Syria gets 'yurt'-inspired luxury cabins

Two luxury cabins modeled after Mongolian yurts are near completion at Madison County’s Rose River Farm off Old Blue Ridge Turnpike (Route 670) just east of Bohannon Road (Route 600) in the Syria community.

They are set to be complete in the next few weeks and are already starting to be booked, says businessman Douglas Dear of Rose River Farm. The cabins are located catty corner to the main farm on a private 20 acres of land with views of Double Top and Old Rag mountains and the Syria valley. They also overlook Robinson River to the south, just past its split with Rose River at Swift Ford.

“Many of the people out of town have stayed in Culpeper or Charlottesville, so now they will be able to stay on the farm,” said Dear. “That’s what my fishermen want.”

The high-end cabins are a unique style of architect Michael Vilardi of Washington state. Most Mongolian yurts are made of canvas, but these are more substantial and made out of cedar and have a metal roof, said Dear. The circular-shaped, pointed-roof cabins are very energy efficient and have been designed with “green” construction techniques, he said.

“It’s just something different and unique architecturally,” said Dear. “It really makes a neat living space.”

The luxury cabins feature two bedrooms with two double beds and two bathrooms. The cabins are more than 1,100 square feet each. The living room features a domed 17-foot ceiling and leather club furniture. There is also a full kitchen with an oven, microwave, refrigerator and freezer and a round dining table. The cabins have a porch with mountain views and a stocked pond with bass, bluegill and trout. There is a charcoal grill and an outdoor fire pit with wood supplied.

It costs $250 a night to stay in the cabin.

Charlottesville-based Lynmark Construction is building the cabins. Madison Plumbing and Electric is doing the plumbing, electric and HVAC. Awesome Insulation out of Reva is doing the insulation.

Rose River Farm is a working black angus cattle operation with peach orchards, hay fields and wildlife habitat, according to the Web site www.roseriverfarm.com. They have three types of trout on the farm -- wild rose rainbow, wild brook trout and stocked jumbo trout.