{"id":18194,"date":"2020-06-18T11:00:41","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T15:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/?p=18194"},"modified":"2020-06-17T13:45:07","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T17:45:07","slug":"animal-attraction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/animal-attraction\/","title":{"rendered":"Animal Attraction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pack your bags for an intown Atlanta Airbnb with its own mini alpaca farm<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Decatur Alpaca Cottage has all the comforts of home, from Netflix to free nibbles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I drove through the neighborhood, along an ordinary residential street just a mile or so southwest of Northlake Mall, I could never have guessed that hidden behind one of the typical suburban Atlanta homes was an adorable Airbnb with an adjoining legacy farm housing a small herd of alpacas.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The rental\u2019s resident herd of alpacas, chickens and more are housed right next door for your viewing pleasure. Treats for Tails Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But as soon as I pulled up the gravel drive that leads past the main house, I looked to my right and spotted them. There, behind a fenced plot marked with a sign noting it as a certified wildlife habitat, was not just a handful of the cutest alpacas you\u2019ve ever seen, but also a llama, a huarizo (a cross between an alpaca and a llama), dozens of chickens and a couple of rabbits. Thus began my stay at the Decatur Alpaca Cottage.<\/p>\n

After dropping off my overnight bag in the adjacent cottage, I met Marykay Mentzer, the property\u2019s owner and caretaker, for the bonus Alpaca Experience I had signed up for. All guests of the Decatur Alpaca Cottage can watch the animals over the fence and take pictures galore, but with this special host-led tour, you get to go behind the gates to interact and feed treats to the flock. Mentzer shares her encyclopedic knowledge about the menagerie, as well as the history of how her little backyard farmstead came to be. In an Instagram-worthy moment, you even get to have your picture taken kissing one of the alpacas.<\/p>\n

After meeting Beau, Loverboy, Skyboy Blue and the other critters, Mentzer then showed me the adjacent herb, vegetable and perennial gardens; outdoor eating area; firepit and some of the highlights of the cottage itself. The one-bedroom bungalow has been on the site for more than 70 years (the land was once a dairy farm), but it has been transformed into a chic, eclectic lodging with all the modern conveniences. Mentzer did the decorating herself, and the decor is delightfully big on the property\u2019s featured creature, with alpacas on everything from the doormat to a decorative pillow on the plush queen-size bed to the set of dominos in the game closet.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Decatur Alpaca Cottage is smack in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, but the site gives you the feeling of being away from it all.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My favorite cottage amenity was the cozy screened porch, where I kicked back with a glass of wine from the complimentary bottle of Willamette Valley ros\u00e9. Rather than drink it in one of the provided wineglasses, though, I thought it more appropriate to sip it from the alpaca festooned coffee mug.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact the Decatur Alpaca Cottage is on the same acreage as Mentzer\u2019s own home, it\u2019s still very private. And even though it\u2019s right next door to where the alpacas and the rest of animals are housed, there\u2019s absolutely no farm-like smell (if you catch my drift).<\/p>\n

When my stay was over and I cruised back down the gravel drive onto the main road, I felt rested, rejuvenated and 100% convinced that every Airbnb needs its own herd of alpacas.<\/p>\n

Decatur Alpaca Cottage<\/strong>
\nLodging from $235 a night
\ndecaturalpacacottage.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pack your bags for an intown Atlanta Airbnb with its own mini alpaca farm As I drove through the neighborhood, along an ordinary residential street just a mile or so southwest of Northlake Mall, I could never have guessed that hidden behind one of the typical suburban Atlanta homes was an adorable Airbnb with an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":18195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[18934,17,18655],"tags":[19015,19008,19010,14871,19011,19012,19009,19014,19013],"thb-sponsors":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnimal Attraction – Simply Buckhead<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/animal-attraction\/\" \/>\n<meta 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