StoneWind Retreat — Hotel in Alma

Okay, let me explain something before I start my review... I am an Arkansas resident and, as such, I'm used to variences in weather that strike when and where it will. My husband and I have been regular customers at Stonewind for over two years now (come October it'll be three years - we were there for the Great Flood of 2009). We're not afraid of REMOTENESS. In fact, we seek it out. We don't worry too much about "critters" - guess you could call us Wannabe Country Folk. (However, even though my husband is Native Arkie, and has kin and kith in the region of Chester and Stonewind, we are not "hillbillies.")

StoneWind is a place to go to, literally, Get Away From IT All. Bring your own food, booze and beverages (drinking water is highly filtered by reverse osmosis, rest is Rural water supply). Think of it as "camping with padding and appliances." Well,, that is what my husband told me the first time he took me there and, you know what? I loved it! We go back as often as we can and, in fact, were there in May of 2011 when "Holly" had her "Terrible" experience in the Tornadic Storm that blew through the night she and her new husband checked in. Yes, darling, we remember you.

Was it a bad storm? Uh, yeah? What part of "Tornadic" did you not understand? Was there a Storm Shelter? Yeap, right outside of Yurt 7 - were we stayed - and everyone but my hubby and I took advantage of it. We are seriously contemplaiting buying a Yurt and I really wanted to see how it would hold up to a storm that dropped at least two, if not three, tornadoes. It was GREAT! Okay, it was noisy... but hey, it was a storm. No big.

We've both been through far worse experiences. We dealt with what the Good Lord gave us and even asked Susanne and the staff if there was anything we could get them when we traveled down to Van Buren and Fort Smith. Why? Cause that's what neighbors do.

We've been back several times since May 2011, we have stayed in every Yurt and have decided we have a favorite (or three).

Yes, there was that unfortunate flooding incident in some of the yurts back in 2009, that's been fixed.

Yeap, there was a critter (mouse) or two in one or two of the yurts. We asked for traps, got em and - yeap - trapped the critter and tossed the traps. We're currently experiencing a pretty hefty drought in NWArkansas, critters seekinn water/moisture and heat relief whenever and however they can, including coming into solidly built homes. Yurts are just a little easier to break into when you're the size of a field mouse. You're in the country, mice will happen. Unless you have cats. Hmm....

Critters - we've seen the following: Squirrels, deer, crows, deer, possibly a raven, racoons, deer, opossums, deer, armadillos, chipmunks, ground squirrels, deer, heard coyotes, deer, two different types owls, cattle, mules, deer, wild turkey, possibly an Arkansas brown bear, a few roadrunners and did I mention, deer?

You want something different? You too "old" to tent camp but loved doing that as a youngster? You up for an adventure? You like Critters? Looking to buy a Yurt and want to test-drive one? Come to StoneWind Retreat and tell Susanne and the staff...

The owner of Stonewind Retreat called me the day of my reservation to let me know that the only road (giant hill and lower water bridge) to her business was covered in ice and no vehicles could make it up the hill. I asked about a refund or resheduling and I was told that it wasn’t her problem, no refunds/reschedules, no exceptions. I told her we had a big 4wheel drive truck and she laughed that it probably wouldnt make it, no one has been able too. Again, I asked why she wouldn’t allow us to reschedule because what if pipes were frozen? She got very hateful with me and could not even tell me if pipes were frozen. So, being adventurous people we are, kicked it in 4 wheel drive and made it to the top. When we arrived, the office was locked and no keys were left for us, so I had to call her. This woman had the audacity to be irritated that we had made it up the hill. I nicely told her the road is just slushy, it was fine to drive on. She replies “well good luck getting back down cause it’s just going to freeze tonight!!! Now I have to send someone to get up there and let you in!!!”

She obviously does not care about her client safety. She gets her money as soon as you make the reservation.

We are having the best time, regardless of how this owner chooses to run her business. No, we will probably not ever stay here again because of her unprofessional and poor attitude.

Two years ago, we booked Oark Cabin Rentals and the pipes froze. The owner called us that morning and explained the situation, apologizing over and over and gave us a full refund. We have returned twice just because of how he handled the situation.

So yeah, the Yurts are the nice & the hot tub is nice, but there is ONE road that goes across a creek & up a hill to get to the property and the owner does not care if it is frozen, flooded, or under construction: no refunds/ no exceptions. “It’s the county’s problem, not mine.”

*Edit to add since her response is passing blame onto her guests. She does not care about safety of guests, only trying to sell additional insurance to be able to postpone. I shouldn’t have to purchase additional insurance when there are hazardous road conditions, when any other property would have accommodated us with free reschedule and refund. Oark Cabin Rentals and LakeShore Cabins are a couple of very nice cabins that are close and accommodating. Will never go here again and I made sure to share my experience with...

We really enjoyed our stay...

I’d give it a 4.5 out of 5 but that’s not an option so I’ll round up :)

Pros: So peaceful... Staff were very kind... They have thought through so many little details like having a reverse osmosis system for drinking water and ear plugs next to the bed Incase the coyote howls wake you, DVD’s available at no extra charge, a gas grill in good working order and placed well, a gas fireplace inside that was easy to operate, Ect.. Very clean and they even inspect the hot tubs around 11am each day which made me more inclined to actually use it.

Cons: The Yurts are placed a little closer than I realized going from the pictures on their website — but it really wasn’t a big deal and the two days we were there and hiking around only once did I get within 200 yards of another visitor. Bottom-line is that it was secluded and peaceful.

Their WiFi was very slow but we had LTE on our phones so I made my phone a hotspot and could stream Netflix on my laptop to the TV — FYI, I was able to disconnect the HDMI cable from the DVD player and stream our shows on their TV.

Many of our windows were zipped closed and I could have unzipped them from the outside but I didn’t want to mess with it (I’m sure it was for privacy... I think I would have preferred more windows unobstructed but then there be curtains inside the Yurt that I could open up when I wanted to allow light in.

Guest suggestions: We eat Keto so we brought a couple packs of frozen steaks, a pack of breakfast sausage, eggs, Bella mushrooms, Ect... They had the pans and such needed to cook. We never left the Yurt and that saved us a bunch of money and we had some amazing meals.

We don’t have a hot tub at home so I made the most of it... I’d use it at night under the stars and then I’d jump in to catch the sunrise — I...