Getaway House (NH)

Written by Stavros

Having the ability to get away these days takes serious skill and effort since we live in a society where we can always be connected to everyone we know through our smartphones. Social media notifications flow to your phone like water down a river, work emails come at all hours of the night from co-workers and customers on the other side of the world. Isn’t it all just great?

The question now is how do we take the time to unplug from all of this constant communication for just a little bit in order to let our minds and souls recharge.

Getaway House seems to have found an easy solution for the overworked and overwhelmed. They cater to those who need to put some distance between themselves and their bustling daily life. They similarly offer a convenient way to camp for those who like being in nature but also prefer the comforts of having access to a hot shower and a fully functioning bathroom that doesn’t come in the form of an outhouse or the tree farthest from your campsite.

The term Getaway House uses is “glamping” which is a combination of the words glamour and camping. Essentially, they have found a way to bring people out of their cities and suburban lives and into the forests while also providing creature comforts that most cannot live without. 

The mission of Getaway is simply “Life, Balanced.” A lot of us are guilty of always trying to be successful, working hard, and accomplishing as much as we can in a day all at the cost of exhausting our minds and bodies. How often do we stop with the work and just take time to take care of ourselves, our mind, body, and spirit? For most of us, not very often.

The intention of Getaway is to take a trip with people that are special to you and to just spend time together. This can come in the form of hiking nearby trails, sitting around the campfire making s’mores, or being curled up in the tiny house and looking into the woods through the wall sized windows next to the beds. They even have a lock box ready for you to hide your phones in so that you can take a break from being connected to everything from your day to day.

On their website, they have easy to follow instructions on how to successfully enjoy your trip at Getaway. Step 1 is to book your tiny house at your nearest location, Step 2 is to wait for a confirmation text and email with your Getaway’s address, tiny House name, and door lock code. Finally, Step 3 is to just be. It is a pretty simple concept, yet most of us won’t think of it unless it is sent to us in a text or an email from a coworker. 

The Getaway that we embarked on is one of the three currently listed as open on their site. We visited Getaway Boston, which is actually located in Epsom, New Hampshire about an hour and a half drive from Boston. The other two locations available are Washington D.C. and New York with locations coming soon to Atlanta and Los Angeles.

We chose our location because we are local to New England and planned a weekend outing in New Hampshire. After about a three-hour drive we arrived at the Getaway site which was a short drive away from Epsom town center. The tiny houses are within walking distance of many trails in the Hart Town forest which promises great hiking.

On their site, they mention that their houses are named after the grandparents of the staff that works at each location which we thought to be really clever. After a short drive down the Linden trail, we arrived at our glorious single room tiny house. We parked the car in our private driveway and hopped out to check out our campsite and the house itself.

We knew that the majority of our time in the house would be spent lying on the bed staring out the window or cozying up with a cup of tea and a book in hand while nature bathing.

The rest of the house was cozy and minimalistic with just the bare essentials of what we needed to spend our weekend Getaway. The kitchen area came stocked with plates, bowls, cups, mugs, silverware, cutlery, spices, and a tea kettle. The little pantry had plenty of snacks and drinks ready to be brewed such as tea, coffee, and hot cocoa ready for purchase at reasonable prices. The mini fridge also had plenty of space for all of the fruit and drinks that we brought up.

The bathroom and shower were on the far side of the house away from the bed and was stocked with organic shampoo, body wash, and conditioner that had a pleasant lemon scent. Right next to the bed was a small shelf with a few interesting books about camping and getting away along with a fairly useful radio. Hanging above the pillows was a lantern that we used at night when starting our fires.

We reserved a house for two so our fire pit had two Adirondack chairs placed around it and a small picnic table that could seat about 4 people. There was also a bin with bundles of firewood and fire starters to purchase. The very first night we built a fire and roasted our complimentary s’mores. 

Overall, we greatly enjoyed our stay at Getaway. I personally felt less stressed and anxious by the minute while we relaxed in our tiny home and my significant other and I made really good memories spending time just the two of us away from everything. We have plans to head back shortly after the New Year and then at least once more as the weather warms up with a larger group.

If you would like to read more on our adventures in Concord and other places in Epsom, articles will be posted at New England Travel Journal, New Hampshire. 

For an additional article on our great seafood lunch in Rye, New Hampshire see our article on our partner page New England Seafood Journal, Petey’s Summertime Seafood. 

Article first appeared January 2019