Celestial Garden Cottage is located in downtown Ashcroft, built in 1911, and one of the oldest buildings in town. Enjoy views of the Thompson River from this updated quirky, eclectic old “paycheque” style cottage with 2-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, full kitchen with a twin size daybed for a 3rd sleeping area, and private, fenced garden with covered patios for bird, sky and train watching. Black cat guest house is located next door.
**be prepared, check Drivebc for road and weather conditions**
The space
This self-contained cottage has 2-bedrooms and 2-bathrooms. Bedroom 1 has a double bed and an ensuite bathroom with a walk-in shower. Bedroom 2 has a queen size bed with a door opening into the common bathroom. This bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub with a window looking skyward for a relaxing soak at the end of the day. The full kitchen has a seating area and twin size daybed that is designed to provide a flexible third sleeping area. The fully equipped kitchen and living space opens onto the desert inspired back garden that boasts 2 covered private patios for enjoying time outdoors. The garden is fenced allowing pets to roam the garden at this pet friendly property.
Guest access
This cottage is self-contained and not shared with others. Guests have exclusive use of the cottage, garden, covered patio as well as parking at the front of property. This allows you to have privacy during your stay as you are not sharing with others. Sometimes it’s nice having that privacy to fully relax and unwind, especially if you’re needing to decompress from fast-paced city life.
The neighbourhood welcomes this AirBnb to the community and enjoy sharing our town with visitors. We are grateful for your visit. You are welcome here :)
Other things to note
Please no parties. Be respectful of noise after 9pm as this carries through the river valley and disturbs the peace.
No smoking inside, please fully extinguishing and properly dispose of your stuff when smoking outside. We all gotta do our part to prevent fires! We appreciate your help keeping the property safe.
We acknowledge we are located and operate from lands on which indigenous people live since time immemorial. We recognize and acknowledge we are on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of Nlaka’pamux Nation which includes Ashcroft First Nation and Secwepemc Nation which includes Bonaparte First Nation. Indigenous history is an important part of our community story, the Ashcroft museum is a great place to start a learning journey. The museum is open from April - October and is located at 4th and Brink in downtown-Ashcroft. Deepen your learning with a visit to the Hat Creek Ranch & Indigenous Interpretation Site at the junction of Hwy 97 & 99 just north of Cache Creek, or the McAbee Fossil Site on Hwy 1 between Cache Creek and Kamloops . Both of these historic sites are operated by St’uxwtews Pesuten Heritage Society led by the Bonaparte First Nation. Reconciliation is creating opportunities for the sharing of indigenous culture, history and ceremony; check out these places to learn more.
We are located adjacent to the Thompson River, Ashcroft has both the CN and CP rail tracks going through town. The CN tracks follow on the opposite side of the river valley and this home has incredible views of trains for enthusiasts, including the seasonal Rocky Mountaineer. Eagles, ospreys, swallows, and bats are regularly seen flying through the river valley. Take time to watch and listen.
We share the river valley with active freight trains on both sides of town. That means regular train noise; this place is not recommended if you expect and need silence. The sounds resonate at different decibels depending on season and temperature/humidity conditions. ***Canada’s dirty secret: populated rural areas are surrounded by industrial operations and intermodal transportation routes! We learn to live with it.***
This cottage is +100-years old and does not have the capacity for all of the modern conveniences like central heat or air conditioning. Ashcroft is in a mountain desert region and has a large temperature range (+40c in summer to -30c in deep winter freeze).
We deal with the winter freeze using baseboard heaters in living room on a thermostat and heaters in the bedrooms. Our climate is very dry because we are in a high mountain desert region. It’s true dry cold makes the subzero temps bearable and the bright winter sun is very restorative especially if you’re coming from the BC-coastal areas.
We are in a climate impacted region. Summer heat can be brutal at+40C and that causes wildfires. We deal with the heat using passive cooling by opening doors & windows to capture cool morning air and using a portable AC unit. Shut the doors, windows and curtains to block out the hot afternoon sun rays, this helps keeps the house cool. There is a nice shady patio. We’ve learned to appreciate the intense heat because it makes us look forward to winter.
The cottage has fresh cotton bed linens and towels. The beds have all-season duvets for a comfy sleep. Duvet covers and cotton blankets are laundered between guests. I use unscented, hypoallergenic laundry soap that is available for your use too. Lots of guests have deep restorative sleep and some use this place for a couple days to timeout and touch grass.
We appreciate you choosing to be our guest. Send a message if you need help coordinating long stay rates and dates. This is the sister property to Black Cat Guest House, located next door. Consider booking these together if you are a larger group.
*Fun Fact - A Paycheque House is one that had rooms added with each paycheque. Celestial is of that circa, as are the updates. That’s why it’s quirky and simple. We hope the simplicity inspires your creative flow. Creative flow heals the soul. The cottage isn’t perfect and will always be a paycheque house, that’s why we love this place and enjoy sharing it by hosting. We encourage you to take time and touch grass by watering the garden during your stay. You can feel the plants sending you positive vibes of gratitude for the drink in our hot dry desert sun. That will make you feel bliss and oneness with nature, something we all need more of.
**another Fun Fact - Nadia owns the home and Julie manages it by doing day-to-day hosting duties. Nadia is a pollinator garden designer in Vancouver and continues to cultivate this garden for bee and butterfly pollinators. Monarch Butterfly sightings for the 2025 garden! Julie has guided the house redesign with her partner Tom. Tom humours our crazy ideas and builds the dreams. He’s amazing, humble and breathes new life into these one-of-a-kind cuties. Julie owns and operates Black Cat Guest House next door. Tom continues to work his magic on these “funny paycheque homes”. Nadia & Julie are BFF’s who are proud of this collaboration and sharing it with the Airbnb community.
Registration Details
Municipal registration number: 5570
Provincial registration number: H220834385
