Organizing events at the Eco Retreat can be easy. This page will help.

Important Information for Event Hosts

We try to set events up for success, which starts with providing good information to the event hosts on how we operate. Please let us know if you have additional questions after reading this page.

BOOKING LINKS & WELCOME INFO:

Events with guests paying for rooms:

We will provide a booking link for you to share with your guests, which will auto-populate your group code and the dates of your event. We recommend first sharing the link with any guests that you’d prefer to be in specific accommodations, guests with special needs, etc., and then sharing the booking link with your larger group after they’ve secured their rooms. The host is in charge of who is allowed to come to the event and book rooms, therefore we’ll always direct any guests asking for the link or group code to ask the event host for that information. We’re happy to send you an update of our calendar showing which accommodations have been booked to date for your event, just email us at info@mmecoretreat.com with this request.

Each guest will receive our Welcome Email at booking, and door codes will be sent via email/text at 9am on check-in day. Door locks will activate at 4pm. Welcome info can also be found here: mmecoretreat.com/welcome

Events with host paying for rooms:

We will provide door codes to the rooms you have booked the day of check-in, typically only after the rooms have been cleaned and are ready for your guests. Since your guests are not booking their own accommodations they will not receive our Welcome Email, so please share this very helpful info with them directly: mmecoretreat.com/welcome

STAY EXTENSIONS:

Three months before your event check-in date, we’ll confirm whether there are any event bookings immediately before or after your event. If no other events are scheduled, these dates will become available for hotel stays, and you’re welcome to extend your stay on a room-by-room basis.

If applicable to your group, we can also add additional days to your group booking code, allowing your guests to easily extend their stays beyond the official event dates. Please reach out to us if you’d like to set this up, or guests can contact us directly to arrange their extended stays.

Please note that no event programming or vendor access is permitted during stay extension days, as the Eco Retreat will operate as a hotel during this time. Additionally, your group will need to share the Community Kitchen space with other hotel guests during these extended stays.

HEALING HOUSE:

You and your guests may start booking massages and other appointments in the Healing House as soon as the event is official. If you need to use the Healing House for other uses (small group meetings, team-building exercises, breakout sessions, etc) it may be rented for $25/hour or $150/day. Please make sure to have the Eco Retreat manager block those times on the Healing House calendar so that your guests aren’t able to double-book the space with their own appointments (please inform your guests of the appropriate times to make appointments based on your event schedule). The Healing House should be free of food and drink (except water), and all shoes should be removed while inside.

Learn more: mmecoretreat.com/healing-house

THE STUDIO:

The Studio, which is available for groups to use, is a 29’x15’ room next to the Great Room that’s typically used for yoga for 10-15 people, but can also be used for breakout sessions and other activities. For larger groups that need more space for yoga or otherwise want to use The Studio as their eating/meeting room, we can switch the Great Room’s tables into The Studio, which opens up approximately 2x the space.

Please note: Our staff will move the tables prior to your event, but the tables are not to be moved by guests and will not be moved back-and-forth during your event. The photos of yoga mats in the Great Room shows 23 mats with 20” of space between each mat.

If you do want to set up tables in the Great Room in the midst of an event where the Great Room has been cleared of furniture, you’re welcome to rent folding tables from us, or bring your own.

KITCHENS:

We have two kitchens in the Main Lodge. The Community Kitchen is a place for self-catering, non-ticketed events, potlucks and personal use. The Commercial Kitchen is a place for paid cooks such as caterers or personal chefs to use. The Community Kitchen has two stoves/ovens, two fridges, two sinks/dishwashers, an ice machine, and lots of cookware. We do not provide food, oils, spices, or coffee filters. We provide reusable cloth napkins, but not paper napkins or paper towels.

More kitchen info: https://www.mmecoretreat.com/kitchens

COFFEE & TEA:

Organic coffee is provided in the rooms and at the Coffee & Tea Bar in the Main Lodge. We will restock the coffee/tea bar in the Main Lodge if folks run out in their rooms. There is also a large coffee machine in the Community Kitchen, but you’ll need to bring your own coffee and large filters for that. There is a hot water dispenser at the coffee/tea bar.

ARRIVAL & ECO RETREAT STAFFING:

Let us know when the event host is planning to arrive and we’ll have an Eco Retreat team member available to help settle them into the spaces and land. After that we turn the Eco Retreat over to the event host and typically only have team members by to take out the garbage, clean the Main Lodge bathrooms, and stock the coffee/tea bar. We’re typically very responsive, but no other hands-on help is provided by Eco Retreat staff unless special needs arise. Please feel free to reach out if you need anything before, during, or after your event - call/text 828-358-4ECO (4326).

EVENT HELPERS:

Some events need an extra hand during their event for set up, clean up, etc. We can reach out to our team to see if they’d be interested and available to assist with your event, though availability is not guaranteed. The cost is $50 per helper per hour and requires at least two consecutive hours.

FINAL PAYMENT, DAMAGE DEPOSIT, INSURANCE:

Final payment, accommodation payments, damage deposit, and insurance are all due 1 month prior to the event date, if it wasn’t already required at contract signing. Please make sure to note this due date in your calendar.

