The Yurt

Steve and I had wanted to visit the Charlottesville area for a number of years, but never really got around to planning the trip. We mentioned this at Christmas and Steve's sister offered us their time share points that were about to expire very soon, so we suddenly had free lodging right outside of Charlottesville. As luck would have it, this particular resort offered comfortable cabins and "luxury yurts."

Of course we opted to stay in the yurt.  Really, we couldn't turn it down and consequently spent the next month giggling at the phrase "luxury yurt."

On our arrival the yurt looked very much like a circular tent with weatherproofed tarp on the outside. These are permanent structures with lit walkways and a lockable front door.



The yurts are elevated off the ground with a naturalistic fencing hiding the plumbing and electrical necessities. Steve immediately commented that you know there must be possums or raccoons living underneath there.



But the yurt did not disappoint. (You can tell I'm not a professional travel writer because I waited until the last day before taking pictures of the yurt. Try to ignore the luggage and towels strewn every where in these photos.)







Yep, it's a completely circular room with a full size sofa and reading chair, electric fireplace and TV, and a queen sized bed with dressers.  There's a good size table for four behind the sofa and a full kitchen along one side of the room. The kitchen was fully stocked with dishes and cooking equipment. Behind the kitchen is a full bath with a generous shower stall.



Honestly, this is a much nicer shower stall than we currently have in our master bath.



The roof is a tarp over the support beams. There's even a ceiling fan and a skylight. I think this must get pretty loud during a good thunderstorm, or in the fall when the oak trees start dropping their acorns.



Behind the yurt was a small deck with wooden Adirondack chairs, deck lights, and a gas grill. I've stayed in nice hotels in large cities that didn't have as much to offer as the yurt did.

The resort was sparsely occupied but we did hear a fair amount of noise through the yurt walls (cars driving by, a rooster over by the stable). I'm not sure I'd like staying in the yurt in high summer when the resort was at high occupancy and the pool across the road was full of screaming kids. Still, I wouldn't turn down another stay in the spring or the fall if I had the chance.