…to The Cottage at Rendleman Orchards
Last week, we were invited for a hosted two-day staycation in The Cottage at Rendleman Orchards!
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2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom with shower
Alto Pass, Illinois, on Rendleman Orchard property (down the road from Farmer’s Market)
Great for: small families, solo travel, couples, girls trips, staycations, wine trail visitors, outdoor enthusiasts, farm immersion experience.
Managed by Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals
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The Cottage is PACKED with amenities. We’ll try to list them all:
Chicken Coop with eggs to collect
golf cart (extra/add on) with it’s own path around the property. This creates an entirely separate experience of it’s own!
Convenience Store: offers everything you could want or have forgotten like toiletries, snacks, and more.
Fire pit with chairs plus outdoor dining area with umbrella
The supply closet; I’ll try to name it all, but may miss some because it’s loaded! Gear for: birdwatching, kickball, fire starters, fishing, grilling (charcoal grill), smores, hiking, yard games, picnics (including an insulated picnic basket and cooler backpack), and even yoga!
Game drawer with board & card games, art supplies, dominos, etc.
Telescope
Toddler stuff! This was major for us. A whole drawer of games, toddler utensils and dishware.
Coffee Bar: complete with coffee grounds, half and half creamers, and sugar.
Wifi, smart tv
Pond that is stocked with fish - Christian caught one!
Washer and Dryer: while most people may not use them for a 2 day stay, I made the decision to feed my toddler lasagna and so laundry was needed
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Secluded enough we didn’t have to worry about light, noise, or foot traffic but close enough to 127 we could get on the road quickly
The golf cart add-on gave us exclusive access to parts of the farm!
The beds were so comfortable, best sleep we’ve had in over a year
The skies were so clear we were able to watch a meteor shower by the fire pit
EVERYTHING being included, we only needed our clothes and diaper bag
Allison was an attentive host, we love the app-like webpage to navigate our stay.
This two bedroom, one bathroom house is located in Alto Pass, and is just a bit past the Farmer’s Market and flower fields Rendleman’s is so well-known for. Like most of the buildings on the property, this house has been used by the family for generations, finally being transformed into a Southern Illinois Vacation Rental and shared with the public. The history of the family and orchard can be found all around the farm; on signs outside of buildings, in books on the table and shelves, and within the multiple generations still living on the grounds!
The cottage is immersed within an orchard, and the landscape is gorgeous. You won’t be bothered by noise or lights here, the only sounds at night are the frogs and gentle clucking of hens settling in for the night.
That’s right - you have your own private coop at The Cottage! While the hens were still young to be laying, we were treated to farm fresh eggs in the fridge. Olive and Christian adored having these for their scrambled eggs in the morning, making seconds even! In the evenings we would sit by the coop and watch them interact.
On our first night, we utilized the full kitchen and made an easy Stouffer’s lasagna. It was awesome having everything I needed, including toddler-friendly dish and silverware!
After dinner, we invited some friends over for s’mores by the fire and to stargaze. S’mores kits were available in the “convenience store” at the back of the cottage. This cabinet and fridge have a QR code that can be scanned, and provisions purchased on that website. They include everything from snacks to pain relief, hats and mugs or even delicious Peach Salsa to go with your farm fresh eggs in the morning.
Because it was so clear, we noticed a plethora of shooting stars against the Milky Way, visible at nightfall. A meteor shower was occurring, we could not have been more lucky! The sounds of the frogs croaking all around us and nothing else, while the stars shot across the sky…it was unreal for a Tuesday night.
The next morning I popped up to Carterville, to let the dogs out. That’s why we loved this staycation element, being close enough to home to do our normal weekday requirements, while sprinkling in bits of farm life and luxury when we would return.
While I was gone, Christian made some of the frozen biscuits from Faye in the freezer (available for purchase), and scrambled the complimentary farm fresh eggs. Paired with apple butter and coffee, the biscuits were a perfect, flaky hit. The coffee bar had everything we needed, including grounds and creamer.
After picking Olive up from school that afternoon, we online ordered sandwiches from Sal’s Bistro in Carbondale, located on the Strip (US 51). We grabbed those and headed to the outdoor dining area of The Cottage, watching the occasional heron land on the pond’s edge.
Christian and Olive decided to take the golf cart to check out the other pond, listed on the map as the “best” fishing spot. Fishing gear is provided, which would have been impossible for us to pack safely, and the pond is well maintained. In the mean time, I hung back with the sleeping baby and soaked up the sun on the porch swing, watched the chickens. Christian caught a fish fairly quickly, and we discovered Olive is not interested in petting furry creatures like her cats and dogs…but a fish? A fish she needs to grab and make her friend. Olive may be a farm girl just yet.
That night we used the charcoal grill to prepare burgers, which were paired with stuffed peppers, pretzel chips and garlic hummus, sliced tomatoes, bacon ranch mac & cheese, and a Red’s Apple Ale for us parents - we were in an apple orchard, after all! We dined again at the outdoor area, watching the sunset over the trees and the chickens retire to their coop one by one.
After the kids went to sleep (quickly for Olive, who was wiped from two days of farm life while also still attending Pre-k), we went back outside to check for shooting stars. It was unfortunately a little cloudy, so we decided to cozy up and watch some shows instead. It was nice to have a smart tv so that we could access our favorite streaming services even away from home (local cable at night is what most hotels offer, and there is never anything good on!). We ended up falling asleep, and two nights of terrific sleep are just what this new mom, dad, and sister needed!
The next morning we made sure to clean up after ourselves, and utilized the handy app-like website Allison from Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals had sent us for check out. This website is a great example of how thorough The Cottage and SIVR are when it comes to your stay; every little detail is thought out, anticipated, and made easily accessible or known for you. One of the things we find we lose when choosing AirBNB over a traditional hotel is the feeling of being taken care of, a client, accommodated. With some AirBNB’s it’s the opposite; not only are we being charged a tremendous amount, we’re expected to thoroughly clean the rental plus have restrictions on what we can do in that property, with areas blocked or locked off. We did not experience that at The Cottage! We were actually checked on, our only cleaning “instructions” to put dirty towels in the wash and take the trash to the can. Pretty easy compared to other places we have stayed!
Overall, I would say this location is the most “for us” we have stayed at thus far; it fit us spatially perfectly, provided plenty of outdoor space and privacy without being in the middle of nowhere, had an abundance of amenities, and could keep us busy for days. We will definitely be back and are so excited to have this offering in the area!
Jessi
