In 2018, Sara and Rich Combs came up with a plan to expand their hospitality business when they remembered a place they found on a trip to Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona.
The couple already owns and operates The Joshua Tree House, a property that includes individual guest houses in California. But he also fell in love with the Arizona region during his 2014 trip.
Sara told CNBC Make It that the couple made a mental note that it would be a great place for new experiences that guests could choose from. This space is only about a six-hour drive from Joshua Tree and offers a different, but still natural setting.
“We found a lot of satisfaction and happiness through creating a space for people to go out in nature. We also focus on giving people a place to reset,” Sara said.
The Combs spent over $500,000 renovating the abandoned inn.
Sara and Rich Combs
Fast forward to May 2018, Rich was browsing properties online for what he called “meditation shapes,” and found a listing that looked like 38 acres of empty canyons. But they ignored the property because they were planning to buy a place across the street.
The deal fell through, so the couple looked up the empty canyon on Google Maps. The area appears to have one large building in the center and two casitas.
In fact, the property Combs came across had a 7500 square foot main building, and two other houses. In total, the three structures come in at over 10,000 square feet.
“Our agent advised us to see it right away but we were hesitant, so we asked him to take a video for us,” Sara said. “We fell in love with what we saw in the video and made an offer before seeing it live.”
The owner of the property accepted an offer of $615,000 and asked Combs to include a copy of the design and lifestyle signed “At Home in Joshua Tree” as part of the deal.
After the offer was accepted, Combs drove out to Tucson and discovered that what they’d seen only in the picture up to that point was actually an inn that had been abandoned for 10 years.
They closed on the property at the end of October 2018.
The property adjacent to Saguaro National Park sits on 38 acres.
Sara and Rich Combs
The property is in dire straits, the couple said, adding that the biggest challenge is finding someone to lend them money because they can’t get a traditional mortgage. Banks will not lend on existing properties that are dilapidated and unusable.
Once the couple found a bank willing to give them the loan they needed, they set to work with the goal of completing the renovations and opening the property that year.
Sugih said that after buying the abandoned inn, they knew that the previous owner, who bought it in 2006, had tried to renovate the property into a luxury housing complex, but lost funding during the 2008 recession. Most of it was demolished before the remains were destroyed.
“I like this place. There are many beautiful details that are not necessary for the structure, but it’s just really cool,” said Sara. “You can tell the original builders loved it.”
Some are beautiful, but the details are completely unnecessary beams throughout the inn – the original builder, Mark Larsen, used scraps from a disassembled bridge in New Mexico to create.
“As designers, we think the skeleton is incredible and it makes us excited to bring it back to life,” says Sara.
Sara and Rich Combs converted the inn’s main house into five suites.
Sara and Rich Combs
The couple admits they don’t have a budget for renovations and are relying on income from sponsored content, loans from friends and family, and maxing out their credit cards to open the lodge in less than 12 months.
“At the end of the project, we were in poor financial condition and very stressed,” Rich said.
The couple told CNBC Make It that they estimate they will spend more than $500,000 on the renovation.
“It was a risk, but we just had a lot of confidence that this was a place that people would like as much as we did, and luckily, it all worked out,” Sara said.
Sara and Rich converted the main building into five suites. One of the small houses serves as his own place when he is in Tucson, and the other is the house where the property manager lives.
When it comes to planning the lodge, the couple said they reached out to people in the Tucson community to create a space together with them, from furniture to art on the walls, including murals through the lines in public spaces.
“It’s a collaborative project and it’s more fun to feel that support through the process by getting to know the community and also being inspired by them,” said Sara.
The Joshua Tree: The Posada opened in September 2019. Rooms range from $210 to $427 a night. Guests also have the ability to book the entire 7-bedroom inn for $2200 a night.
Rooms at Joshua Tree House: Posada range from $210 to $427 a night.
Sara and Rich Combs
The renovated property includes a chef’s kitchen, rock canyon pool, hot spring-style hot tub, rooftop lounge, yoga room, dining patio, fireplace lounge, BYOB Bar, lounge with projector, and on-site walking trails.
The couple said the best part of giving the inn new life has been the support of people who have been following the renovation process on social media.
“It felt like a very vulnerable thing to put out there after all the work we put into it,” said Sara. “It means a lot to see the followers feel that they are part of the experience and then come to see them as our first guests.”
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