The Father’s House- Sister Cabins are 4 Loves Lodge & Serenity Mountain Retreat

The Father’s House- The main home is a log cabin that sleeps 22 adults + (5 BR and a small nursery and a work area, 5 1/2 BA) where every room has distant views. The “+” is a separate space above the garage that can sleep a bunch more if needed. Pickleball, covered parking, WI-FI, hot tub, game tables, fire pit and great hiking are all part of this 50 acres of private mountain property. The only other structure on this parcel is our family barn about a football field away. We keep our vehicles in the garage itself so it is not accessible for rent but there is enough covered parking for 4 vehicles without it.

Come experience the Father’s House (John 14:2-3), the literal peak of our family’s trinity of luxury log homes. This brand new, custom built log home has 5 bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and a half bath off the foyer. There is a simple nursery downstairs with crib and changing table and a small study off the master with an eastern view towards Asheville. There are game tables downstairs, a fire pit and a hot tub each with a beautiful view and great outdoor deck space. Since the home was specially designed as a retreat for our family and friends including our children and grandchildren, we hope your family and children will feel right at home in our peaceful and playful getaway. And although it is decorated with a Christian theme for our family, all are welcome regardless of faith.

The separate garage apartment is for smaller people (or those who really like being around each other ;-). It’s reminiscent of a small scale bunkhouse that has 2 tiny bunk rooms with just enough space for 2 triple twin bunks in each, one bathroom and a small living room with a view. It’s more functional than spacious, but really cute.

Every inch of the structures were hand built by local craftsmen with the utmost attention to detail, with every amenity in mind for families and friends to enjoy. From the unique stone post and beam covered parking area that greets you upon arrival, we hope you can truly feel the “love” that went into building this home.

As new grandparents ourselves, we had fun creating several spaces just for our littlest guests, from children’s nooks in the upstairs bedrooms to the downstairs nursery and a board game closet in the game room. And as time goes by we hope to continue to creatively improve the property so there can always be a new surprise year to year.

The main floor has the king master bedroom with full bath. We custom built a spa-like master bathroom, complete with pebble tile flooring and floor to ceiling tile in the shower from local craftsmen Joseph and his son Jesús. (Really. And they are amazing. But mom who also helped with the tile work is Gloria, not Mary.) It has two wall shower heads and a rain-shower head from the ceiling as well. The king bedroom opens to the outside covered alcove. And if you have work to do, we’ve included a small study just off the living room and master with a window for peaceful eastern views, so you’ll still be in the mountain vibe as you work.

Upstairs you’ll find two large bedrooms each including two queen beds. One bedroom has a high window desk area complete with stools, perfect for laptop computer work or for an afternoon of reading and mountain gazing. The other bedroom has a comfy nook for reading or taking in the views. A full bath with tub/shower combo en-suite accompanies each bedroom.

Moving downstairs to the bottom level, you find two bedrooms, (one king and one queen bed) each with triple twin bunk beds and full bath with tub/shower combo. Conveniently adjacent to the king bedroom is a small crib room for those with wee ones. On this level is a large game room with ping pong, shuffleboard and foosball tables, and a big screen TV to watch your favorite ball games. Step outside and find another space for open-air dining as well as another small seating area and of course, a 5 person hot tub overlooking long range views as with the rest of the home.

Spectrum Cable TV is available in the living room and game room. High Speed Spectrum internet and Wi-Fi is available throughout the house. Washer/dryer, two zoned central heat and air round out this beautiful home. And so far we’ve found that the site has great cell coverage.

The Property

We selected this site because it sits on the ridge line overlooking the breathtaking Maggie Valley landscape, making it the perfect place to retreat from the world or to treat as a home base for all of your adventures in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has both eastern and western views although we kept all the mature trees on the property so it continues to be environmentally sensitive but also retaining a real woodsy feel. So the eastern views are more limited because of that. Regardless, on a clear day you can see all the way to the Biltmore in Asheville from the southern deck. Also, it was designed so that every room has a great mountain view to enjoy.

