Winter Getaways: Getaway Beaver Creek

All the comforts of home at this Lisbon, Ohio getaway, minus most of the electronic connections to the outside world.

November 17, 2022

Virginia Linn,

PHOTOS BY VIRGINIA LINN

The tiny cabins at Getaway Beaver Creek are exactly as advertised: They’re tiny and you’re away — unplugged to virtually everything electronic and a little more than an hour from Pittsburgh.

It’s one of 28 outposts across the country for Getaway, a hospitality company founded in 2015 that offers what it calls “mindful escapes.” Each is designed to be within two hours driving distance from a city. Purposefully minimalist and socially distanced, the concept exploded during the pandemic; the number of outposts have doubled since 2020.

My husband and I made the visit to Beaver Creek on a Sunday night last February. Rates vary by location, seasonality and availability; current winter rates start at $99 per night at Beaver Creek. We paid $149 for our cabin on a Sunday night.

The outpost’s three dozen 200-square-foot cabins are set amid 59-wooded acres on the edge of farmland. There’s a beautiful ½-mile nature trail — easy even in deep snow — along Little Beaver Creek and a pond, and Beaver Creek is about 10 miles from several state parks.

The site includes 26 two-person cabins — with a (very comfortable) queen-size bed by a huge window facing the woods — and 10 four-person cabins with queen bunk beds. They all come with a two-burner electric stovetop, sink, mini fridge and cooking essentials. There are also towels, a shower and flush toilet.

But no TV and no Wi-Fi. (I could get cell service, but I tried not to check my phone to enjoy the intent of this stay). There is a wooden cell phone lockbox on the table to store your phone if you don’t have self-discipline.

There is a radio, which my husband and I didn’t turn on during our visit. We did bring our 73-pound golden retriever (extra $40), who ended up in bed with us because there wasn’t much room on the floor; the bed was big enough for all three of us.

You could bring food to cook on the firepit grill outside (you’ll find provided recipes). Getaway offers firewood bundles ($8 extra) and starter sticks ($2) — even I was able to build a fire! There are complimentary ingredients for s’mores and some snacks for purchase (hot chocolate, $1; coffee/tea, $2.50, etc.), but we brought our own food.

Booking, reminders, check-in and check-out were all seamless and done online. On the morning of your arrival, you will receive a text message with the name of your cabin (ours was Melvin) and lock code. You never meet the staff face-to-face, although we were welcomed with a hand-written note from Alexcia. “We hope this is exactly what you need to kick back,” she wrote. “Unwind and enjoy nature.”

It was, and the idea obviously resonates — nearly all of the cabins were booked that Sunday night in the dead of winter.