Family- and dog-friendly "Sweet Retreat" at 5000 feet on 1.3 acres with (4 recliners) movie theater, pool & ping pong table. 8 minutes to the Stanislaus River (swimming holes!) and Big Trees Park. Summer: Bocce, Pickle Ball, and Frisbee/Disc Golf course are -a 2 minute walk through the 1 acre back yard. Remote feel yet minutes to groceries and restaurants. Summer pool privileges included until Labor Day.
Near Arnold, In between Murphys and Bear Valley.
Inside: This cabin in Big Trees Village includes a theater with an 8' wide screen with surround sound and plush seating, a pool & ping pong table, and fast wireless throughout. The theater also has a built in microwave and small refrigerator. Bring popcorn and drinks! Movie watching fun!
Bedroom 1 has a queen bed, guest armoire, and streaming movies. The 2nd bedroom has one queen bed and bunk bed, sleeping 4. A pull out queen sleeper sofa is also available in the living room. Sleeps 6 in beds assuming 2 sleepers in each queen, and one each in bunk beds. The sleeper sofa accommodates an additional 2 kids, (not so comfortable for adults.)
AMENITIES:
Bocce, basketball, picnic grounds, and a kiddie-play area are a two minute walk through the trees to the Big Trees Recreation Center. Kiddie and Olympic swimming pools only in summer (Until labor Day)
Soap, shampoo, towels, hair dryer, and bedding, are supplied. Also on hand: BBQ grill (bring your coals), drip coffee maker (bring grounds), pots, pans, utensils, spices, and a variety of flavored teas.
8 minutes to the Stanislaus River Sourgrass Recreation area and whitewater rafting. 9 minutes to jaw-dropping huge trees at Big Trees State Park. Murphy's wine tasting and many lakes are 30 minute drives.
PARKING:
Cars lacking 4-, or all-wheel drive should park at the top of the driveway year round, as should all vehicles during winter months.
FAMILIES:
Kids adore the theater. More than one young child has asked their parents during their stay if the family could live at the Sweet Retreat full time. :-)
Sitting on the back deck dwarfed by super tall pines, one guest remarked: "it feels like luxury camping here." Yes, the feel is remote and secluded, yet groceries, gas, and restaurants are just a few minutes away.
Winter Notes: One family wrote "Thank you for our best Christmas ever" highlighting being able to watch their kids sled the steep driveway from the comfort of the wood-stove-heated living room.
IMPORTANT:
What's fun for some families isn't for others: Families with children who have to be carried should carefully check weather conditions before renting in the winter: carrying a child on the steep driveway in icy conditions is unsafe.
Rates are based on a party of 1-4, with additional guests @ $35.
Guests have access to everything but the owner's closet, one utility closet. Includes fast wifi, charcoal grill, well equipped kitchen, home theater, hookups upstairs and down for playing music from your smartphone/iPad, Amazon Echo dot downstairs, pool table, and a land line telephone.
The host lives offsite 30 minutes away. Live interaction by special request.
As the cabin can't be easily seen from the street and is on 1.3 acres the feeling is more "private" than "neighborhood." The nearby recreation center, open only in summer, is both super convenient yet far enough away to preserve privacy. Please note access requires a separate $950 fee for unlimited access.
No public transit.
Level 2 charging via a 4 prong female 14-50 outlet or extension cord NOT AVAILABLE IN SNOW CONDITIONS as outlet location is at bottom of steep driveway. Level 1 charging available at top of driveway year round.
Winter wear share bin has lots of gloves, jackets, etc. in case you forget yours. The home site is adjacent to some of the planet's most awesome and treasured giant trees. So we take minimizing fire dangers more seriously than most. NEVER start a campfire unless the water hose is turned on at the spigot and ready to spray errant sparks at the campfire site. CRITICAL: Thoroughly douse the fire so no smoke or steam is present. Usually takes at least 10 minutes.
No smoking in the house. If you smoke outside, please note any butts found on the property after check out will result in cancellation of your deposit refund, as will failure to sort trash into recyclables and garbage. Owner prefers guests put sheets on any furniture dogs are allowed on.) Never remove ashes from the wood stove unless placed immediately in the provided metal ash can.
Please return furniture and other items to their original locations . . and leave towels and sheets on top of the washer-dryer. Extra points for running a load of sheets through a wash and dry cycle during departure day breakfast. :-)
Thank you.
GARBAGE RELATED FEES
Because weekly street side garbage/recycling pickup is unavailable or impractical for this property, we ask guests to pack out their bags of separated garbage and recycling to the convenient Avery Transfer Station…a minute off Hwy 4 in Avery…4541 Seagale Road, Avery, CA.
If departing on Wednesday or Thursday when the Avery Transfer Station is closed, please leave your bags sealed/tied in the kitchen.
Because the housecleaners don’t have room in their vehicles for full bags of garbage and recycling, we have to pay a service $5/bag to remove those bags. If you’re unable to remove your bags, please leave $5 per bag in cash. If you prefer to pay by credit card through AirBnB, use the “send/request money” function to transfer the fee. Thanks for your understanding.
PET FEE
We're dog lovers so welcome your pooches. Some breeds don't shed but most do so instead of an arbitrary pet fee imposed on everyone, we leave it to the housecleaners to tell us if there was extra work due to dog hair. After your booking confirms, we'll send a request for $30 per dog. If the cleaners report doing extra work removing dog hair, we keep the fee and pass it on to the cleaners. If none, we refund the fee.
