Green Getaways

Why so many upscale Ohio retreats are going green

By Shelby Metzger / Story Design by Victoria Smith

Hocking Hills in Hocking County, Ohio has always been a coveted vacation destination for anyone with a passion for nature and serene views. And now, naturelovers can drink in the woodlands while keeping their eco-footprint to a minimum.

Two eco-friendly retreats, Idyll Reserve and Magical Earth Retreat, represent a growing trend in Ohio and across the nation toward getting off the grid, but doing so sustainably, and in style.

Opened in 2021, Idyll Reserve is a family-owned retreat located at 25050 Purcell Road in South Bloomingville, Ohio. A scenic property nestled next to multiple trails, such as Conkle’s Hollow, and adjacent to the state park land, this reserve has something for everyone, including families, wedding destinations and company retreats. Created with sustainability at the forefront, travelers can feel satisfied about supporting the surrounding nature.

“The newer houses are specifically built from a team called Hygge Supply, and so they were the architect for those new projects. All of their systems are an on demand system. On the construction side, it cuts down on a lot of waste. So when the walls are ready, they ship you the walls, when the roof is ready they ship you the roof panels,” Kelly DeVore, the co-owner, explained. “It’s all pre-made seal construction, which is inherently a sustainable process. Everything materialwise from the build is sustainable.

Sustainably sourced wood, energy efficient everything, on demand hot water, which inherently is more eco-friendly.”

With five unique cabins available for rental, Idyll Reserve is the ideal spot for anyone from a solo traveler to large groups. The center of the reserve hosts a zipline and a kid’s play area, and each cabin is equipped with a hot tub and fire pit. The best part: two cabins are dog-friendly for travelers with furry friends.

Idyll Reserve Interior

Photo Courtesy of Diana Paulson, Linea Photo

The cabins themselves are intricately designed with a homey feel, down to the books and record players, they deftly balance comfort with a chic minimalism that’s easy on the eye.

The property also features a large covered patio space— complete with outdoor fire pit and sweeping, hilly views—perfect for group gatherings, as well as two car chargers for electric car owners. Even the interior of each cabin, which are sleek and modern while maintaining a woodsy feel, is designed with the environment in mind.

“Most of the furniture is either sustainably sourced, or vintage, or kind of a collection of things that we’ve gathered,” DeVore said.

DeVore, who owns the property with her husband, Jay DeVore, and her sister-in-law, Laura DeVore, has long been a Hocking Hills enthusiast, enjoying many vacations in the hills with family over the years. Eventually, they decided to create their own slice of paradise.

“When we first had the idea, it was the three family members opened it, so myself, my husband and my sisterin-law. We, as a family, have always gone to Hocking Hills, but we really wanted something that we could all be at and was a little bit more modern,” DeVore said. “My husband and I met in architecture school and my sister-inlaw has a hospitality background. My husband and I, on our own we never would have done it, but bringing my sister-in-law in the mix, she was like ‘Well, I can organize everything.’”

Idyll Reserve Exterior

Photo Courtesy of Idyll Reserve

While green living is at the core of Idyll Reserve’s ethos, even if you’re not an environmentalist, fret not. The sustainable features are covertly incorporated into the space, from the eco-friendly hot water tank that supplies the water for the hot tubs, to the low-voltage lighting and energy-efficient appliances.

“A lot of the stuff you might not know is sustainable. There’s things like the recycled countertops, we’ve got two cabins that [the countertops] are made out of compressed paper, two cabins have countertops that are recycled resin aggregate, which those you can touch and feel but a lot of the sustainable elements are really kind of behind the wall,” DeVore said. “We think, you don’t have to be overtly green or put grass on the roof to necessarily be sustainable. We’re trying to elevate the idea of what sustainability is.”

Another eco-friendly vacation spot in Hocking Hills, Magical Earth Retreat, also under the name Nature Mystique Retreat, opened in March 2022.

Located at 64237 Woodgeard Road in Creola, Ohio, it offers four partially underground cabins to stay in, with large circular doors giving way to a dwelling built into the hillside, giving the space the look and feel of a hobbit home. The retreat also recently opened two Moroccan abodes available for rental.

Idyll Reserve interior

Photo Courtesy of Shelby Brown, @shelbywilray

The fairytale-esque accommodations sit upon 11 acres, with the area just 3 miles from Hocking Hills State Park. Each cabin is fully equipped with a queen bed, or multiple beds for larger cabins, a private bathroom and kitchenette. The retreat focuses on sustainability, as well as wellness and stress relief, as witnessed by cedarwood hot tubs and sauna pods. The grounds feature a fruit garden, which they plan to expand to include other plants. The eccentric habitats are created with the environment in mind, and have their own special way of preserving energy.

“We’re actually built partially underground into the rolling hills, so the temperature within each of the accommodations does not go below 50 degrees. So, it’s built very energy efficiently,” Mervat Elschwarby, managing director of Magical Earth Retreat, said. “We also incorporated recycled materials into the design. We use whiskey barrels to create the sinks in the bathroom, and then we use reclaimed wood for one side of the walls.”

With staying eco-friendly at the forefront of their mind, the team at Magical Earth Retreat, which includes Elshwarby’s mother and brother, did nothing in haste – guests can see each unique accommodation was toiled over.

“A lot went into the design to make sure it was energy efficient, to make sure we were building responsibly,” Elschwarby said. “There was a lot of research, painstaking research involved in that whole process.”

The retreat also encourages their guests and travelers to just adopt more sustainable travel practices. This includes being conscious of turning off lights, bringing recycled water bottles, renting bikes, packing light and choosing ecofriendly lodging.

Magical Earth’s unique architecture isn’t something you see everyday, and the picturesque landscape each space sits upon was carefully chosen. The retreat, according to Elshwarby, was inspired by eclectic list of National and international destinations.

“We’ve always wanted to do something unique, we’ve traveled abroad a lot, we’ve been to a lot of the state parks, national parks, we had a trip to New Zealand a few years ago, and the landscape there is just incredible in terms of just the rolling hills and everything,” she explained. “I think it was just a combination of all our travels, and we’re big nature people. So, we love the outdoors. We all did, as a team, thought that Hocking Hills is just such a special place.”

With an increasing number of environmentally conscious lodging options available in Hocking Hills, it’s becoming simpler to travel while caring for the world around us. So relax, unwind, and keep the environment in mind on your next expedition.

To learn more, visit www.idyllreserve.com