This year marks the 30th anniversary of Mountain View Lodge & Resort in Lake Chelan! It’s been an incredible journey, so I’d like to take this opportunity to share our story with you. Hopefully, you can get a sense of how the Lodge has evolved over the years and take a deeper dive into who we are, our love for what we do, and why we do it.
1992: The Lodge Story Begins
MVLR, always a family business and we ALL do all jobs! Carolyn with her brother, Dave Eichhorn, doing laundry on a busy summer day.
The Lodge was originally opened in 1985 by Wally and Edie Hahn, but in 1992, my mother, Carolyn (Eichhorn) Vincentini, acquired the property from the Hahns, marking its official beginning for our family. My mother was always a wonderful host to those around her. She loved taking care of people, ensuring they left with a smile on their faces and a heart filled with beautiful memories.
The MVL Summer Softball Team 2008 – returned every summer for the love and hospitality. During the 2008 renovation, these wonderful families came over to help build the MVL Pavilion before she passed away!
People knew her as very helpful and friendly and knew she would do anything for anybody. The same type of hospitality and family legacy has carried through the years. We still have guests who have come back after 30 years since the Lodge opened.
Carolyn volunteering at Manson High School 2008
My mother also was an avid member of the Lake Chelan community. She was involved with the Manson Chamber of Commerce in their earliest days as the Manson Merchants, as well as the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce. There is a dedication to her memory (and others) on the “Welcome to Manson” sign for ideas contributing to its creation!
Eichhorn Family, Chelan, WA, approximately 1957
2006: Starting At The Lodge
I first started working with my mom in December of 2006. At that time, I was working remotely on Washington’s westside since my kids were still going to school out there. Before working at The Lodge, I worked for a property management company in Telluride, Colorado. There, I learned how to ski and about the hospitality industry. I also have a background in accounting and business management. On top of that, I have experience in education, working with the Highline School District for eight years, and operating a daycare and preschool for 10 years. These occupations helped me grow as an individual and learn how to treat people in the best way possible.
I became the manager of MVL in February 2007 but continued working remotely, driving back and forth, for my mom and the Lodge while our kids finished school. We moved permanently to our home in Manson in July 2007 when I was able to be onsite full time. In the early years, Mountain View Lodge was a party spot for travelers. However, after my mom and I started to work together, we shifted our focus to positioning it as a haven for families.
2008: Broadening The Lodge’s Reach
When my mom was running the business on her own, people learned about Mountain View Lodge primarily through word of mouth. Since she developed a fantastic rapport with the community, people always directed travelers to The Lodge.
The evolution of the internet, marketing, and the digital space pushed us to think outside of the box. We focused on visibility and marketing The Lodge to visitors outside of the area. Creating a solid identity within our community, and to those visiting Lake Chelan Valley, became our priority.
When my mother passed away in October of 2008, I decided to continue running The Lodge. From 2009 to 2014, we had our ups and downs, but I was always able to depend on my excellent staff which also included my little brother, Shannon, my Uncle Dave, my kids, Kelly, Alissa & Kent, and the constant support of my loving husband, Gerry. No matter how challenging times could get, we always kept building, working hard, and staying dedicated to our business, staff, and customers. We focused on the high standards set early on by my mom and carried through my own family and, of course, our love for people.
As I run the day-to-day operations, financials, and marketing (with the help of Shai Creates), Gerry handles the maintenance side of The Lodge. Any time something needs to be built or worked on, he’s there to save the day! We always push through with love, positively, and determination in our hearts no matter what.
2014: Hotel Impossible
In November 2014, we enjoyed being on the reality travel show Hotel Impossible. It was such a fantastic experience to have Anthony Melchiorri and his team guide us on how we could improve. Look for season 5, episode 7, to watch the whole episode!
It was a dream come true to have them working with us. The Hotel Impossible team helped us improve our daily operations, and they also surprised us by renovating one of the MVL rooms. This room is still available today and is called the Hotel Impossible Suite in honor of the show.
The main challenge we addressed was how to work together in a family business and a very small community. This gave way to Anthony’s big marketing campaign idea, More To Manson. The site promoted Manson and its businesses to create tourism.
The Hotel Impossible Team worked with our IT specialist, Gabriel Castro, a 2008 Manson High School graduate, to set up all the phones in the rooms with a new extension – Ext. 200. By dialing this extension, you’d be connected directly to Green Dot Sub Shop across the street to order food and have it delivered. It was the beginning of continuous communication between fellow business owners and me in town, figuring out ways to work together in our community to drive new business to Manson!
2018 – Present Day: The Story Continues
Today, 30 years later, we continued The Lodge’s welcoming presence to all. Creating relationships that make people feel like they are “home” is still the most important thing to my staff and me and will forever be the foundation of Mountain View Lodge.
Over the last several years, my family has expanded, and the world has changed, but the most important thing is to make MVL a place where everyone from all around the world and all walks of life are welcome.
We love to host people at our establishment year-round. Every season has its own charm and beauty, and we hope more people discover this. In addition, my daughter Alissa moved to Manson in 2018 and is working on building out Antheia of Chelan, another one of our businesses focused on agriculture and farming; it’s about caring for people by caring for the land.
Afterall, we have the best jobs in the world: to help create memories that last a lifetime and create joy (even by just a smile!). We choose to Cross the Line and make good things happen for other people!
Thank you to all of our staff, our community, and our MVLR Family. Without your love and support, we would not be able to make all of this possible!
Cheers to another 30 years!