Insurance is required for all events and a Certificate of Insurance must be provided that shows coverage in effect from check-in day through check-out day. The cost is typically ~$170 for a weekend event, but length of stay, providing alcohol, and other responses to the insurance questionnaire could change that cost. It is a requirement to purchase the insurance policy through our insurance company, using this form:

Host Event Coverage Application.pdf

Wister Insurance
888-241-1902
info@wister.insure
www.wister.insure

Mount Mitchell Eco Retreat must be listed as Additionally Insured using these exact words: Mount Mitchell Eco Retreat, LLC and Sean and Heather Busher dba Mount Mitchell Eco Retreat.

EVENT DELIVERIES:

Deliveries can be made to the Main Lodge at the address below. Please tell delivery drivers to follow signs to the Main Lodge, not to follow signs for “Deliveries” because those are for mail/parcel deliveries only.

430 Otter Rock Road
Burnsville, NC 28714

CHECK-OUT:

Your event ends at 11am on your check-out day. It’s important your event ends on time and that guests are out of the rooms by 11am, so that our team can start flipping the rooms, deep cleaning the common areas, and processing laundry. Please return all facilities to the condition you received them by 11am on your check-out day.

CANDLES & FIRE

Please do not burn any candles or start a fire anywhere on campus except in the fireplace in the Main Lodge, or at the fire pits. Flame candles are not allowed. However, we keep a bunch of electronic LED candles available for use in the Yoga Studio and/or the Event Storage room.

CAMPING/RVs:

Camping and RVs can be added to your event, but since we don’t have a bathhouse, camping/RVs must be approved by the county (this hasn’t been a problem in the past). Email Linda Angel at Yancey County Health Department at linda.angel@toeriverhealth.org to ask for approval and send our team a copy of the approval letter.

TOURS DURING YOUR EVENT:

Because we’re often booked solid for weeks at a time, we sometimes have to schedule a tour during an event. We are willing to schedule around important ceremonies, so please let us know if there are such times in your itinerary.

HELPFUL LINKS:

Things to do: mmecoretreat.com/attractions

Property Map: mmecoretreat.com/map

FAQ: mmecoretreat.com/faq

TRANSPORTATION:

The Eco Retreat is purposefully remote so transportation options are limited. Asheville has lots of options, so start your search there. Here are some helpful links:

Shuttles from Charlotte’s CLT Airport (2 hrs away): cltairport.com/to-and-from

Shuttles from Asheville’s AVL Airport (1hr 15min away): flyavl.com/GTproviders

Yancey County Transportation - Generally available 7:30am-4:30pm Monday-Friday. Most useful for shuttle rides for people wanting to hike one-way only, such as hiking all the way to the top of Mt. Mitchell. Pro tip: shuttle first and then hike back to your car so that you don’t have to worry about being late to pick-up.
yanceycountync.gov/departments/transportation-authority.

VENDORS:

Feel free to use the vendors of your choice, but those listed below are a good place to start.

Catering:

Typically the best option:
Twisted Laurel - Moderately-priced full-service catering. twistedlaurel.com, (828) 645-2700

Pig & Grits - BBQ and similar, a local favorite. pigandgrits.com, (828) 536-0010

Catering by Corey - Full-service catering and mobile bartending services. cateringbycorey.org

Red Fiddle Vittles - High-end full-service catering. redfiddlevittles.com, (828) 412-0506

Hot Mess Food Truck - Food on wheels. facebook.com/HotMess21, (352) 419-3200

Baba Nahm - Middle-Eastern cuisine. babanahm.com, (828) 575-2075

Maple’s - Bakery - Wedding Cakes (non-fondant style). maplesthesweetspot.com, (828) 675-1876

Richmack’s BBQ (local guy) - Richard McKinney - RichieMacksBBQ@gmail.com, (828) 467-3717

Personal Chefs:

Sweet Potato Tooth - sweetpotatotooth.com

Kearsley’s Kitchen - kearsleyskitchen.com

…more coming soon

Flowers

Sun Seeker Farm - sunseekerflowers.com

Event Rentals:

Classic Event Rental - classiceventrental.com, (828) 255-2230

Rental Me This - rentalmethis.com, (828) 505-3434

Photography:

Justin Martens: yourinnersong.com

Sean Busher Imagery (Eco Retreat co-creator) - seanbusher.com or mmecoretreat.com/wedding-photography

Inflatables:

Fun Time Inflatables - ftikids.com

EMERGENCIES:

Dial 911 for emergency.

Hospitals:

Blue Ridge Regional Hospital
125 Hospital Drive, Spruce Pine, NC 28777
(828) 765-4201
Directions from Eco Retreat - ~27 minutes away

Mission Hospital
509 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 213-1111
Directions from Eco Retreat - ~64 minutes away

Urgent Care:

Mercy Urgent Care Burnsville
41 Charlie Brown Road, Burnsville, NC 28714
(828) 536-5575
Directions from Eco Retreat - ~26 minutes away

McDowell Express Care
2293 Sugar Hill Road Suite D, Marion, NC 28752
(828) 580-1313
Directions from Eco Retreat - ~42 minutes away