FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP ‒ Jerry and Bethany Hershberger have converted a former doomsday bunker on Mount Pleasant Road near Dover into a retreat space that can accommodate up to 32 people a night.
It is known as Meraki House. The place has 12 bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a game room, a furnished kitchen, a dining room that can seat up to 60 people, sauna, swimming pool and a pavilion that has pickleball and basketball courts.
It rents anywhere from $850 to more than $2,000 a night, depending on the season.
Meraki is a Greek word.
“I’m kind of a word geek,” Bethany said. “I love researching words and what they mean. So, Meraki means to put yourself, your creativity, your heart and soul into whatever you do. That was definitely what we were doing when we built this and also what we would love for people to do when they’re here. Let’s say they host a retreat, or they’re hosting their family or friends, whatever, we want a space for them to be completely themselves.”
A tour of Meraki House
Visitors to Meraki House drive up a long, steep driveway through the woods and through an arch built by Jerry before reaching their destination. They enter the building through a 12-foot tall, 54-inch-wide wooden door that is 2 inches thick. Jerry built the door, as he did all the furniture in the structure.
They enter a large area that contains the kitchen, dining room and communal space. The kitchen comes with three ovens, a microwave, two dishwashers, a regular size refrigerator and a commercial refrigerator. The Hershbergers provide the cups, plates, glasses, silverware, coffee cups and pots and pans.
The structure is made up of 26 shipping containers, but only 16 are usable. Jerry described the place as having a modern industrial rustic look. “We use metal, wood, concrete. That’s pretty much it. No drywall,” he said.
At the other end of the structure is the game room, furnished with a concrete ping pong table, a pool table and an area where guests can watch movies or sports on TV.
The majority of the bedrooms are on the second floor. The bridal suite is furnished with a Japanese soaking tub, handmade in Mexico of copper. The tub, known as ofuro in Japan, is a small but deep and steep-sided bath with a built-in seat. Users can sit fully immersed up to their chest in the water.
Outside features include a sauna that can seat 14 people, and a giant wooden hand next to the pavilion which is designed as a place where guests can pose for pictures.
A love of hospitality
The Hershbergers own a total of nine properties that can accommodate guest. The other eight are in the Walnut Creek area of Holmes County.
They opened their first place, Orchard House, located on their property outside of Walnut Creek, in 2017.
The couple has always liked to entertain. “The hospitality side is just who’ve always been. We love people, so we’ve always hosted many, many people in our house. I would say hospitality cost us thousands before it ever made us a penny,” Bethany said.
“In 2015, we both felt that God was urging us to build a house on the back corner of our property. It took us a year and a half, but we built it. It was fun. We really enjoyed it. We started renting it out and discovered we actually love that whole side of things.”
Bethany designs the lodgings, and Jerry does the construction work.
“It was kind of a beautiful melding of all our gifts and talents and what we love doing ‒ design, the building, the hosting,” she said.
11-month restoration work
When they bought Meraki House in September 2022, the place was in “horrendous” shape, she said. It had very small windows, so Jerry had to cut out new ones. The floors were wooden and had to be covered with concrete. There was garbage everywhere.
It took them 11 months to restore the place before it opened to the public in October 2023. Two semi loads of pine were used for construction on the inside and the outside. “The structure was here. We made it pretty,” Bethany said.
Meraki House is used for family gatherings, corporate retreats, church events and a few weddings, according to the Hershbergers’ son, Isaac, who handles customer service and meets the guests when they arrive. The majority of their customers come from the Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh areas.
More information can be found at Treeboxstays.com or on Instagram at Treebox.club. The email address is stay@treeboxstays.com and the telephone number is 330-275-3572.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Meraki House: Retreat space near Dover includes 12 bedrooms, 8 baths, sauna, pool and more
Reporting by Jon Baker, The Times-Reporter / The Times-Reporter
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