Formerly Fairwinds Mountain Cottages

In case you’re puttering about the ol’ www looking for Fairwinds Mountain Cottages – you found it…well almost. That’s what the property now known as The Retreat at Sky Ridge was called for over 25 years. In case you’ve forgotten, the logo featured a big white Goose, a wreath, flowers,  and pink and blue ribbons. The decor was also of a similar era – lots of baby pink and blue and a quasi-Farm/Victorian feel.

We had a different vision in mind.

The cabins themselves had great bones – simple and soothing, set into an incredible 135 Acre piece of Ozark wilderness – which was enjoyed from huge covered porches. Now all we had to do was spiff things up a bit, add a few new things and make the inside of each cabin feel as inviting and serene as the stunning setting. Over the last 5 months we’ve done a bit of cleaning, repaired a few things, fixed some roads, oh and added a 2nd pond and waterfall where a big empty muddy hole used to be. Whew! Then we trimmed a LOT of trees, took a deep breath and moved on to gutting and renovating the original stone Homestead House (Circa 1885) – which now features a new interior, new paint,  a blue “tin” roof and has a new life as the Guest Welcome Center, Office and Laundry. And finally for good measure, we are gutting and renovating the old owner’s home (where the office used to be) and if all goes as planned,  Spring 2010 we’ll be re-opening that structure as our new event center (sit down reception capacity 100).

So ol’ Fairwinds got new owners, a new office, a new look and a new attitude…reflecting our passion for nature, wildlife and a desire to give guests the best possible experience when they visit us. Every cabin has been redecorated with a unique theme and new touches like leather couches, new linens, new art and new decor. The wildlife, the birds, the relaxation and the quiet are all the same, we just sparkled up the diamond while leaving it in the original setting.

We still have much we plan to do (every cabin will get a new blue tin roof and an updated bathroom with waterfall shower) but our 1st phase of improvements went so well we thought that it was time to celebrate by gifting Fairwinds with a name that better described the special feeling of this hidden valley – steeped in 125 years of history and new beginnings. So…in honor of the surrounding high ridge that feels like it’s nearly touching the stars, it will be known as “The Retreat at Sky Ridge“.

If you visited Fairwinds and loved it, please come and see what we have done – we think you’ll love the changes. If you visited once and found it lacking in some way, we’d love for you to give us another chance – we’d be happy to answer any of your questions or address any concerns. We’re open year-round and our office hours are 10AM to 4PM Daily. Read more about us and see photos of all the changes here on our blog, at our web site retreatatskyridge.com, on our Facebook page The Retreat at Sky Ridge or contact us directly by e-mail at info@retreatatskyridge.com or phone 800-242-3128.

Let Fairwinds bring you to our Mountain – discover the magic of stars &  firelight at The Retreat at Sky Ridge!