Peaceful garden retreat 4 BR, private & comfy

Entire home hosted by Linda

8 guests
4 bedrooms
5 beds
3 baths

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Light-filled, 2850 sf spacious house w/ 3 kings, 2 XL twins, sunroom, massage chair, forest paths & hot tub. 15 min. to Duke or downtown Durham w/complete privacy. Woodland 11-acre oasis within a quiet residential neighborhood. Families love it! Treehouse, forest deck, labyrinth. Perfect for retreats, girls weekend or home base for wedding or graduation. Wireless internet, USB chargers, 2 smart TVs. New hardwood floors; new windows; updated appliances, desk area, fully fenced wooded back yard.

The space
[Seasonal Update: It's spring and the dogwoods are blooming, grass is greening and the forest is lush and beautiful.]

GardenSpirit is a comfortable, welcoming place with three separate gathering areas - living room, family room and oversized sunroom with a view to the gorgeous back yard (gardens, treehouse, trees and hot tub). Charming, but thoroughly updated to 2022 standards.

Decorated in soft spring colors, the furnishings are thoughtfully placed for maximum comfort and accessibility. Turn on the fireplace in the family room adjacent to the kitchen and snooze a bit, or watch a little TV on the large flatscreen (all cable channels, HBO, Netflix and Apple TV).

There is a first floor bedroom, which is always appreciated by guests with limited mobility, plus three second floor bedrooms. Mattresses are supportive pillow-tops (but not too soft). Each bed has double pillows, all no-allergenic, of course. New digital alarm clocks have USB chargers built in for phone or tablet.

Three full baths (three showers and two bathtubs) serve the house with plenty of hot water and water pressure. Color-coded towels for each guest, too. Each bath has facial wipes, shampoo and personal soaps.

- We provide all linens (sheets, bath and dish towels, beach towels for the hot tub).
- The kitchen is well stocked - from tea bags to basil, slow cooker to Keurig.
- Plenty of dinnerware and flatware and serving dishes.
- All TV cable channels plus HBO, Netflix and Amazon Prime on 55" flatscreen in family room; other TVs have Roku and Netflix.
- High speed internet w/wifi password protected.
- Weber Genesis II gas grill with one bottle of propane.
- ‘Midnight massage room' - think “starry, starry night.”
- More than a mile of groomed, Chapel Hill gravel paths on which to walk, meditate, enjoy the day.
- Wildlife galore - bluebirds, deer, chipmunks and silly squirrels.
- Your own unique passcode for alarm system and digital door locks.
- Dining room seats 8; kitchen table seats 5 plus three at bar.
- Always cookies, Southern (semi) sweet tea and a basket of goodies for your arrival!

We pride ourselves on providing a spotless home away from home. The house is always thoroughly cleaned after each guest stay by my private housekeeper (who is VERY picky). We wash and disinfect ALL bedding - comforters and mattress pads included, which many hotels rotate only occasionally. Doorknobs and jambs are disinfected as well as that much-used TV remote! We scour GardenSpirit top to bottom to make sure it meets our exceedingly high standards, then share it with you. If we'd stay here (and we do) then it must be immaculate (especially important these days).

Outside, the decks are large and multi-level: the top deck has dining for 10 and a Weber Spirit gas grill, the second level, has the hot tub with seating and the lower deck is the entrance to the stone steps that lead into the forest. The flagstone patio beside the creek is great for sunning or quiet conversation or enjoying the wood-burning fire pit. Seating for 8-10.

The front yard has a wonderful garden and seating area for five with privacy behind the brand new white picket fence and built in bench. The grounds are regularly groomed by one of Durhams top professional landscapers with Chapel Hill gravel paths that meander through the property.

It is especially wonderful to walk the paths in the morning or sit at the kitchen table to watch the squirrels scamper and the birds enjoy their breakfast.

There is a young fox who often hides out near the Creative Cottage and you will probably see our (too) friendly deer and fawns grazing nearby. (Less wonderful are our raccoon visitors ... we discourage them as much as possible but they are pretty darned smart and manage to eat more birdseed than the birds. Grrrrr...)

All in all, a wonderful place to rest, relax, connect, walk, talk, soak, play and generally be an un-stressed human being!

