Ilam House—Caanan Valley, West Virginia
3 reviews
Ilam House is a comfortable and stylish vacation home located in the best outdoor vacation area in the mid-Atlantic region – Canaan Valley, West Virginia. The spacious and sunny house sleeps twelve and was built for family group get-always – providing a wonderful base for deep relaxation, for exploring the woods, and for enjoying outdoor adventures in the West Virginia mountain highlands. In summer the cool weather and lush green forests are splendid; during Winter the area gets 150 inches of snow on average, and is like a transplanted piece of frosty New England.
Poshbrood loved this house because it's adjacent to the nearly 1 million-acre Monongahela National Forest and its miles of trails, which is less than five minutes from cross country skiing, mountain biking, nature trails, waterfalls, downhill skiing, and the cute and sleepy town of Davis, WV. The house and location are perfect for families with toddlers who want to explore the woods around the house, or teens who want to hike,bike or ski, or adults who want to do all of the above, as well as golf, or just read by the fire.
The house features large windows, high ceilings, bright maple floors, leather sofas, and a living room fireplace. The style of the house is tasteful and reserved – Scandinavian-styled fixtures, and pictures of the outdoors and modern prints – no tschotskes, moose heads, or snowshoes on the wall. (You know how we get about doilies, etc.)
The large outdoor deck is at ground level and you can step into the woods, or into the hot tub. There is also an outdoor fire pit which is perfect for roasting marshmallows.
The house has four second-floor bedrooms – two master suites with private baths, and two bunk-bed rooms that sleep three each. (Upper bunks have guardrails.) The first-floor family room has a double sofa bed. The first floor features an open layout from kitchen to dining to living room. The kitchen is built for social group cooking – with spacious soapstone counters, a large gas range and two ovens, and an island with a breakfast bar with three stools. The round dining table seats eight and is wonderful for games of cards and scrabble. (There is a high chair in the front closet.)
When you are not out hiking, biking or skiing, enjoy the large family room with a ping-pong table, large “Foof “ chairs, and a widescreen cable television. The house also features wi-fi, and a desk-nook in one of the master suites.
The setting allows for numerous outdoor adventures with kids of a range of ages– hiking and biking in the lush hills in the summer, and skiing cross-country and downhill in the winter; we especially enjoyed the funky Whitegrass Cross-country Ski center. Go visit the waterfall and nature trails at nearby Blackwater Falls State Park, golf and go whitewater rafting, and visit the nearby small towns of Davis and Thomas – which feature several antique and artisan shops, several nice restaurants and the folk-music magnet “The Purple Fiddle”.
Other details: attached heated garage; charcoal grill provided; house is non-smoking, and also non-pets. The house sleeps 12 and rents for a minimum of three nights, starting at $217 a night, or $950 per week mid-season.
800-624-4341
Ilam House is a fantastic house for the family, or several families at once! It is in a gorgeous setting as the trees from the forest surround you. It is far from the city life, noise and lights, but not too far from a small town for shopping and eating out. Ilam House is situated in a great location for ample recreational opportunities. Nearby the house one can engage in cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and mountain biking, and a bit further white water rafting. In the winter, and the snow is fantastic! One could not ask for more picturesque scenery for skiing, hiking, snowshoeing. Ilam House is so kid friendly! The children had so much fun exploring in the woods, sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and telling stories, soaking in the hot tub, participating in the ping pong and horseshoes tournaments, playing cards and board games. The huge first floor "hid out room" is fantastic for children! It's a very large room where there are huge beanbag chairs, TV with cable and a DVD player, ping-pong table and a lot of board games. The owners truly thought of the whole family when designing this home! One could just come to cook in the kitchen at Ilam House! The layout of the kitchen/eating area and living room is wonderful. It makes for a great time for cooking and continuing to socialize. Plus, the hot tub is right outside on the deck, which can be viewed from the kitchen/eating area and living room. We were so impressed with the kitchen. A lot of counter space, two ovens and a microwave oven, two sinks, and tastefully decorated. Having to cook and serve for 12 people is no problem at Ilam House! Off the kitchen is a laundry room. It is wonderful with little children to be able to do laundry on site! We loved that there were two master bedrooms. One master bedroom had an office space for those who cannot totally get away; there is wireless, so it is easy to stay in contact with the office. The bunk bed rooms were fantastic for the children. Ilam House is truly a fantastic home to vacation with family and friends.
We have enjoyed Ilam in the winter with the great xcountry and downhill skiing nearby, but weren’t sure what to expect during a summer stay. It turned out to be a perfect headquarters for several days of great adventures nearby, including hikes through the Dolly Sods Wilderness, an incredible climb up to Chimney Rock on North Fork Mountain, ziplining over the tree canopy at Nelson Creek Outfitters, white water rafting — and then coming home to an easy dinner in the gourmet-kitchen, ping pong and family games, a soak in the hot tub, and then collapsing into comfortable beds in the privately-spaced bedrooms. To cap off our trip, we decided to spend the last night camping; after a sleepless night in a damp tent and a cold breakfast, one of our sons said wistfully, “I miss Ilam House.” We were all wishing we were still there! This is a great destination for enjoying family-time in a gorgeous natural setting and in a gorgeous and comfortable home.
This is a beautiful house in a terrific location. Very scenic and away from the hustle bustle of the big city. House has everything needed for a great time. Highly recommended.
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