ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL)- A luxury resort is well on its way to introducing even more people to the beauty of Unicoi County.
Come next year, 300 acres of largely untouched wilderness will be home to 16 couples-only accommodations atop the secluded Coffee Ridge.
“Unicoi County is one of the best-kept secrets in the south. It is an absolute gem of an area and I think that this is the perfect time to do something like this. Our resort is going to be very intimate. We’re on a dead-end road so we’re not here to cause any kind of fuss or rustle or really change the nature that we’re ultimately used to here,” said Deborah Hatley, CEO and Co-Founder of Coffee Ridge.
“We’re finally on to the races to actually build this resort that we’ve been in the process of for two and half years now… so planning construction documents, full master plan it’s taken a lot of effort and an amazing team to put it together but it’s finally coming together,” said Hatley.
It’s a 30 million dollar investment– celebrating high, modern architecture, set to be complete with a spa, 360-degree mountain views with an observatory and a goal of eventually becoming a luxury wedding destination.
“They can expect obviously the beautiful scenery that we’re surrounded by here in Unicoi County, also just the beautiful, amazing modern architecture that we’re developing here on site,” Hatley said. “It’s something that’s a little bit different than what we’re used to typically seeing here in East Tennessee but I think that that cutting-edge design will ultimately bring a certain level of guest in.”
Hatley says guests will have an experience just as unmatched as the service.
“The first thing that they can expect is the level of service that we’re going to be meeting our guests with right when you come on to the property,” she said. “We’re going to do a lot of due diligence on the back end to really get to know our guests so there will be a high level of questions that we’ll ask them so we can really get to know what their tastes and dislikes are before coming on to the property.”
Coffee Ridge is looking to staff between 100 and 150 people.
Now that the owners have wrapped up the permit phase, their goal is to open the resort in late 2024.