Where you'll sleep

1 of 2 pages

What this place offers

Garden view

Kitchen

Wifi

Free parking on premises

Private hot tub

60" HDTV with Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Netflix, premium cable, Roku

Washer

Dryer

Central air conditioning

Security cameras on property

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Guests

1 guest

5.0 out of 5 stars from 62 reviews

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Location

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Where you’ll be

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Heather Glen is a quiet (especially quiet at night), slow-moving neighborhood. The speed limit around the hairpin turn where GardenSpirit lives is literally 20 mph. You'll see more dogs and owners walking the neighborhood than cars!

GardenSpirit is the only house on the block and is located directly across from undeveloped wooded property. There is amazing privacy. However, the house is not completely isolated; there are neighbors behind the property and in the next block so loud noise is discouraged regardless of the time of day.

This is a solidly middle to upper-middle class neighborhood and residents take great pride in their homes and well-manicured yards. There is an active neighborhood watch and homeowners association. Rest easy at night and during the day.

For your added peace of mind, the exterior of the retreat house is protected with 24/7 video surveillance and the interior of the house has a monitored alarm system. During your stay, however, the alarm is unnecessary, so just lock the doors with your unique code.

Hosted by Linda

Joined in August 2015

102 Reviews
Identity verified

"I wasn't born in Durham but I got here as fast as I could!" Which means 1986 for me, a life coach for ADHD women and 1980 for my husband, a Duke doc. For the last 25 years, we have traveled the world together so we know the good, the bad and the ugly.

We captured the best at GardenSpirit: immaculate, relaxing, quiet, spacious, convenient. It's a little slice of Southern heaven on par with pimento cheese and NC BBQ! And for a more contemporary experience, choose Hay House (so named because it's on a street with a name that is hard to pronounce).

Honestly, I am not much of a hostel kind of traveler; I like soft beds and hot showers (and yes, room service when I'm really tired). GardenSpirit and Hay House reflect my own (pretty high) standards of cleanliness and comfort.

We've visited 19 countries - much of Europe, Australia, Japan, South America and the US, of course. One of my favorite trips was to jolly old England to see Stonehenge, Shakespeare's home and Gravetye Manor. I also love Amsterdam and the Greek islands. On my bucket list - the pyramids in Egypt and the watery streets of Venice.

Sounds crazy, but when I'm not heading for the airport, I prefer to stay inside "the compound" at home.I love spending precious time with my husband and two beloved Shelties (Milli and Sophie). Hey, when you live and work inside a retreat, it's easy to simply enjoy life right here, right now.

Airbnb asked if I have a life motto. it's probably "never a dull moment!"

"I wasn't born in Durham but I got here as fast as I could!" Which means 1986 for me, a life coach for ADHD women and 1980 for my husband, a Duke doc. For the last 25 years, we hav…

During your stay

Someone is always available to help 24/7. Linda and Victor, the owners, sometimes travel, so super assistant Janine is on call for anything you need.

We will meet you at GardenSpirit to check you in and give you a quick tour of the property and amenities for your stay. The person who made the Airbnb reservation must be present at check in (we'll wait for you!); it's an Airbnb thing.

We weren't born in Durham but we got here as fast as we could, so we know the area intimately (30+ years here). Depend on us for area "best of" recommendations or check out the constantly-updated guidebook for our favorite restaurant and event suggestions.

We will visit the house at least once a day, in part to make sure you are happy and in part to feed the many bluebirds and cardinals that crowd our back porch feeders. Even the hummingbirds dive-bomb each other from May-October! We try to be unobtrusive but you might hear the garage door go up in the mornings. No worries, we won't barge in! You might see the Shelties and I walking the paths but will not bother you at the house - promise.

Checking out? Call before you leave - we want to stop by to wish you a fond farewell and troubleshoot any problems that might have cropped up (actually we like to troubleshoot those during your stay so you have a perfect experience).

We are a friendly bunch, so it pains us to have to have to spell out a detailed warning about noise, but we have had occasional problems so here goes: GardenSpirit is private, but it is not isolated. We are located inside an established, quiet subdivision with neighbors within earshot. So we ask that you honor their need for peace and quiet.

Our goal is to co-create a wonderful place to stay for a long, wonderful stay. It has been a healing haven for Duke patients, a gathering place for happy (and sometimes sad) family occasions, and a landing spot for travel to points around the Triangle. We are happy to welcome you for YOUR special visit.

Someone is always available to help 24/7. Linda and Victor, the owners, sometimes travel, so super assistant Janine is on call for anything you need.

We will meet you at…

Language: English
Response rate: 100%
Response time: within a few hours

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