Allen Mountain Lodge - A

We are WELCOMING guests. Listing A is a large private room that has two beds and a built in desk area. It's a favorite booking for travel workers, contract nurses, families, and hunters. If you are considering a LONG TERM booking (14 to 90 days), we can negotiate on a price. Then I will send you a special offer. PUT BEFORE YOUR EYES all printed descriptions of Listing A's pleasantries and expectations, its good price, all of A's photos, then you are ready to make and informed decision to book. Lodge Pleasantries Welcome! Welcome! Airbnb asks Hosts to give you a description of the space, as well as the operations of the facility, so you can make informed inquires that lead you to just the right place to stay. We will show you we're gentle yet bold, forgiving yet transparent, loving yet faithful. Please note the Lodge's Firm Cancellation policy. If you inquire October through March, please report if you drive a four-wheel drive vehicle: YOU WILL NEED ONE. We like the Subaru vehicles. When you arrive, we'll give you a copy of "The Space" notes and go over them together so they are understood, and maybe adapted to suit guest requests. We desire that you relax as if you were home. Staying here should be good for your spirit, soul and body! Each day, coffee with cream is ready, and miles of space invite you to explore, worship, be thankful, and refresh and strengthen your spirit, soul and body. The Lodge's intrinsic appeal is its lovely inner openness yet home-like atmosphere plus instant outer access to expanses of forested BLM land. Just walk out the front door, step off the deck, and be in natural beauty which calls you to explore the high, wide and handsome Rocky Mountains. The forest presses against the Lodge on every side of the structure and on both sides of the driveway. There is no landscaping or mowed lawns. Within this environment we have embedded three fenced perennial flower beds. Because the Lodge is built into an ascending slope, its roof line is tall in order to cover all seven levels. Inside are three necessary series of steps guests must be able to navigate. "Steps" also partly explains how at age 79 the Hostess remains in good physical shape! Five steps take you from the garage level to the entry level. Four steps take you from the entry level to the grand area. Six steps take you from the grand area to the third level, where the Listings are housed. The Lodge is guarded by ridges of super large Rocky Mountain granite boulders, protruding out of many interspersed grassy "parks" where deer, elk, bears with cubs and occasionally moose meander. At night pumas pass through and leave their cat-like paw prints. The Lodge's deck runs across its front southern exposure, all alongside the Lodge on the west side, and forms a patio on the east side. _______________________________________________________________ The Lodge gets its water from a privately drilled and maintained, 38 years old, 420' deep well, which we drink from as from a flowing, refreshing underground mountain stream. We are watchful about maintaining and using it. We implement how we clean and how we dispose of garbage and all products we use in sinks, tubs, toilets and the laundry...we monitor products that go into the septic system. We rely on our guests to help us be watchful over and assist in the upkeep and well-being of our septic system. Thank you in advance for your help. For example, one guest's mud-based facial mask did not dissolve as advertised and plugged the bathtub drain. Another guest's choice of laundry detergent and fabric softener left an offensive odor in the washer and drier and it infiltrated the appliances as well as other guests’ laundry. Not to worry! We supply products. That is so what is acceptable is always available to you at no charge. These days, most guests bring their own products, and most are natural and acceptable (body soap, shampoos, conditioners, face masks, hair dyes, laundry detergents, fabric softeners). We do monitor guests' choices. Please do not bring ANY air fresheners with you. However, We looking at residue left behind after bathroom use. Scum. Odor. Be sure your products respond to the rinsing process. (What sticks on surfaces also sticks inside pipes.) Consider how long you run water to rinse your hair, body, mouth to remove product residue. It takes at least that long to remove product, spit or fecal residue from the tub, tiled shower walls, the shared product containers, sink, fixtures (the chrome in the bathtub and sink), vanity counter surface, mirror, and toilet. Will the guest following you find a residue staring at him? The solution is simple. Your Host will provide a fast and simple cleaning demonstration that removes residue from all these places. Allow time to do this immediately! When you leave the bathroom, your feet should be dry and no water should be dripping from your body or hair. This is how we avoid leaving a water trail on the tile and wetting the carpeting. When you're done with wet towels, and when you take off dirty clothing, put towels on provided racks and place dirty clothing in provided laundry baskets. Do not hang anything over varnished doors, lay them on varnished furniture or place them on the room's bedding, upholstered furniture or carpeting? Discard personal items in the bathroom trash container, and use a paper towel to wipe up drops and spills from the tile floor. Consult with Hostess about drops and spills on bathroom rugs. The Hostess is on