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Southern California Mountain HideawayRomance & the Great OutdoorsBy Valerie Summers
In July 2004, innkeeper extraordinaire Cathy Weil purchased the inn and has turned it into a full service operation offering several special packages including The Romance Package and the Paddle-Pedal-Picnic Package. Newlyweds and couples of all ages, especially those who like to combine an active life style with romance, are in for a rare treat at Gold Mountain Manor.
Back in our suite, to ease our tired muscles, we indulged in massages, pampered by the talented touch of massage therapist Ms. Jules Whiston. Our evening began with a ride down to the lake to a quiet spot where we watched the blazing sun go down over the mountains creating a vibrant sky of pinks and oranges reflecting on the lake before heading into town for a light dinner.
The finale to our getaway was a ride up the Snow Summit Mountain chairlift for a hike and a custom-made picnic prepared by the inn’s staff. During the winter season this is one of the area’s most popular ski destinations. We found a special picnic spot amidst the wildflowers looking down from 8,200 feet to Big Bear Lake and thought back about our special mountain retreat. We both agreed that when the snow falls, a return trip to the cozy, welcoming atmosphere of Gold Mountain Manor with the glow of the wood burning fireplaces and the gourmet breakfasts was definitely on the agenda. For information: Big Bear Lake Visitors Center: Open every day of the year
except Christmas and Thanksgiving with every kind of helpful information
imaginable for the visitor. Gold Mountain Manor Bed & Breakfast: In addition to
special packages, al la carte offerings include custom picnics, massages,
kayaks, flowers, birthday cakes, champagne, and balloons. Wedding are held in
the flower-filled garden or in front of the living room’s giant fireplace. For
a unique Christmas celebration, the inn pulls out all the stops with special
meals and gifts for all guests. Waverunners: The lake’s largest water sports center offers
jet ski rentals, walkboard/waterski boats, speed boats, sailing, pontoon boats
and fishing boats. Photos: Valerie Summers |
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Since
1920, guests have driven up the curving, forested mountain road to Gold Mountain
Manor in Big Bear, California. Originally built by movie investors and
producers, Alexander and Bessie Barrett, it served as a hideaway for themselves
and many of Hollywood’s elite. Twenty five years ago it underwent a
transformation and since then this historic log mansion has welcomed guests,
including many celebrities from the entertainment world, as a unique Bed &
Breakfast Inn. 
In
need of a summer break from the heat, my companion and I headed for the
mountains where we checked into Gold Mountain Manor, just minutes from Big Bear
Lake. Cathy toured us around the public rooms including the old world living
room filled with antiques and collectibles, a massive stone fireplace and a 1902
Kimball player piano where many scores were composed by musical guests. The
large billiard room also featured a selection of games next to which stood the
dining room and guests’ kitchen where snacks and drinks were available 24 hours
a day. Throughout the afternoons, the aroma of freshly baking gooey chocolate
chip oatmeal cookies filled the air enticing guests to come for a snack. Since
it was mid-week and not too crowded, we were able to take a peek at a few of the
four guest rooms and three suites. Upon entering the Presidential Suite, a
honeymoon favorite, we first viewed an enticing double Jacuzzi bathtub, facing a
great river rock fireplace, then entered the sleeping room which featured a four
poster queen sized bed. The ambience of each room presented unique decor from
the light and feminine to a heavy masculine setting. One of my favorites was
appropriately named the Cozy Pine room featuring a four poster rough hewn
lodgepole pine bed done up in persimmon and forest green with a double Jacuzzi
tub off to the side.
We
ended up in the Ted Ducey Suite, once a carriage house and tack-room, now three
sensuously decorated rooms with bear skin rugs, double Jacuzzi tub, towel
warmer, wood burning fireplace and one of the most unique beds I have ever seen.
I could only utter “Wow” as I rounded the corner into the bedroom. The massive
headboard and footboard were fashioned from an ancient pine felled by
lightening, its gnarled branches kept intact and polished to a gleaming golden
brown finish. That evening, upon returning from a fine dinner on the front
patio of The Mandoline Bistro, we discovered dozens of candles flickering around
our milk-bath filled foaming Jacuzzi and throughout the suite, a bucket with
chilled champagne and fresh flowers, setting a romantic mood.
Next
morning we indulged in a gourmet breakfast served on the wrap around veranda
overlooking the grassy green garden with towering ponderosa pines, a double
swing and double hammock. Banana crumble, chili cheese strata with sausage and
decadent French toast, croissants stuffed with bananas and strawberry and
smothered in a variety of berries were a few of the signature dishes that
tempted us. This inn leaves no stone unturned in creating a romantic setting
inside and out. At breakfast, we met young honeymooners from Michigan, Jenni
and Logan Campbell, who delighted in giving us a rundown of all their outdoor
adventures for the past eight days. They epitomized a pair of outdoorsy
romantics who each night occupied the Presidential Suite and each day
energetically saddled up and went horseback riding, boating, fishing, bike
riding, played golf or zoomed around the lake on a Waverunner.
After
our morning feast, we were raring to explore Big Bear. We met Cathy down at the
Grout Bay where she helped us, after some instruction, into a high tech tandem
Kevlar kayak Our host, who has kayaked all over the world, offers a variety of
kayaks for the use of her guests. This began our Pedal-Paddle-Picnic outing
where we explored the beauty of the 22 mile lake, with fish jumping all over,
then beached our lake vessel at a predetermined location after a two hour tour.
There, in a secluded forested area overlooking the lake, we sat down on
comfortable low canvas chairs to an elegant, deluxe, gourmet picnic set upon a
square wooden picnic table for two and covered with a vintage table cloth. This
was no ordinary picnic with a variety of delicacies served on china with cut
glass goblets for the iced sparking apple cider. Nearby, a tandem bicycle with
two helmets, a basket to store our camera and bottles of cold water sat leaning
against a tree. Following our feast, we hopped on the bicycle, heading for the
alpine bicycle path which ran alongside the lake. The sound of the waves lapped
against the shore, as we continued the final phase of our outing. As if by
magic, the picnic appeared and disappeared when we left and the kayak was
returned to the inn.
Next
morning, inspired by the young honeymoon couple, we rented a Waverunner, a new
experience for us both. We discovered it’s like a motorcycle on water and very
simple to operate. Hitting the wakes created by other boats we rocked over the
waves then zoomed around the lake, screaming with delight.