"Duluth Dollhouse"
Last weekend, we went hawk-watching in Duluth, where rooms in B&Bs and Canal Park hotels were renting for $200 and up. But we stayed at the newly built Hillside Cottage, which has four bedrooms, three baths, a view of the harbor and decor that was both whimsical and opulent. When I told Torsten it was $150, he couldn't believe it.
"Holy buckets" he said. "You mean $150 an hour?"
It wasn't that opulent. But it was warm, welcoming and obviously well-loved. Its owners, Oakdale residents Carelle and Ted Stein, built it as a retreat and future retirement home, on almost exactly the same spot in Duluth's Little Italy neighborhood where Carelle grew up.
Now, it's like a dollhouse for grown-ups, with carefully chosen folk-art tables and chairs, coral blue-washed stairs, filmy white curtains, chandeliers, satin-and-velvet quilts and scented soaps wrapped in patterned tissue paper. There's a gas fireplace in a little sitting room, a kitchen stocked with lots of teas and a sunny room with a double whirlpool, which we used to warm our bones after we'd stood in the cold for four hours on Hawk Ridge.
For children, there's a cheerful nook stocked with books, videos and toys. Children definitely are welcome, Stein says; in fact, she and Ted hope families will come for the same kind of quality time she and Ted got with their three sons five years ago, when they went to London for their first big vacation and rented a three-bedroom row-house from a warm Italian family.
"We felt so perfect there, so that was our main inspiration," she said. "They shared that with us, and we had the best vacation of our life. We thought, 'Gee this is better than any hotel we could have stayed in.'"
It will be a while before the Steins retire. Meanwhile, they're hoping people enjoy their cottage as much as they do.
"When we get up there, the first thing we do is run for the guest book and see if people had a good time," Carelle Stein says.
Re-printed with the permission of Beth Gauper, our guest.
From
Beth Gauper, Destinations Section of the St. Paul Pioneer Press October 24, 2004
"August Ballad"
There is a house
In old Duluth
To which some friends did come
and lingered there
to talk awhile
Between the sun and sun.
But when the day
Pried 'op their eyes
Upon the road they went
O'r water falls
Past wave-swept walls
and ships on distance bent.
A tower tall
Climbed to the winds
And treasures ransomed dear
Food slow beneath
the Northern Lights
and jobbered words made clear.
Floors waxed green
By candle's gleam
Old memories shared anew
And road-washed stones
Swept far from home
Grass greened on man-sent dew.
New memories twined
On friendship old
Make "thank you" much too gruff
For freezing time
In days behind
When the past must be enough.
From
Bill Harm and Rose Meyer
July 9th - 18th, 2007
It's been 20 years since my parents moved from Minnesota to Connecticut. They left with two teenagers, one baby, and a cat. Since then they have had 2 more children, including myself. Much of our expanded family lives in Minnesota, and this year my parents decided to return to rediscover old memories and see family for the first time in 20 years. They both remembered Duluth and Lake Superior fondly, and when my mom found the Hillside Cottage she knew she has stumbled across the right house for my parents, my two older brothers, and me. It has been an amazing, emotional trip, and all who visited us at the Cottage loved it. The decorations are unique - including the "Rules of the Inn" - and add to the fairy-tale essence of the Cottage.
Right now an evening mist is settling over Lake Superior as the sky turns a dusky pink at the horizon. The view is, in other words, amazing. Especially when all the lights spark to life after dark, and reflect off the surface of the lake. We've gone down to the harbor every free day we've had, especially since it was so close. We have had a great stay, and being an aspiring writer, I find that the Hillside Cottage has sparked my imagination.
All of us thank you for everything.
From
The Gattens
New Milford, CT
What a great deal. This home is beautiful. Lots of space. If you need two hotel rooms to accomodate your party, you'll get a much better deal renting this home. We also saved a ton of money cooking in instead of eating out. My daughter loved the basket of stuffed animals and the games -- which kept her busy while the grown-ups visited. The house was spotless, professionally cleaned. If you walk up for blocks, you'll get a great work out and find yourself on Skyline Drive. The photos and description are accurate. Enjoy your visit to Duluth!
Jennifer Amundson
White Bear Lake MN
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