Otto, NC-The House-May 2018

With two of us, three kids and a dog, we stopped looking for hotels a while back and began using sites like Airbnb to find the best places to say. We have had some amazing experiences and only one or two kind of odd ones. We have not had any bad experiences. Even though there are fees and cleaning etc., by the time you add up all the extra fees from hotels for dogs, extra people etc. the cost is about the same or sometimes even less. What you get is almost always more than any hotel I have ever stayed in.

This week we stayed in Otto, NC at the Country Cottage run by Richard and Nancy. It is in the middle of nowhere in some ways, but it is also close to Cherokee, Ashville, Dillard, Tallulah Gorge and many, many other areas we wanted to explore. It is secluded and at the same time a great home base to explore from and come back to every day.
When we arrived at the house we were amazed. It is huge and has a huge yard along with a pond, dock and massive area for the kids and Beast to play in. As we walked across the front porch, it was so wonderfully decorated with swing, chairs and live plants. Entering the house, the beauty continues. The house opens into the living room and as you go around the corner you enter my favorite space, the massive dining room/kitchen. The brick floor and wood accents made it seem like you were walking into the actual early 1900s home which this is, while at the same time, it has all the amenities of the most modern hotel. The home has been lovingly restored by Richard and Nancy including many incredible pictures painted by Nancy’s daughter. The dining room table was our gathering place for the week and it was just like being at home.

We then checked out the three bedrooms. Our boys had their own room downstairs which could actually sleep three, and Abby had her own room upstairs which could have slept at least two. Our bedroom was large and charmingly decorated and had some amazing antiques and other furniture. All three rooms were so beautifully decorated, again it was like being at home instead of staying somewhere on vacation.

If you like to come back for the evening and cook a nice dinner rather than eating out, this place is the best stocked place I have ever seen. It has not one, but two well stocked kitchens. The main kitchen is huge and very nice, but the side kitchen has the feel of an old time farmhouse. The stove looks like a classic, but is a great modern cooking machine. We cooked several breakfasts and dinners and everything you need is provided in the kitchen. As if it could get any better, Richard and Nancy also provided donuts, breakfast items, and many, many snacks for us to enjoy. They had a case of water, everything to grill out in the backyard, which we did, and so many things I can’t even name. The kids favorite was a giant drawer filled with everything to make and decorate cookies, cakes and more. I could go on for days about the kitchen space, but you just have to experience it to believe it.

Finally, despite how great the house was, there was something even better…the yard! There is a massive yard, several acres in the back of the house with a pond, dock, and tons of running room. Nancy even brought a huge float out for the kids to play on. Every time we were at the house, the kids and Beast were in the yard, in the pond, or sitting on the huge front porch! The plants, scenery, and the entire atmosphere were amazing. It rained a good bit during our week and we could have been cooped up in the house, but rain or not, the kids were outside playing when we were home. Even when we did stay in the house, it is so large and well laid out, everyone had plenty of space to have a little quiet time for themselves.

One last thing…the bathroom. The kids bathroom was nice, but the master bath is huge with a giant spa tub and something I have never seen in an American place I have stayed; a bidet! I have to admit I was a little too afraid I’d blow myself across the room to try it, but if you know what it is and how to use it, you have it here! If you like to relax in a nice tub and feel the spa jets loosen tight muscles after a long day of hiking, this is the place for you!

This is the best place we have ever stayed, hands down. Richard and Nancy are the best hosts a place could ever have. The kids were almost in tears having to leave and they have already begun planning our next trip. I could not rate this place as high as it deserves.

Click the Link Below to see many more pictures on Shutterfly!

pix.sfly.com/OVUW4nx0