The Grand River Lodge – A Private Luxury Retreat in Leavenworth, WA

If you are looking for a luxury option for your stay in Leavenworth, WA, look no further than the Grand River Lodge. We found this magical log home through VRBO. For those of you not familiar with VRBO, it stands for Vacation Rental By Owner. At their site, you can find lodging options all over the world. We’ve used VRBO many times, but this find was by far our favorite yet!

From the moment you walk through the front door of The Grand River Lodge you know this will be a place you will always remember. At over 9,000 square feet of living space and 3,200 square feet of decking, The Grand doesn’t feel ostentatious or overdone, rather it manages to maintain a sense of warmth and homeyness that one associates with a mountain cabin. Of course, its log walls and beams add to the warm happy feeling, but it’s more than that.

As you step in you’ll notice a gorgeous Scanlan photograph above the log mantle of the massive stone fireplace in the living room. Above, hangs a lovely NW craftsman style chandelier that gives off a warm glow in the evenings, complementing the firelight perfectly.

Throughout the home, you will see subtle details that lend themselves to the theme of the home, and their logo, the quail.

And at night, the forest and Wenatchee River behind the house come alive with magic. They have installed BlissLights that come on automatically at dusk. As the sky grows darker, the lights get brighter. Like a thousand fireflies they dart about, along the ground to the river, to the bank across and up the trees to where they meet the stars. As we were there in the winter, the white of the snow acted as an excellent stage for the colors to show up. We were so mesmerized that we were enticed to bundle up and sit outside and watch them each night we were there.

Inside, the main floor offers a second living area that shares the other side of the massive center fireplace.

There is a fantastic bar stocked with a popcorn machine, coffee pod machine, a spot for you to bring in a pony keg, as well as glassware, etc. The lights above the bar are gorgeous filament style bulbs that echo of the past, but glow with a fun modern twist. For added festive effect, there were color lights that changed from blue, to green to purple below the bar.

The room sports a pool table, a large flat screen T.V., a very nice sitting area, a poker table, and dart board. There is even a life size Scrabble board on one wall! I am detail oriented, and I loved that upon arrival, the Scrabble board had the words ‘Hello And Welcome’ spelled out.

The walls were adorned with various signed sports memorabilia that were indeed fun to see. Also, just past the jukebox, next to the bar was a frame with an email and the story of how the owners ended up buying the lodge. It’s a lovely serendipitous story that gave me goosebumps. Be sure to read it!

The kitchen is completely stocked with everything one could possibly need. I even spotted a turkey baster for those of you who might find yourself in the mood to make a turkey! There are nice extras like a wine fridge, warming drawers (with s’mores fixins), and a full spice cabinet and condiments cupboard. Our son was thrilled to find jars of peaches! And unlike some places we’ve stayed at, nothing had expired.

The cleaning team is definitely on top of things, from the kitchen set up to full glass bottles of water and glasses in each bedroom. The toiletries are also top notch, by L’Occitane En Provence. I don’t typically use the shampoos and conditioners supplied by the places we stay, but The Grand River Lodge was an exception.

The hallway leading to the bedrooms on the main floor features work by the owners nephew, Thomas Estrada. He does gorgeous work and is an up and coming talent in the world of photography. You can visit his website at http://www.tomasmestrada.com.

Every guest room has robes and slippers, flat screen T.V.s, and appealing art. The theme of the home showed throughout as mentioned, and each room had a wooden sign engraved with the logo and the name of the room, i.e. The Plume, The Crest, The Quail’s Egg (cute name for the small room upstairs). The master suite on the main floor is called the River King, and it was just superb. I actually liked it more than the large master on the second floor! It’s cozy, with a gorgeous river view and fireplace.

At the bottom of the stairs on the main floor there is a baby grand piano, which was a nice treat as I don’t get to play very often. As you climb the stairs you have a view down onto the main floor. And once upstairs, there are several nice alcoves in which one can hang out, relax, play games or read.

The Covey Suite is the kids’ room and it’s wonderful! It has a wall with a pod like
structure consisting of four twin beds, adorned in fun cowboy patterned bedding with reading light above the pillows. It’s a great place for parents to snuggle in and read with their kid(s).

The bunk room is linked via a Jack and Jill bathroom to an adult guest room. Just outside of the children’s room is a window seat with a gigantic teddy bear for cuddling while reading one of the many books on offer. There were books for very young children as well as older ones, with great titles like Harry Potter available.

Of course there are also books available for adults located next to window seats on the second floor overlooking the river. There is a cozy sitting area complete with fireplace and table for another spot to play games or relax. Behind the sitting area is the smallest of the guest rooms, named the Quails Egg. It’s a very sweet room with a bunk bed and small desk.

You will also find the master suite, known as the Grand Suite, on the second floor. It is very large, complete with its own couch and seating area, and private deck with table and chairs overlooking the river below. The bathroom connected to the master has a cozy feel with a jetted tub and separate shower.

Also on the second floor is the theater room. Just outside the door is yet another popcorn maker, this one full sized, as in a cart with wheels! The theater room itself has nine reclining fully electric chairs, a large screen which utilizes a projector that’s mounted on the ceiling and, much to our son’s delight, there was a container near the screen that held a large variety of movie sized candy boxes! In the theater room, just behind the seats there is a murphy bed available if needed. And, though the windows do have black out blinds for watching the screen by day, the view down onto the river is wonderful. We left the blinds up while watching our movie at night, as it makes for a fantastic setting with the dancing bliss lights just outside the windows.

Back downstairs in the dining room, you will find a large dining table and along with the other supplies in the kitchen, there are place settings for twenty available. The chandelier above is very pretty and is adorned with white twinkle lights and crystals that hang like drops of light cascading toward the table.

On the back porch, in addition to the amazing river view, you will find a BBQ and a Traeger Smoker as well as an impressive custom built fire pit by Fire On Demand out of Breckenridge, CO.

There are ample places to sit, and for the summer months there are custom made concrete topped tables for Al Fresco dining. The lodge is located on three acres. There are various outdoor games provided, such as volleyball, bocce ball or horseshoes for the summer. As we were there in the winter, we were happy to find sleds available which our son made the most of!

We would love to return the Grand River Lodge in the summer when we can enjoy the Grand’s private beach, play in the river, lounge in a hammock, and see the neighboring pear orchard when green with leaves! The Grand River Lodge is a slice of heaven and a getaway your family will remember for a long time to come. For more information go to their private website at http://www.thegrandriverlodge.com or the VRBO site. Below you will find more photos of the Grand River Lodge and its grounds. Enjoy!

Happy Travels!
Hollin

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