded.
“I’m never one that is going to push a product or substance on anybody, I just want to provide the opportunity for education. I’m never going to push consumption, it needs to be a personal choice,” Donovan said. “I built this facility for people like me, who are afraid of trying something new, I needed a safe group of people around me to experience THC for the first time.”
Donovan wants the manor to be a place where individuals can bring a group of people who they feel safe with to consume with and be a safe place where people can talk and reconnect.
“It’s a different crowd and it’s a different vibe. That’s the part that I’m really excited has come through because that’s the vision that I have for the space, that it’s a peaceful place where we can come to and just enjoy being day to day or minute to minute and check out of all the things that chase us,” Donovan said.
Going forward, Donovan wants to host retreat-style functions, where people pay attention to the people they are with.
“I’m focusing on being able to check out of life, but check in with yourself, and check-in with the people who are with you,” Donovan said. “We have a lot that we can learn from each other if we just take the time to listen, but we have to stop long enough to do that.”
Before the official opening, Donovan was getting ready with her daughters, and they pulled her aside to hug her and tell her how proud of her they were.
“That was a wonderful moment. As a mom, I pride myself on making sure my kids know that I’m proud of them, but it’s different when your kids tell you that they are proud of you,” Donovan said. “No matter what this looks like going forward, they are really proud of what we have as a family, we take a lot of pride in being a rural farming family, it pulls us all together.”
Visit MaryJane Manor on FaceBook for more information.