The wrap around driveway is rare in mountain settings but it makes for easy driving access around the cabin and into the walkout basement from the view side as well. There is plenty of parking both on site and below, at the base of the driveway or even at the base of the mountain. Also, because of our family’s enjoyment of pickleball and the ease with which people can learn to play it, we designed the covered driveway entry to double as a regulation sized court with a movable net.

Also, for the more adventurous, we also own 500 contiguous acres, untouched except for miles of hiking trails on old logging roads and a small, open-air chapel with swings that our mountain neighbors built with us a few years ago down on the old apple orchard towards the center of the property. It’s about a 45-minute downhill hike from the cabin. And we allow a few of our mountain friends on it and they help us to keep it clear and passable. So, if you see anyone out on that 500 acres as you’re hiking, they are friends of ours up there and very helpful. And we prohibit hunting or trapping of any type on the property.

Local Area

The Father’s House is an excellent location to explore the area. Our four daughters selected this particular town because of its proximity to all things peaceful and fun. We RV camped for years throughout the USA but always seemed to end up in our beloved Maggie Valley so we decided to buy and build here. From hiking, waterfalls, ziplines, campfires, festivals and rafting in the summer to tubing, skiing and boarding in the winter, all 6 of us with uniquely different interests found this area to be sweetly special.

We are 5 minutes above the Maggie Valley Country Club and Golf Course, near Lake Junaluska Conference Center & Golf Course, Tube World (snow tubing), Wheels Through Time (a historic motorcycle museum featured on History Channel's “American Pickers”), and many restaurants, shops and micro-breweries in Maggie itself. The Father’s House is a great location for skiers, the mountain adventurer, destination weddings and retreats. But especially for quiet nights at home playing games or siting in front of a fire on cool summer evenings. And now with the recent improvements to The Swag and especially the more family focused Cataloochee Ranch, both purchased by a wonderful and gracious family with a special gift of hospitality, local fine dining in Maggie Valley has now reached (literally) a new peak!

Located within an 18 minute drive are the historic Downtown Waynesville, scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Cataloochee Ski Area ((known for being one of the first ski resorts in the eastern US to open each year), Ingles and Publix Grocery Stores, Walmart, and many great restaurants, local micro-breweries, craft shops, and boutiques. A list of our family favorites will be provided at the cabin but downtown Waynesville is always a guest and family favorite for its timeless charm and many shops, bars and restaurants. And oddly, our favorite sushi.

Within 35 minutes are Asheville and the Biltmore Estate & Winery (America's largest and most visited privately-owned home), many great restaurants and micro-breweries in Asheville and Cherokee, Harrah`s Casino, Pisgah National Forest, more golf courses, Bryson City (home of the Great Smoky Mountain Railway and “Polar Express” during the Christmas Holiday), Transylvania County (home of the most waterfalls in the United States), and hundreds of antique shops.

Within a 45-minute drive you can visit Sierra Nevada Brewery (with an enormous dining Tap Room), gem mining, white water rafting, zip-lining and multiple charming towns and the Asheville Airport.

Just over an hour away are Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (home of Dollywood a wonderful family theme park with great music).

Guest access

The approach to the home is paved and about a 5-minute continuous uphill drive from the Maggie Valley Country Club to the driveway which is gravel. Access to the property does not require all wheel drive/four-wheel drive or snow tire chains unless there is snow or ice during the time period you have chosen. The approach is on the south side of the mountain which means the snow melts off much faster than compared to the north side. So, we recommend driving after the snow melts if you don’t have chains or 4 or all wheel drive, especially during winter storms. We also recommend that you frequently check the internet to stay informed of the weather and travel conditions because up to a few days a year we may have snow or ice stay on the roads all day. The ability to get to and from the property is the responsibility of the guest and is not provided by us.

Must be a minimum of 25 years old to rent The Father’s House.

NO PETS ALLOWED (I’m sorry, we love animals too, but we have two other rentals that we allow them in:-).

This cabin is smoke-free and no parties above the guest limit without first clearing them with us please.