Every day we help our adventurous guests enjoy their visit to our own “little piece of heaven”, our Castle Kingdom. At first, most of our guests choose to visit us because we’re near the popular resort towns of Saugatuck & Douglas or South Haven or because we’re within an easy driving distance to the wonderful and vibrant towns of Holland or Kalamazoo. But after they arrive, they soon notice the alluring effects of nature all around them and their ideas of what to do on their getaway start to evolve into ways to stay on site and do nothing at all but relax and re-connect with each other.
With 65 acres, a pond with a gazebo, a private lake with a screened house, and miles of wooded walking trails guests are treated to a back to nature experience that will quickly bring down their high blood pressure, ease away their stress and put a smile back on their faces. Many of our guests are coming from big cities like Chicago, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Toledo or Indianapolis (or their surrounding suburbs) where the only green space they normally experience are well manicured, man-made parks or gardens. These spaces may be beautiful, but they are often filled with hybrid plants, they’re sprayed to control bugs & sometimes even fenced to keep the wildlife out. But once on our trails, you’ll notice more nature than you’ve seen in a long time.
Michigan native plants and trees are everywhere, the air is filled with Dragon flies, June bugs, or whatever is the insect of the week. I’m most amuzed by the tiniest of water bugs hovering close to the ponds edge or the most recently hatched parade of ducklings paddling by for our guests viewing pleasure. In the deeper forest areas there are patches of the delicate Trillium, the scent of honeysuckle greets you as you walk along our winding path between the buildings and as you reach the screen house, the most impressive Sycamore tree towers above you making you feel both insignificant but awestruck at the same time. At the breakfast table, guests will share stories of the Sandhill Cranes they saw in the distance or the new baby fawn following its mother as it crossed their path or they will be referring to the Birds of Michigan book that we keep available for referencing when they just can’t think of the name of the bird they’re intently watching at the bird feeder.
One of our recent guests wrote in her room diary that she is normally not “much of a nature lover…but”, she confesses openly, “I found myself wanting to return to the Screen house whenever we were away from it because we enjoyed such a peaceful and magical time there.”
Since peace and quiet are just the precious commodities our world seems so need, we offer it in great plenty at Castle in the Country and once you take care of those basics, Romance and Relaxation are right behind.