Hello and welcome!
We are Carlos and Karolina Galvez, proud owners of Mountain Pause Retreat. Our story is a bit of a world tour: I am originally from Peru, Karolina is from Switzerland, and we first met on a Caribbean cruise. We later married in Alaska and eventually put down roots in Miami, Florida. Over the past 30 years, we’ve been blessed with three wonderful children—now grown—and the opportunity to travel across the globe, from the Peruvian Andes to the Swiss Alps.
Although we love the ocean (after all, that’s where our story began), the mountains have always held a special place in our hearts. When we first visited the Smoky Mountains, something clicked. Their quiet beauty and gentle ridgelines reminded each of us of home—of the landscapes that shaped our childhoods and our cultures.
From that moment, we dreamed of owning a cabin here. A place where our family and friends could gather, slow down, reconnect, and escape the demands of busy city life. That dream became Mountain Pause Retreat—a peaceful haven we are grateful to share with guests from around the world.
We hope that during your stay, you too can relax, unwind, and take a meaningful “pause” in this beautiful mountain setting.
Warmly,
Carlos & Karolina