One-tank trip: Ellijay

By Blake Guthrie

For the AJC

The Martyn House Retreat & Event Facility near Ellijay is not your traditional B&B. Where else can you spend the night in a luxuriously appointed tent from India and dine on breakfast prepared with freshly picked ingredients from the on-site gardens? Situated on 18 rolling acres in the North Georgia mountains, the property was opened earlier this year by proprietors Rick Lucas and JoAnn Adams.

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The Farm to Table dinners that take place several times a year under the open-air tents feature locally grown organic ingredients. Each has a guest chef, and every one of the dinners has a theme.

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"Glampers," who stay in the Martyln House's sleeping tents, sleep in real beds on floors, not the ground. The tents have electricity, are the size of a normal hotel room and are surrounded by meadow and woods. They have hot showers.

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The unique retreat is more than just a place to relax in the mountains: Guests are invited to be a part of the homesteading experience‚ if they care to‚ by helping out in the gardens. The berries guests pick could be a part of their next meal. Lucas and Adams also welcome visitors into their art studios.

For those in search of an intimate event space in the mountains for a wedding or other special occasion, the grounds can be reserved for an entire weekend. Special “theme” dinners and retreat weekends take place at various times throughout the year.

Don’t miss

Artist’s Studio Tour & Culinary Art Celebration, Nov. 6-8. Local artists in Ellijay and nearby Blue Ridge throw open the doors to their studios and galleries for this weekend-long event, which begins at the Martyn House. The Culinary Art Celebration on Friday evening offers an array of appetizers and tapas dishes. It also provides a chance for visitors to have a meet-and-greet with the chefs and artists on the tour. There will be a silent auction of participating artists’ work throughout the evening.

Farm-to-table dinners. Many times a year, the Martyn House hosts Farm to Table dinners underneath one of its gigantic open-air gypsy-style tents. These dinners are prepared with locally grown organic ingredients, and always have a different theme and a guest chef. Heather Antonelli, author of “Haute N the Kitchen,” was a guest chef at a recent dinner, where her theme was Southern food with a twist. The dinner featured a fusion of recipes from the southern region of many different countries from around the globe. For info on future Farm to Table dinners, call or e-mail the Martyn House (see listings in box above).

Luxury sleeping tents. They call it “glamping,” but if the thought of sleeping in a tent alarms you, pay attention to the details: These tents have electricity, real beds, floors and bathrooms. They even have front porches. Each of the tents on the grounds of the Martyn House is the size of a normal hotel room, only instead of being a compartment in a building surrounded by a parking lot, they are surrounded by meadows and woods. In keeping with the green philosophy of the owners, the tents also have compost toilets. And, yes, you can take a hot shower.

Retreat weekends. Yoga and artist retreats are another specialty of the Martyn House, but they only occur a few times a year. Yoga and art instructors give lessons and conduct sessions in a weekend designed to enlighten the creative spirit and enhance physical well-being. The next yoga retreat occurs Oct. 23-25. The next artist retreat is Dec. 4-6.