Beautiful carving greets all who visit the Bed & Breakfast.
Middletown, CA – People need to escape the rat race of big-city life. They need to come to where the air is clean, the gardens lovely and the breakfast inviting. If you happen to be near the south end of Quiet Wine Country and are looking for that special escape venue, look no further than the Backyard Gardens Oasis at 24019 Hilderbrand Drive. Here you have much of the original forest and clear-running creeks. While landscaping is said to be an ongoing project as more areas are developed into gardens and wetlands, the birds remain a constant source of entertainment.
Greta Zeit is the proprietor of this beautiful bed and breakfast getaway. It consists of three cottages, which were built in 1997. Believe it or not, Greta not only purchased the property, she designed the cottages herself. She actually put pen to paper and drew the plan. The bed and breakfast took two years to build before opening to the public. Meanwhile, Greta managed the Pacifico Restaurant in Calistoga. When construction was complete the bed and breakfast opened.
Today, each cottage has a king-sized bed and a skylight above. Each has a private bath. The Aquarius Cottage is wheelchair accessible. It even has a shower big enough for a small party. Each cottage comes with a refrigerator and coffee maker. While you might expect each cottage to have a TV and a VCR – which it does – you also have with it access to the Inn’s extensive video collection. There is a private phone line in each cottage for local calls and calling card calls. Wireless Satellite High Speed Internet is also available in the cottages.
No cottage would be complete without a fireplace. The Backyard Gardens Oasis does not disappoint. Each cottage comes equipped with a fireplace, air conditioner and overhead fan. A sliding glass door leads to a private redwood deck from which you look at lawns, gardens, the quail, the Manzanita Grove, the pond, waterfall and a clear view of Mt. St Helena.What is breakfast like at the Backyard Gardens Oasis? Well, breakfast starts with fresh orange juice and proceeds to main dishes such as French toast, huevos rancheros, pancakes, frittata, smoked salmon, eggs to your taste and bacon or sausage. Fresh fruits and vegetables from the organic garden are seasonally available at breakfast and for the picking. The bed and breakfast will host a country breakfast in the dining room of the main house on weekends and holidays. It will also provide breakfast in your cottage during the week. There is a refrigerator for your use and Half 'n' Half is stocked each day to have with coffee or tea, which you can make in your cottage. The bed and breakfast can also accommodate special diets.
Listening to Greta one gets the impression the local wildlife appreciate the oasis pond as much as people enjoy the cottages. Indeed, that pond has become a watering hole for fox, heron and ducks. Of course, the pond also makes a nice backdrop for weddings. Make no mistake, the classic scenery provided by this bed and breakfast make it very appealing to both people and wildlife.
The way everything at this bed and breakfast is laid out is no mere coincidence. The man-made pond, waterfall and fountain are all Greta’s design. But, why did she go to all that trouble? Greta says she wanted to create an environment to relax, renew, and appreciate what we have here in Lake County. She actually wanted to encourage a wildlife habitat on the property to build upon the natural beauty that surrounds it. Today, that beauty has a name – Backyard Gardens Oasis.
In addition to providing a nice place for folks to come for a brief stay, the Backyard Gardens Oasis is also a place to come for a therapeutic massage. Greta trained at the Harbin Hot Springs School of Shiatsu and Massage. She also learned her massage skills from another bed and breakfast owner, Elaine Marie, the proprietor of Spirit Lake in Lower Lake. Like Greta, Elaine Marie also designed her bed and breakfast for the traveler seeking a quiet escape from the rat race.
For more about the Backyard Garden Oasis, visit the website at www.backyardgardenoasis.com. To make a reservation, call (888) 987-0505 or (707) 987-0505.
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