Looking for the best place to stay in Whitefish, MT, to be close to everything? Look no further than Good Medicine Lodge. Bonsai Brewery is right next door, Stumptown Ice Den is located only a block away, and Whitefish Mountain Resort is about 15 minutes drive (or by the S.N.O.W. bus shuttle – free with stops at our B&B daily). Downtown Whitefish and Whitefish Lake City Beach access is a quick fifteen minute walk or five minutes by bike. Glacier National Park is only twenty four minutes to the west entrance. And the list goes on and on……..
Still not convinced? Check out these fun facts:
LODGE HISTORY
Good Medicine Lodge was built in 1978 by Lindal Cedar Homes, a well known lodge-style home manufacturing company. The original structure of the property was the first ever built by Lindal in the state of Montana. It is constructed of square cedar logs, high pitched ceilings and features large panoramic windows on the front facade. Over the years, the property has gone through several transformations making it into the nine bedroom Bed and Breakfast that it is today. The final result is a perfect balance of elegance and warmth on the interior and exquisitely crafted exterior. Tastefully influenced by Native American culture, the roomy interiors are punctuated by crackling fireplaces, rustic art and solid wood furnishings.
OWNERS
Derek grew up in the desert region of Los Angeles, California in a family of 8 kids. He spent his younger years heavily involved in football, baseball, soccer, skateboarding, surfing, racquetball, and any other sport he could get his hand on. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology, and then went on to get his Master’s degree in Business Administration in 2000. Derek had initially worked in the high tech industry as well as the aerospace industry, but he realized early on that he wanted to establish and run his own business. Over the last 22 years, Derek has founded numerous real estate and construction companies from which he has gained an extensive amount of experience in the hospitality industry. Derek has been happily married to his high school sweetheart for over 25 years and now has two wonderful kids named Sarah and Eliana. He continues to enjoy sports including triathlons, hiking, biking, running, and swimming. He loves watching college football and enjoys traveling in his free time with his wife and kids.
Zohar moved here to America when she was 6 years old from Israel when her father was brought here for his technical expertise in the solar industry. She still is able to speak fluent Hebrew despite not having lived there for almost 40 years. Zohar knew early as a child that her love in life was taking care of people. She volunteered as a medical candy striper helping hospital nurses when she was 12 years old, and continued that career path by obtaining her master’s degree in Nursing from UCLA, and is now a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner working at a local hospital with newborns. She enjoys her work, but her biggest priority in life is being a mom to her two kids. She makes it a priority in her life to always spend her precious time with her family and friends. Zohar enjoys the beach, the mountains, dancing, singing, and most of all giving to others.
ECO-FRIENDLY PRACTICES
Like you, we love nature and have always believed in doing the right thing and to be a part of a conscience planet. As a Bed & Breakfast and part of the tourism industry, it is more important than ever for us to instill careful practices to our everyday processes. Here is a just a little snapshot of our daily methods to help you feel better about your choice in staying with us:
- We compost approximately 1000 lbs. of food waste per year with locally owned Dirt Rich Compost.
- Our backyard and indoor edible gardens ensure that we are enriching not just our breakfast plates, but helps nature thrive in immeasurable ways.
- We have very little food waste. We make only what is needed and leftovers are often provided to feed our family and staff.
- We use compostable to go containers whenever possible.
- Our in-house roasted third-wave specialty Good Medicine Coffee is organic by way of forced small farming practices and provided at a fair-trade.
- The guest room linens are made of 100% organic cotton by Coyuchi.
- We do not use bleach, perfumes or harsh chemicals when laundering the linens. Only lavender oil, vinegar and unscented formulas.
- All the trash is sorted to be recycled: #1 and #2 plastics, aluminum, paper, cardboard and anything that we are able to recycle – we do!
- We keep packaging to a minimum whenever possible by utilizing reusable containers vs. plastic one time use products.
- Our guest bathroom shampoo, conditioner, lotion and hand soap is all produced locally (Sage and Cedar and Amalgamated SOPE) and refilled reusing large format containers.
To read more about the amenities we offer, visit our Amenities page.
ACCOLADES
Good Medicine Lodge was named by USA Today as the 3rd Best Ski Lodge in the country in 2016. It was selected as one of Travel America Magazine’s “10 Most Romantic Inns”. It was also chosen by USA Today as one of “10 Great Places” to settle into for viewing fall colors. BedandBreakfast.com selected GML for a “Best of the West” award and it was named in National Geographic Traveler’s first annual “Stay List” as having “A sense of place with location-inspired architecture, ambiance, amenities, eco-stewardship and an ethic of giving back to the community.”
