Follow for more talkers

Forest getaway features cabins inspired by fairytale classics

Cottages sleep four to six people each and all have the gnarled wood exteriors and warm lamplight you’d expect to see in one of the Brothers Grimm classics.

Avatar photo

Published

on
(SWNS)

By Leo Black via SWNS

This quirky holiday resort has fairytale accommodation including cabins inspired by classics Rumpelstiltskin, Jack and the Beanstalk and more.

It is made up of seven cottages, each themed after famous themes from fairytales or other fantastical characters, such as elves or witches.

The resort in Blairmore, Alberta, Canada, has all of the houses of your dreams, even if they’re a little smaller than you expect.

Cottages sleep four to six people each and all have the gnarled wood exteriors and warm lamplight you’d expect to see in one of the Brothers Grimm classics.

Tyson and Audrey Leavitt, 38 and 36, started off building custom, luxury playhouses for their kids.

But in 2019, they decided to take things one step further, announcing the opening of their brand new resort.

Tyson handles the construction, alongside a full team of craftsmen, while Audrey, who used to be a registered nurse, handles interior design and social media.

He said: “By this point, the people in my life know that we’re crazy. But when we initially told them we were going to build playhouses, I’m sure lots of people thought we had gone insane.

“In retrospect, it probably was.”

Initially, they had just one house, the Midsummer Cottage, which can be rented for $315 a night, named after the famous Shakespeare play.

Since then they’ve added cabins inspired by all the classics, with Rumpelstiltskin, Jack and the Beanstalk and the Witch from Hansel and Gretel, which go for $345-a-night.

They also have Rapunzel's tower, the most popular rental, for $315-a-night, and two cottages that are rumored to belong to the elves that reside on Crow's Nest Mountain, which can be rented for $295-a-night.

Tyson added: "Belle’s cottage was announced last week, and we’re getting ready to announce Peter Pan and the Lost Boys soon.

“We were building playhouses for the rich and famous all over the place. But a lot of families couldn't afford our playhouses.

“I wanted to find a way to reach that part of the market, so we came up with the glamping cottages.

“The most difficult part of building a resort is the expenses. These are pricey cabins when all the details are put in.

"We’ve hit a sweet spot now where we know how to build things that people enjoy, so now it’s just a matter of manpower and capital.

“As we’ve built this company we’ve had some of the highest highs in our lives and the lowest lows.

"There have been a lot of days when we didn’t know how we would pay for the next meal.

“We had health issues in our family and a lot of other tough things, but we’ve been able to come through that, and the experience for our family has been just incredible.”

Stories and infographics by ‘Talker Research’ are available to download & ready to use. Stories and videos by ‘Talker News’ are managed by SWNS. To license content for editorial or commercial use and to see the full scope of SWNS content, please email [email protected] or submit an inquiry via our contact form.

Top Talkers