Nicura Ranch — Hotel in Berea

My wife and I had a wonderful time! || We had a very comfortable stay in the Lavender Suite; I am sure that all of the suites are equally nice. There are: a large refrigerator, a stove, a small microwave, a large comfortable bathroom, hairdryer, kitchen table, excellent air-conditioner for the hot weather, large-screen Roku TV, comfortable bed, Keurig coffeemaker and coffees in the room, large farm-style sink.|| The window to the goat-stall is part of the wall in the suite, but the goats were mostly out of that stall so not seeable through the window. However, far better than seeing the goats that way is the fact that just steps (indoors) from the doors of all the suites is the barn itself. The 3 horses and 2 goats there are friendly and pettable. (Do defintiely respect the safety-signs, as is proper, wise, safe, and respectful around any other family's animals!) | The nice large very-well-built chicken coop is right outside the barn; the chickens are well-taken-care of pets, just like all of the other animals.|| There is a nice small lake there with a paddle-boat, with a well-maintained walking path around it; there is a comfortable wooden bench next to it/ overlooking it. | The grounds are well-mowed, so are easily walkable. There are complimentary (borrowable) mud boots to walk on the expansive grounds, if you want, or it's pretty easy, as on any horse-farm, to wear your own tennis-shoes and avoid the normal horse poop-piles that way. My wife and I are big animal-lovers, so, no problem at all.|| The lounge area is large and comfortable, with a large high-overhead comfortable heater for even the coldest months. The lounge area has a good amount of very comfortable seating.|| Laura and Nick are very nice; they spend a lot of time working very hard/ taking care of all of the important chores and upkeep of their animals and ranch. They are not intrusive; rather, you find them to be sort of in the background, but always very available for any need or want. They are very pleasant and friendly, and are both very comfortable people to talk with about the ranch. | They have obviously done a huge amount of very-high-quality work to make the place homey, comfortable, safe, sturdy, and welcoming. They have even more wonderful plans for the upcoming months.|| My wife and I enjoyed Laura's homemade vanilla (with a hint of bourbon) ice cream. | Upstairs are very nice amenities - there is a room with lots of movie-titles, with 4 large comfortable theater-style seats in that room. There are also a small workout room, a billiard room, and also a room that contains a nice sauna! || The ranch is only a couple of miles from the interstate and from Berea, so is very convenient, although it is surrounded by a huge amount of deep and beautiful trees. You can hear some periodic highway noise from the interstate in the distance, but it is not bothersome at all. | My wife and I commonly enjoy looking at all sorts of various crafts. We went to the excellent Kentucky Artisan Center nearby; we go there every several years because it is so good; the people who work there are very comfortable and friendly. We also particularly enjoyed the very nice craft shops within one block of Boone Tavern. || Nick was in the restaurant business in Florida for 40 years; he and Laura and apparently many others are very high on Honeysuckle Restaurant. I am sure that it is excellent, but my wife and I were both in the mood for gluten-free pizza at Papalenos, right by Boone Tavern, and we were both very pleased with that. (I got all meats on mine, she got veggie on hers; they are thin-crust; the 10-inch sizes were plenty for each of us.)| There is a Walmart there very closeby in Berea, and plenty of other shops and restaurants. The respected Berea College has a pretty campus, in town. There are well-known excellent hiking-trails in Berea.|| There were cubes of sugar and a variety of Keurig choices in the lounge, right outside the suites. Laura and Nick leave their own ranch-cream in the suites' refrigerators, so that was a wonderful touch.|| Talking with Nick, the ranch is not very booked up Mondays-Thursdays, in general, so that is an especially nice time for a wonderful even just one night getaway, just an hour from Georgetown where we live, and also very close to Lexington, Louisville, and much of Kentucky otherwise. Between March 1 and the end of October, the weekends are often fairly fully booked, I believe I heard Nick say.| Nick said that many people stay there overnight on their way to and from eg Michigan and Atlanta/ Florida. So much more homey than a large hotel.|| We would look forward to staying there again. It is a wonderful close getaway, whether for one night or for a family reunion or a wedding-party or other group for several nights. I imagine that, as the word gets out, you'll have to book it months in advance for most dates. We look forward to also giving night-stays as gifts to our friends.|| Thank you, Laura and Nick! God bless you.||Eric and...

