Innkeepers Lee and Jeanne Yudin spent 14 months and visited 9 states reviewing hundreds of Bed and Breakfasts for sale and ultimately chose a magnificent 11,000 square foot private home to become the Chateau On The Mountain.

The Chateau itself sits on top of a knoll at almost 3000 feet elevation with breathtaking westerly views to the peaks of Mt Pisgah almost 40 miles away. Down below is Hoopers Creek valley and beyond, Fletcher and Mills Gap Valley. The area was settled in the early 1800's and played an interesting role during the Civil War. Some of the major roads and mountain passes were used almost 200 years ago and when peace and quiet surrounds the Chateau's 10 acres you can almost hear the clip clop of horses as they take farmers along the back roads to Hendersonville or Asheville. Fletcher was a stopping off spot between the 2 larger cities in the early days and Chateau On The Mountain is proud to continue Fletcher's role as a welcome retreat.

Jeanne's career began in Nursing where she spent most of her 10 years in a number of different psychiatric facilities for the chronically and acutely mentally ill. Lee, a Ph.D. clinical psychologist likes to tell the story how he met Jeanne in group therapy. Actually Lee was a preceptor, helping train social workers and nurses in group therapy techniques and Jeanne rotated through. She is quick to add that he had to come and seek her out since she had the keys and had to let him off the ward.

In later years, Jeanne returned to school, earning a degree in Metallurgical Engineering (with a 4.0 GPA) and subsequently, a Master's degree in Quality Assurance. She rose in the ranks to become a Vice-President for Quality and Metallurgy. Lee and Jeanne moved twice for her and twice for him as he worked in Community Mental Health eventually becoming the CEO of a large community program.

With that as a background, the pair welcomes guests as if they were returning friends and many of them do become just that, friends. Lee is the chef and delights in trying out new recipes for breakfast while Jeanne takes the leadership with prospective brides and grooms when they come for wedding planning assistance. The pair lives on the premises with their 5 adopted cats, Puss Puss, Bandit, Hooper, Hawk and the latest addition, a little kitten called Yodi, who Jeanne fed with a bottle from 3 days old. They are very friendly and enjoy sitting on the front patio with guests as the sun gently disappears behind the mountains and fills the sky with reds and oranges as if from a giant pallet in the sky.