your side! She is also on her side and maintains an awareness accountability that she maintains to preserve her possessions. Please monitor yourself. Use internal praise and correction. These are everyone's valuable self-teachers. Externally given correction is valuable to the untaught, and even the careless and the rebellious, and will be gently and faithfully given, but this should be temporary. I'll let you choose. But in the same manner, I'll instruct guests in order to preserve my lovely Lodge. ______________________________________________________________ We provide satellite Wi-fi, furnishings, pictures, lamps, bedding, towels, a fully equipped kitchen; hopefully everything you'll need to feel at home is here, or can be added! We ask guests to inform us before they wish to rearrange, remove or replace any Lodge item in his private room. If you have special needs or concerns, we want to know them so we can provide for you. Please message, email or call us about them. _______________________________________________________________ These paragraphs are necessary, and you might even smile as you read them, knowing the impact their subject matter may have on some guests' comfort, those who deal with dog or cat sensitivities. As you know, vacuuming, dusting, and regularly cleaning carpeting upholstered furniture and bedding does not truly eliminate animal dander. Consider our pets, outside Razor Back Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler dog (Pete) and gray Tabby cat (Zoey). Pete comes inside the kitchen morning and evening to be fed, but we observe how oftentimes his big brown eyes and "smile" keeps him inside, and times, gets him inside. Please be mindful that he is an outdoor dog. He may not sleep inside, be on any furniture or carpeting, or visit anyone’s room. The Lodge's third floor is completely off limits to him. He is limited to the kitchen tile, the rock aprons in the main area, and the laundry room level. The cat, on the other hand, is never allowed inside. If you hold or pet Pete or Zoey, remember to brush their hairs off your clothing before coming inside. Once inside, before going farther into the Lodge, wash your hands in the half bath sink. Red flag this rule: Never wash “outside the kitchen filth" into the kitchen sink. And as you consider how dander attaches to your body and garments, a PRACTICAL suggestion is that you set aside clothing for “serious dog and kitty snuggling and brushing" encounters.” “Serious” means encounters like taking a nap with them in a hammock, holding them in your lap, and enjoying prolonged petting and belling rubbing times. Perhaps leave encounter-clothing in a bag in the laundry room. _______________________________________________________________ The Host is UNBENDING about the next FIVE EXPECTANCIES: 1) Prepare and eat and drink ALL FOOD AND BEVERAGES (except water) in the kitchen and dining areas only. A guest's Private room is not the place to release food smells, cooking oil coatings, stickiness, and stains which will be absorbed by the walls, closets, carpet, bedding and upholstered furniture. 2) Hangars, racks and clothes baskets are handy so guests will keep wet and soiled bedding, clothing and towels OFF THE CARPETING, UPHOLSTERED CHAIRS, VARNISHED DOORS AND FURNITURE, AND BEDDING. Coasters abound throughout the Lodge and on all varnished furniture. (Remember, in 1983, home builders were laying carpet, building with oak and pine, and using varnish!) 3) Lodge bedding is for use on Lodge beds, not on carpets, not outside on the deck, not in a hammock in the woods, and not on the ground. 4) Electricity is the Lodge's greatest expense. Initially, at no extra charge we provide lighting and computer power for "NORMAL USE." Guests are welcome to use it. NORMAL USE is defined as turning on a light or computer system, using it, and if you exit the space, and leave the power on, you return to the space soon. ABNORMAL USE is defined as habitually turning on a light or computer system, using it, and if you exit the space, and leave the power on, you do not return to the space soon. If a guest practices ABNORMAL USE of electricity as defined, at the end of his stay, the Hostess will submit through Airbnb a "request for payment of an extra service" of $3 - $5 per day, depending on the the number of hours the guest is absence from the space and leaves the power on. 5) Lodge bedding is for use on inside beds only, not on floors, and not outside, on the deck or in the woods. _______________________________________________________________ The Lodge uses space heaters. Each guest controls the temperature in his private area. Stay warm. (Base board heaters are turned on only when the Lodge is unattended in the cold season.) Cleaning requires that we have access to your room, even when you aren't there. And the cleaner doesn't always know ahead of time when she'll be coming. So you may be notified after the fact that she was there. Do not ask us to change this policy for you. The cleaning fee included in your initial booking fee is used for detailed cleaning of your Listing, in preparation for the next guest, after you check out. Guests are designated as SHORT TERM and LONG TERM: SHORT TERM GUESTS are those who book 1 - 7 days. LONG TERM GUESTS are those who book 9 - 90 days. All guests, SHORT TERM and LONG TERM, are daily expected to keep up personal housekeeping in their private rooms plus personal cleanup after using the full and half bathroom. Weekly SHORT TERM and