Eco Resort Amenities

Eco Accommodations

Enjoy restful sleep in one of three unique, cozy cabins nestled in the forest, or try out "The Nest". Slip into bed sheets at night and let the aroma of line-dried linens warm your senses... for some this will be a new experience; for others it will invoke sensational yesteryear memories. Even the most sleep-challenged will dream away to the restful lull of the river.

 

The Nest

The Nest (private riverside room)

The Nest is a riverside soft-sided bedroom/lounging room. Completely private, for a short afternoon nap or an opportunity to sleep under the stars, the Nest is simply perfect.

Featuring a double, air-based bed with matress topper and warm quilts is outdoor luxury enjoyed once in a lifetime.

Comfortable chairs under the canopy or beach chairs on your private sandy riverdeck are perfect places to enjoy a beverage, read a book, or simply meditate by the river.

All-inclusive Romance Packages include the Nest. Other packages may upgrade to include the Nest.

Yes, we still bring you lattes in the morning:)

The Forest Cottage

The Forest Cottage (cozy cabin in the forest)

The Forest Cottage is an entirely-recycled, reused building. Originally built as a small summer cottage, it was moved from Cultas Lake to our site in 2003. Being surrounded by forest makes it the most private of our accommodations.

The frame is built entirely from mill “throwaways”. Exterior cedar siding is from short mill ends. The hand carved door is from a cottage in the Fraser Valley.

The interior ceiling was upgraded onsite to remove the only gyprock or sheetrock on the property. Tongue and groove cedar supplied by a local homestead mill from wood too small to be otherwise commercially viable, now lines the ceiling. The walls are wood panels from the original family’s (father and daughter) home renovation.

Features include a double bed with warm quilts for any cool nights, bureau and hangers for clothes, clean, easily-accessible luggage and shoe storage. Totally secluded outdoor space looks into the forest towards the Coquihalla River.

Located closest to spa facilities, library-living room, and centralized washroom facilities the Forest Cottage is considered the most secluded and the most modest (with no sacrifice to comfort) of our accommodations.

The Homestead Log Cabin

The Homestead Cabin (restored 1920's cabin)

The Homested Log Cabin was originally built in 1923 by the Edwards’, a family of 5. This one-room log cabin has been painstakingly restored: it holds so many special memories for the 3 families who have owned it, and for the many “hippies” who stayed here and bore their children here in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

The largest of the three accommodations, the Log Cabin Homestead is located away from the river (though you can still hear it) near the organic garden across from the Central Lodge House, and has the most open location receiving full sun from dawn to dusk.

Features include a king size bed with extra firm mattress, warm quilts for cool nights, bureau and hangers for clothing, comfortable seating and an eco-friendly commode. Presently without electrical power, lights are provided via rechargeable lamps and personal rechargeable reading lights. Outdoor quiet space is provided with chairs garden-side.

The Othello Cottage

The Othello Cottage (historic Kettle Valley Railstop)

The Othello Cottage is one of the few remaining original buildings from the Kettle Valley Railway, built circa 1913, with original painted lettering depicting the Othello rail station stop.

All station stops along the Kettle Valley Railway are named for Shakesperean characters between its origin at Lear, just west of Hope, and the Coquihalla Summit. It has been lovingly restored with careful attention to matching exterior pigments, original look, and interior comfort.

With windows that open wide to a beautiful view of the Coquihalla River on one side, and a view of the organic garden on the other side, the Othello cottage provides natural comfort for restorative sleep.

Features include a double bed with warm quilts for cool nights, bureau and hangers for clothes, clean, easily-accessible luggage and shoe storage, and an eco-friendly commode. A garden-side deck with chairs provides your own quiet outdoor space perfect for watching the setting sun.

The outdoor dining room, or belvedere, was constructed from cedar milled at a local homestead mill (from non-old-growth cedar ), by your hosts and our pro carpenter friend, Reg. No permanent foundation leaves a light footprint on the earth.

The view from the belvedere is outstanding. It overlooks the river on one side and the forest on the other three sides. A large table, comfortable chairs, and a great view provide the perfect backdrop to ultimate meal enjoyment.

The Central Lodge House is home to your hosts, is the indoor/outdoor gourmet cuisine preparation centre, and provides for indoor dining during vengeful weather conditions.

State of the art cooking facilities are complemented by the safety of a commercial grade dishwasher for appropriate dish sterilization.

Large outdoor decks offer spectacular places to sit at any time of the day, featuring large overhangs and comfortable seating.

The organic garden is an important feature at our wilderness lodge retreat. Not only does it provide the basis for most of our delicious cuisine, it also provides an important link we miss in today’s world between man and mother earth. We gain sustenance from tending the garden in the most sustainable way. Each minute spent “working” in the garden provides nourishment for the earth, our tummies, our minds, and our souls.

