The Warthman Family-Kay, John, Jonathan, Josh and his wife, Natalie-own the Lodge. Kay is a long-ago retired nurse, who devoted her time to parenting and now focuses on church related activities. John is a retired real estate property management exec., who oversaw management of 17,000+ apartments, 3,800+ condominiums, 1 million+ square feet of office space and a number of home owner associations in a 30+ year career. Today, he is an instructor and speaker for a number of professional real estate organizations, which allows him to travel widely in both the U.S. and overseas doing professional credentialing courses.

John or Kay Warthman purchased this house in 1979

We bought this home when we lived in Charlotte and our oldest son was just born. We had visited the mountains during the summer and fell in love with Beech Mountain. A subsequent ski trip further cemented that feeling. John became aware of the Lodge itself while buying a pair of ski boots in Charlotte. During his preschool years and the summers of his first school years, he lived with his grandparents who lived in 5-bedroom converted stone barn. The Lodge reminded him of those wonderful childhood memories. Because he was in real estate management, he thought he could buy it, refurbish it, expand it and add a stone facade to the majority of the house. With the help of his brother Bob, who was a contractor, and some of his talented employees, he worked on the Lodge during weekends for 8 months to bring his vision to fruition.

Initially, we thought that the Lodge would best be operated as a bed and breakfast, but quickly found that the most requests were to rent the entire house by larger groups. So, in our second year of ownership, we converted to whole house rental. In the mid-80's, we moved to Atlanta, where we still reside. So, for a long time now, we've been unable to enjoy the Lodge and its peaceful setting as much as we'd like. Over the 30+ years we've owned and operated the Lodge, we've been privileged to serve many families and groups. Many of them have returned again and again causing us to think of them as extended family. So, we derive pleasure from the enjoyment they experience as well as the relationships we've formed over the years.

The setting of the Lodge combined with materials contained within it just give us the feeling of living in another, less hurried, time. However, we still have access to the Beech Mountain Club with its Olympic pool, first-class tennis facilities, breathtaking golf course with views of 3 states and excellent dining. And, it's close by to the Beech Mountain Resort ski slopes. We think it's the perfect combination of yesteryear atmosphere combined with many modern conveniences.