My wife and I had a wonderful time! || We had a very comfortable stay in the Lavender Suite; I am sure that all of the suites are equally nice. There are: a large refrigerator, a stove, a small microwave, a large comfortable bathroom, hairdryer, kitchen table, excellent air-conditioner for the hot weather, large-screen Roku TV, comfortable bed, Keurig coffeemaker and coffees in the room, large farm-style sink.|| The window to the goat-stall is part of the wall in the suite, but the goats were mostly out of that stall so not seeable through the window. However, far better than seeing the goats that way is the fact that just steps (indoors) from the doors of all the suites is the barn itself. The 3 horses and 2 goats there are friendly and pettable. (Do defintiely respect the safety-signs, as is proper, wise, safe, and respectful around any other family's animals!) | The nice large very-well-built chicken coop is right outside the barn; the chickens are well-taken-care of pets, just like all of the other animals.|| There is a nice small lake there with a paddle-boat, with a well-maintained walking path around it; there is a comfortable wooden bench next to it/ overlooking it. | The grounds are well-mowed, so are easily walkable. There are complimentary (borrowable) mud boots to walk on the expansive grounds, if you want, or it's pretty easy, as on any horse-farm, to wear your own tennis-shoes and avoid the normal horse poop-piles that way. My wife and I are big animal-lovers, so, no problem at all.|| The lounge area is large and comfortable, with a large high-overhead comfortable heater for even the coldest months. The lounge area has a good amount of very comfortable seating.|| Laura and Nick are very nice; they spend a lot of time working very hard/ taking care of all of the important chores and upkeep of their animals and ranch. They are not intrusive; rather, you find them to be sort of in the background, but always very available for any need or want. They are very pleasant and friendly, and are both very comfortable people to talk with about the ranch. | They have obviously done a huge amount of very-high-quality work to make the place homey, comfortable, safe, sturdy, and welcoming. They have even more wonderful plans for the upcoming months.|| My wife and I enjoyed Laura's homemade vanilla (with a hint of bourbon) ice cream. | Upstairs are very nice amenities - there is a room with lots of movie-titles, with 4 large comfortable theater-style seats in that room. There are also a small workout room, a billiard room, and also a room that contains a nice sauna! || The ranch is only a couple of miles from the interstate and from Berea, so is very convenient, although it is surrounded by a huge amount of deep and beautiful trees. You can hear some periodic highway noise from the interstate in the distance, but it is not bothersome at all. | My wife and I commonly enjoy looking at all sorts of various crafts. We went to the excellent Kentucky Artisan Center nearby; we go there every several years because it is so good; the people who work there are very comfortable and friendly. We also particularly enjoyed the very nice craft shops within one block of Boone Tavern. || Nick was in the restaurant business in Florida for 40 years; he and Laura and apparently many others are very high on Honeysuckle Restaurant. I am sure that it is excellent, but my wife and I were both in the mood for gluten-free pizza at Papalenos, right by Boone Tavern, and we were both very pleased with that. (I got all meats on mine, she got veggie on hers; they are thin-crust; the 10-inch sizes were plenty for each of us.)| There is a Walmart there very closeby in Berea, and plenty of other shops and restaurants. The respected Berea College has a pretty campus, in town. There are well-known excellent hiking-trails in Berea.|| There were cubes of sugar and a variety of Keurig choices in the lounge, right outside the suites. Laura and Nick leave their own ranch-cream in the suites' refrigerators, so that was a wonderful touch.|| Talking with Nick, the ranch is not very booked up Mondays-Thursdays, in general, so that is an especially nice time for a wonderful even just one night getaway, just an hour from Georgetown where we live, and also very close to Lexington, Louisville, and much of Kentucky otherwise. Between March 1 and the end of October, the weekends are often fairly fully booked, I believe I heard Nick say.| Nick said that many people stay there overnight on their way to and from eg Michigan and Atlanta/ Florida. So much more homey than a large hotel.|| We would look forward to staying there again. It is a wonderful close getaway, whether for one night or for a family reunion or a wedding-party or other group for several nights. I imagine that, as the word gets out, you'll have to book it months in advance for most dates. We look forward to also giving night-stays as gifts to our friends.|| Thank you, Laura and Nick! God bless you.||Eric and...

Nick and Laura are the most amazing and gracious hosts we have ever dealt with. We came there as strangers, but left feeling like old friends. They hosted us during a relocation from Atlanta, GA to Indianapolis, IN and were incredibly accommodating to us, our 2 cats, and our giant Great Pyrenees dog, Yeti. Yeti and Nick developed a relationship to the point where he could bark at her and she would bark back! I have never seen her do that before. In addition to the hosts being fantastic, the location is unbeatable. The peaceful surroundings and rolling horse pastures will make you forget that you are conveniently located only minutes from I-75, the Berea Arts District, and Berea College. We had never previously been to Berea and were pleasantly surprised to find several great restaurants and activities. I highly recommend trying Native Bagel when you are in the area. During our stay, the other guests were all extremely pleasant. Not surprisingly, many were return visitors who wanted to experience the peaceful beauty of Nicura again. The only caveat that I would offer is that this is a working horse farm, not the 4 Seasons hotel. If you want a boring old hotel, there are plenty of them around. If you want a unique experience, that is fun and relaxing, go to Nicura. The accommodations were all spotless and the linens and towels were clean and in good repair. You can purchase some of Laura's delicious homemade ice cream and enjoy it as you walk through the pastures to the creek on the edge of the property. A visit to Nicura will make a memory to last a lifetime. If I could give more than 5...