If you happen to be driving through the Wellsville Mountains between Logan and Brigham City one of these days, stop in and take a look at Rooms 306 and 310 in the south wing at Sherwood Hills.
You'll be in for a surprise.These two rooms, in the space originally meant for three hotel rooms, have been remodeled into specialty "theme rooms."
They're only two of several changes being made on the premises by Sherwood Hills' new owners, Larry and Darlene Caldwell of North Salt Lake.
The Caldwells are pleased.
The stigma of the Grant Affleck fraud case and subsequent bankruptcy seems to have dissipated and Sherwood Hills - once shuttered and neglected - is a lively place once again. (See related story.)
Both Larry and Darlene, who had no previous experience in the business when they purchased Sherwood Hills last year, admit that their new involvement as hoteliers is a sort of "seat of your pants" approach.
If they're doing anything wrong, they aren't aware of it.
Caldwell has degrees in both law and accounting. He was an accountant for the most recent owners (John Booth and Shirl McKay of Logan), when he acquired the resort. Darlene was formerly employed as a horticulturist for O.C. Tanner Co.
Business at the resort has continued to improve and, already it's more than 40 percent booked for next summer.
Just recently, the Caldwells also bought the Sherwood Hills restaurant from Booth, who continues to supervise that facility. This gives the Caldwell control over the entire project, except for the adjacent golf course, which is under separate ownership.
Also, Caldwell just recently acquired a liquor license for the restaurant. Both Larry and Darlene have mixed feelings about the license but feel that it's necessary in order to compete for business conferences and similar functions. But Sherwood Hills is perceived as a "destination resort," where consumption of liquor will be easier to control.
During the past several months, Darlene has been involved in redecorating many of the guest rooms at the facility. She and her husband also have experimented with several different promotions in order to attract business.
The Caldwells see Sherwood Hills as a family-oriented destination. At least, they don't consider it in the same high-priced league as Deer Valley. During the summer months, the resort has hosted several youth conferences and family and school reunions. During the fall and winter, they're geared up for business seminars.
The complex has 60 rooms and 20 condominium units, of which all but one have been sold.
This past summer, several evenings of outdoor melodrama combined with a Dutch oven cookout proved to be popular, and this will probably be expanded next summer.
The Caldwells - and especially Darlene - have made some big changes in the rooms themselves.
New carpeting, paint and rustic looking pine log furnishings, created by a Heber Valley furniture company, are giving the rental rooms a comfortable, outdoorsy look.
But the biggest change is on the third floor of the south unit of rooms. Just recently, two "theme rooms" - the Pink Cadillac Room and the Blue Bayou Room - made their debut. The resort held a Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest as part of the promotional effort to open the new rooms.
Walk into the Pink Cadillac Room, and you'll think you just stumbled into the old Motor-Vu Drive-In theater. The centerpiece is a 1950s pink Cadillac convertible, in which a full-size bed has been installed. A large-screen TV is in one corner of the room and there's a post with a couple of working drive-in loudspeakers alongside the car door. Around two sides of the room is a mural depicting other cars parked around a darkened drive-in movie theater.
To one side of the vehicle, in an alcove, is a neon "snack bar" sign, with a small wet bar.
The bathroom is decorated in black-and-white checked tile.
Just down the hall is the Blue Bayou Room, in which the queen-size bed is mounted atop a raft (Huckleberry Finn should've had it this good). A mural behind the head of the bed creates the mood of the Mississippi River slowly flowin' along.
The bathroom in the Blue Bayou Room is designed to re-create the cave from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Instead of a typical shower head, the shower is an indoor waterfall, with a large, see-through aquarium built into the wall between the shower and the bedroom.
The murals in both rooms were painted by Kelly Donovan of Logan.
Darlene Caldwell has even more "theme rooms" up her creative sleeves. The next ones will probably be a "Seventh Heaven" room, in which the bed will appear to be floating on a cloud, and a room with a space shuttle theme.
The theme rooms command Sherwood Hills' top-of-the-line "premium" rates.
Sherwood Hills has more than 55 rooms available in a variety of configurations - from suites sleeping up to 10, to rooms with kitchenettes and honeymoon suites.
About a year ago, shortly after Sherwood Hills reopened, my wife's family had a large reunion at Sherwood Hills. There were youth conferences and a couple of wedding receptions going on at the same time, but there were no problems. For our reunion, we were able to rent four or five rooms across the hallway from each other, some with kitchenettes, so the various families involved could provide meals for the entire group. It was a sort of "traveling dinner," with aunts, uncles and dozens of cousins going back and forth across the hall.
In addition to banquet facilities for up to 300, the restaurant is also equipped to cater full-service meals for groups of any size.
During the summer months, many of the youth conference and reunion activities are on the spacious lawns surrounding the lodging and restaurant buildings.
The complex has two outdoor pools and one large indoor swimming pool. There's also a hot tub and children's pool adjoining the indoor pool and a brand new outdoor hot tub on a deck overlooking the tennis courts and nine-hole golf course.
There are groomed, cross-country skiing trails on the premises, along with horse-drawn sleigh rides, tubing, sledding and snowmobiling. Skis and snowmobiles are available for rent.
Year-round activities, in addition to the indoor pools, include separate redwood saunas for men and women, two raquetball courts, an indoor wal-leyball/basketball court and a game room with pool, ping-pong and arcade games.
During the summer, horseback riding is available through a privately owned stable, with guided trail rides through the Wellsville Mountains.
A variety of yard games also are provided, including everything from water fights to sack races, which are popular with reunions and youth conferences.
The Sherwood Hills golf course is operated independently of the resort, but reservations and golf cart rental may be made through the hotel.
The outdoor theater, in a recently remodeled amphitheater, and the chuckwagon cookouts are held from June 2 through Sept. 2.
Mountain bike rentals also are available during the summer, utilizing 18 kilometers of mountain trails.
Guest rooms and suites at Sherwood Hills range from $55 to $100, with honeymoon suites priced at $70 to $80, and the new specialty suite theme rooms priced at $115.
Plans for the resort include the construction of a gift and snack shop for Sherwood Hills guests. There is also room on the property for additional lodging facilities, but the Caldwells aren't rushing into this. Any expansion will be carefully considered.
For business conferences, Sherwood Hills has a variety of options, including equipment rental ($15 per day for any or all of the equipment, including VCRs, overhead projectors, slide projectors, screens, chalk-boards, easels, pads of paper, pens, pencils and TV monitors).
During the summer months, the large amphitheater also is available for some meetings and gatherings.
All recreation facilities at the hotel are provided at no extra charge for hotel guests, except for the golf course, horseback riding, VCR/video cassette rentals and the Dutch oven cookout.
Sherwood Hills is located on U.S. 89/91 between Logan and Brigham City. For reservations or information, call (801) 245-6424.