FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- How do I make a reservation?
- What amenities do your cottages include? What should I bring?
- What makes your place different from other retreat facilities?
- What do you mean a community lives on the property?
- What is the usual donation?
- When may I arrive or depart?
- Must I come alone?
- How long may I stay?
- Do you offer spiritual direction?
- Where are you and how do I get there?
- Do you offer gift certificates?
- Do the cottages have wi-fi?
How do I make a reservation?
The quickest and most efficient means of making a reservation is to email us at info@windridgesolitude.org. [We check email several times a day. If you have not received a response within a few hours, somewhere a server is down. Please try again or try the phone number 1-636-629-4449. If you include your phone number and/or mailing address in your email reservation request, then we can circumvent the "downed server" and respond to your request for a reservation via another route.]
OR, you can give us a call at 1-636-629-4449 and leave in voice mail your name, phone number, and a time during the day to return your call. We will not return calls without a voice message. One advantage of using the phone is you get to have a "live person" conversation and get all of your questions answered. That's a rarity in these days of "press 1 for...".
We have plenty of options because we really want to make it as easy as possible for you to find a time to come to the quiet.
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What amenities do your cottages include? What should I bring?
Just your personal belongings and your food. Yes, we mean it! Our cottages are completely equipped:
(1) Full kitchen (microwave, stove/oven, refrigerator, coffee maker, toaster, dishware, pots and pans, sugar, salt...you get the idea).
(2) Bedroom containing a queen size bed (bedding is provided), nightstand, alarm clock, and lamp.
(3) Open area containing a recliner/rocker, a CD player and a futon which serves as either a couch or a second bed.
(4) Full bathroom with full size water heater so you can take showers without running out of hot water. The shower is 4'X3' with grab bars (no tub). There is a vanity and handicap-friendly toilet with grab bar. Towels are provided.
(5) Screened-in porch with rocker chairs, a small table, and a small kettle/grill for BBQing (coals, fluid and utensils are provided).
As you can see our cottages are well-equipped as well as heated and air conditioned. You will have all the amenities of home without a doorbell, phone, TV or other noisemakers.
Please do NOT bring candles or incense. Fire codes do not allow these in our cottages. Also, cigarette smoking is only possible outside the cottages.
[See Solitude Dwellings tab for pictures.]
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What makes your place different from other retreat facilities?
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Our singular emphasis is solitude. We focus all our energies on making it possible for you to enter the solitude quickly and completely. We prepare the cottage for you in every way to welcome you. We clean it and make the bed so all you need to do when you arrive is put your perishables in the refrigerator. We greet you at the parking lot and drive you to your cottage in a Kawasaki Mule (it's an adventure!), help you carry your belongings in, and set you free. Your space and your schedule and your spiritual pursuit become your own. The quiet within the cottage and within nature embraces you completely. [If you want to see a picture of a Mule, click on the "Nature" tab.]
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Another distinguishing feature is that we allow you to bring your well-behaved pet(s).
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Finally, another distinguishing feature is that you will be staying on the property where a community is dedicated to living in solitude also. You become embraced by a praying community while you journey with God.
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What do you mean a community lives on the property?
At present there are four sisters who live either in a solitude cottage or a common house on the property. The community's name is Companions in the Infinite Love. Most of the time you won't even see us. One of us will welcome you, of course, but basically, because we also live in solitude, we are hidden. You will "find" us through the fruits of our labor, such as, a clean cottage for you or a mowed meadow for walks.
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What is the usual donation?
It costs us $66/night to cover our costs.
Yet to keep it as affordable as possible for guests, $45/night is the
suggested donation for one person staying two or more
weekday nights ($65 donation for a single night). An additional $10 donation per night is requested for another person or for each pet you may bring.
The suggested weekend donation is $55/night. The suggested donation for a week’s stay is $300; the suggested donation
for one month (maximum duration for a stay) is $800.
Any donation above these suggested amounts are tax deductible for you and are used for land acquisition and land care. (Our hope is that some guests will give donations that exceed our suggested donation so we are able to keep this sacred space open and ready for you and others.)
Also, about donations, if you need to cancel somewhat proximate to your arrival date, we hope you would be willing to send us a donation. We do not ask for a deposit in advance to hold the cottage for you, so we may have turned others away who requested the same times you did. Thank you for considering this.
Please remember that these are donations. If you are in need of solitude and cannot provide the usual donation, then we hope you will still come and donate what you are able.
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When may I arrive or depart?
Arrival is at 1PM, just as is departure, on the days you have scheduled your stay. We set 1PM as the default for arrivals and departures so that we can schedule errands and personal appointments for the afternoon. On Fridays, however, we accept a 4PM arrival. Later than that interrupts our solitude. We ask that you do your best to be on time. You see, we WANT to greet you. We want to make certain we are here to deliver you to your cottage and, when you depart, to deliver you to your vehicle. You will quickly understand this when you see that the parking lot is a quarter of a mile or more from the cottages and that's a very long haul carrying luggage and food. You will be "delivered" back and forth on a Kawasaki Mule which is all part of the adventure. Exceptions to the 1PM default are made on occasion as long as they are arranged in advance.
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Must I come alone?
No. Sometimes couples come because they wish to have quality time together, to deepen their vocation to their marriage. Sometimes someone may wish to bring a friend, again to deepen their call to friendship and to share their spiritual lives.
Sometimes a handicapped person wishes to come and needs to bring his/her caregiver. The cottages are friendly to the physically challenged, being able to accommodate the needs of those in wheelchairs. The bedroom has a queen size bed and there is a futon that opens up into a full size bed in the open space.
Sometimes persons wish to bring their well-behaved pet(s) as a companion.
Different people have different needs and we have tried to anticipate as many as possible. Even with someone sharing a cottage, solitude is easily accomplished with both the outside and inside space. The chapel and the library are also inside places of solitude which are available to you.
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How long may I stay?
You may stay as long as you are scheduled for up to one month maximum. Some have come for a single overnight. Also, we are open year round, so a longer stay would never be interrupted.
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Do you offer spiritual direction?
No. We believe the Spirit is your director. By entering the silence of solitude with an open mind and heart, we believe the Spirit will lead you.
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Where are you and how do I get there?
We are located one hour southwest of St. Louis in the Ozark highlands. From Interstate 270 take Highway 30 west for 31 miles. At the Lonedell crossroads where the Mobil station is, turn right onto Highway N and travel 1.2 miles. At West Linda Lane turn left and travel 1.6 miles. Our driveway on the left has no fence and is wide and graveled. Near the driveway is a sign saying Windridge Solitude . Once you see the sign, turn left onto the driveway. Park in the very first gravel lot to the right and walk to the big house and ring the doorbell. We will be waiting for you.
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Do you offer gift certificates?
Yes. It works like this: You can make a monetary donation of any amount to Windridge Solitude (just contact us at info@windridgesolitude.org regarding your request and send payment to 1932 West Linda Lane, Lonedell, MO 63060) and we will print a certificate indicating the amount given. This amount will act as cash and will go toward whatever length of time the person wishes to stay. We can send the certificate to you for you to give to the person you wish or we can send it directly to the person. The certificate will indicate an expiration date of one year from your donation. The person receiving the gift certificate is responsible for scheduling time at Windridge Solitude.
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Do the cottages have wi-fi?
No. If you wish access to wi-fi, you must supply your own wi-fi or use the hotspot on your own phones.