LONG TERM guests are expected to plan together to share chores as they clean their shared full and half bathrooms. The Hostess does not supervise this activity, but she hears the laughter and exchanges and is amazed at the special outcome of this community way of doing a necessary activity. The process includes cleaning and sanitizing all used surfaces, emptying the trash into the main garbage container in the garage, restocking toilet paper and other Lodge supplied products, laundering the bathroom rugs and scrubbing the mat outside the tub and the tile in both bathrooms, and vacuum the hallway carpeting going all the way down the steps to the main area. Additionally, each LONG TERM guest is expected to keep up these housekeeping chores weekly; vacuum the carpet in his private room, dust his room's furniture, window sills and pictures, wash mirrors, launder towels, wash cloths, sheets, pillow cases, and velour blankets and throws. The Hostess washes the Lodge's filled quilts. _______________________________________________________________ Cleanup is defined as removing all evidence that you used an accommodation in any part of the Lodge. Laundry room cleanup means emptying the drier's lint screen after every load. This facilitates faster drying time for the next load (therefore uses less electricity), wiping down the washer and drier operation panels, doors, and interior and exterior surfaces of the washer and drier with a warm wet cloth when you're done using them, vacuuming the laundry room carpeting, cleaning the laundry room utility sink, if you used it. After you arrive, you will be given a straightforward guided tour of where to dispose of four categories of trash; paper products, food scraps, food packaging containers and cans, and beverage containers. The Hostess disposes of trash as it accumulates, cleans the main area, the entry areas, the deck, and the garage. Should your bring valuables, please discuss how to protect them with the Hostess. She can lock them in the Lodge's vault. Early in our Airbnb hosting, we discovered that guests' GPA Apps tried to find Maggie Hill Lane instead of Maggie Hill Road. You can solve this problem like this: 1) Download the old GPS App called MapQuest, because it recognizes our address and shows a blue route to it. If you don't do it, you'll have the not-fun experience of why we instruct you to do it!! To give you confidence that you're on the right track, watch these four roads come and go on your App as you drive to the Lodge: Haab Lane, Forest Park Drive, Meadow Lane and Maggie Hill Road. That's us. 2) As you type in the Lodge’s physical address, double check that your App does not substitute the word "Lane" for "Road." In 2021, we've had snow in April! It didn't stay. But it still had to be dealt with. When you book, please indicate the total number of guests. Storage space for your skiing, hunting, hiking, bike riding, paddle boating, fishing, tenting, etc., activities is in the garage. Come and enjoy life with us. ______________________________________________________________ Allen Mountain Lodge, was established in 1983, has been well-used, and is well preserved and rustically weathered and homey. It's been at various times a 4-H horsemanship training and riding facility, a horse rehabilitation clinic, home between homes for six families (twice for two families), housing for traveling musicians, contract nurses, student interns, hunters and many vacationers. It's secluded yet near to BLM forestland, natural parks, flowers, native grasses, sagebrush bushes, wildlife, serenity, "it is as it is." Welcome! Outdoor and limited in-garage Lodge parking are available. Listing A guests have access to the same amenities that are available to all guests. All guests share the Lodge's country kitchen and dining areas, two pantries, three refrigerators, one large chest freezer, full laundry room, piano, fireplace, library, one large newly tiled full bathroom and one-half bathroom, and WIFI. Your hostess is resident owner, Anna Sharon. She has lived in the Lodge since 1983. She will regard you as someone who has come "home," for a night, or for a spell, talking to and treating you like a much-loved, welcomed person. It's her trademark, her dedication, one you'll be surrounded with at all times, even when you and she are not in the same space. Your Host and/or other reliable caring persons will be available at all times. The Lodge is accessed through a small subdivision called Maggie Minor Subdivision, which is an old mining claim converted into six private and secluded homesites. The lodge is located at the Southwest end of Maggie Hill Road and is an access point to miles and miles and miles of BLM Land. In snowy and icy conditions, a four-wheel drive vehicle is the recommended means of transportation at this season. Allen Mountain Lodge is 6 miles from the southernmost city limits of Helena, Montana and the Hospital, and within another two miles are restaurants, movie, theaters, grocery and department stores, etc. Five country restaurants are within five miles of the Lodge. The Great Divide Ski and Snow Sports (lifts, restaurant, equipment rental), is at Marysville, which is 30 minutes from Lodge. The Marysville House Restaurant is a favorite. Its atmosphere and manner of preparing and serving food is definitely a delicious western experience! The Broadwater Hot Springs on the edge of Helena features three outdoor pools, a hot tub, a water slide and a newly remodeled inside restaurant.