There really is no way to adequately describe the taste of freshly-harvested produce: incredible mouth-watering flavours of a sun-warmed strawberry, a just-picked tomatoe eaten like an apple, or a carrot still moist with earth.

A small orchard provides a fine selection of seasonal fruits and berries.

Riverside Retreats. There are many ways to enjoy one of several riverside retreats. Whether sitting on the old cement and brick deck, or right at the water’s edge on the natural river rock patio, either provides a serene way to pass time watching the water, the birds, the sky.

Enjoy the wood fired hot tub made of cedar. This tub has been in Henry’s family passed down through three of his brothers, and finally restored by us in 1999. Water is heated by fire in a snorkel stove which sits below the water’s surface with only the feed and the chimney above the water line.

Safety from the stove is via a cedar “fence” which forms the back of the bench seat. An outdoor hot and cold shower is located next to the hot tub for guest use so that the minimum amount of sanitary chemicals are needed to keep the water safe for all. Unlike conventional hot tubs, this eco hot tub has its water changed at least weekly, and is silent without pumps or circulators.

Opportunities for private, clothing-optional hot tub times are made available for those who so-desire.

There is no better spa experience than an authentic Finnish wood fired sauna. There is more to a sauna than getting hot: there is a holistic regimen passed down for generations imbued with Finnish culture for maximum enjoyment, and holistic cleansing.

A Finnish sauna involves successive heating and cooling sessions, with steam formed by throwing water on fire-heated rocks, progressive cleansing techniques using loofa, birch sapling sauna vasta, cloth washes and showers.

Water in the sauna is heated through the stove to a large tank to a shower. The hot water tank keeps water warm for regular shower use the next day as well.

Riverside hammocks provide a wonderful way to destress and feel nature all around. Whether reading, resting, or sleeping, time spent in one of our riverside hammocks is soulfully relaxing.

The campfire pit enjoyed most evenings is built with maximum safety and enjoyment in mind. Two layers of brick form the base to keep fire and coals away from the forest floor: this has been of paramount importance over the last 4 summers which have been extremely dry and hot with high alert for forest fires. A good water source remains near at hand at all times.

These fire-warmed bricks also provide an outdoor oven-like venue for many culinary delights (including the perfect smore), and reflect warming heat to us all for hours.

The main common room is the library-living room. Made from recycled lumber and fir milled on site, its walls are lined with cedar tongue and groove providing a wonderful aroma to the room.

Features include a comfortable couch and chair, Grama’s homestead table and chairs, a windowsill bar looking out to the forest, a small fridge for beverages and snacks for enjoyment throughout the day, and a library stocked with fiction, non-fiction, and a selection of magazines.

Two central washrooms, each with showers, sinks, and toilets adjoin the library-living room with separate outside private entrances. One may book to keep a bathroom private for the exclusive use of one of the three cabins, though with a maximum of three couples or three individuals, the need has not yet arisen.

The rationale for central washroom facilities is imbedded in our philosophy of living lightly on the earth. Our eco waste system is a state of the art septic field into which all waste water empties. To dig trenches from each cabin to the central system would have scarred the land and destroyed roots necessary to keep the giant trees healthy.

This type of system requires some discipline regarding what enters into it. Therefore, it is respectfully requested that no foreign matter or items be flushed.

As a compromise, each of the two cabins farthest from the central waste facilities have a commode for nighttime tinkles which we then empty into the central system.

We heartily encourage nighttime treks to the central toilet facilities as the moonshadow formed by moonlight bouncing off the river and through the huge trees is like no other place on earth. It would be a shame for anyone to miss the experience.

All soaps, shampoos, toilet paper, etc. are eco-friendly products provided by the resort. If you have special needs please feel free to use your own products, but please use them sparingly.

Lush forest paths, white sandy beach, and cool emerald waters of the swimming hole, are just a few of the natural amenities to enhance your relaxation and rejuvenation experience.

Ther are many natural amenities available to both fully-guided and to non-guided guests. The following trails and sites are part of the Shelter from the Storm package. Some of these are public and are accessible to non-guided guests:

bullet Othello Tunnels

• Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park (surrounds the retreat on three sides)
• TransCanada Trail (at our front door)
• Kawkawa Lake Trail (available to Shelter from the Storm guests only)
• Jack Delair Salmon Enhancement Park (spectacular salmon spawning grounds)
• Kettle Valley Rail Trail (cycle route for Shelter from the Storm guests)
• Nicolum River Trail (Shelter from the Storm)
• Hope-Nicola Valley Brigade Trail (at our side door)
• Suckers Beaver Marsh (Shelter from the Storm)

Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park		bushwalking and cycling trails		Kawkawa Lake