Loveland, Colorado, is brimming with unique stays, but none feel quite like The Oasis on Eisenhower. It’s not just a place to sleep, it’s a “MuseInn“ (a museum and inn all in one). Every corner and themed room is curated with whimsy, history and creativity. We sat down with founders Lindsay Rairdon and Jason Novak to learn about their journey, inspirations and what makes The Oasis so special. Here’s their story.
When did you create The Oasis?
We bought the property in 2018, when it was a fully occupied boarding house with six individually-rented bedrooms upstairs and a two-bedroom apartment on the ground floor. Less than a month after buying the property, we started renting out the ground-floor apartment on sites like Airbnb, but it was just a boring, average listing hobbled together with spare furniture and lots of décor left by the previous owners.
We imagined the concept for The Oasis on Eisenhower after our first upstairs tenant moved out, and we turned his room into our first themed room. In total, we have curated five themed rooms, multiple art installations inside and out and plenty of MuseInn exhibits.
And we’re not done yet! We moved into the two-bedroom apartment ourselves last year, so now The Oasis is our home and life’s work all in one. The property is a living, breathing work of art that continues to evolve, change and grow as we do.
What inspired you to start The Oasis on Eisenhower, and how did it become the MuseInn it is today?
After our first tenant moved out, we knew that we’d have to offer potential guests a compelling reason for staying at our place, with its small rooms (it was originally built in 1904 as an orphanage), shared bathrooms and lots of permanent residents.
We decided that themed rooms, combined with amazing hospitality, fantastic amenities (like our 19-foot swim spa) and unique common spaces would make our place a true oasis for travelers.
Jason has always been a Craigslist savant, scoring freebies like a huge wooden train, large art pieces and a cultivator that originally belonged to William Osborn, the first judge of Larimer County.
Combined with both of our tendencies to revere relics of the past and revel in nostalgia, as well as the desire to give new life to items other people consider trash, our collection has grown and developed quickly over the past several years.
Why did you choose Loveland as the home for The Oasis, and how does it align with the city's artsy, creative vibe?
The location chose us. Lindsay saw the real estate ad for the property in the fall of 2017 and fell in love with the place. She couldn’t stop thinking about it, even though buying it seemed like an impossible dream. When it was still on the market in early 2018, we put in a far-fetched offer to the sellers. To everyone’s surprise, they accepted!
We were given the great gift of being the next stewards of this place, which has a special magic that goes beyond the artistic changes we’ve made to it. Loveland’s reputation as a haven for artists and creatives helped give us the confidence to push the boundaries of weirdness and whimsy we thought guests would enjoy.
What are guests' typical reactions to the spaces?
Here are some recent reviews we’ve received:
- “FANTASTIC, FUN, FABULOUS place!! There are little treasures everywhere you look!!”
- “The creativity of the room and house was outstanding!”
- “Very quirky, unique place!”
- “The way to describe this place, it’s whimsical, funky and fun!”
- “I loved this hidden little gem SO much! I’m always looking for an experience and character, and this space far exceeded my expectations. The attention to detail and love put into this place is unparalleled. I’m sure I could stay there a month and not find all the little Easter eggs.”
How did you come up with the ideas for each themed room, and what was the process like for creating them?
Once each tenant moved out, we spent time inside the room, letting its innate qualities help guide us to the appropriate theme. For instance, the room that became the Enchanted Forest has windows on three sides and was once an enclosed porch (probably in the 1920s). It felt like a space that was meant to celebrate the outdoors and nature in some way. Was it meant to be a tropical jungle? A tree house? We let our minds create a million-dollar idea: if we had unlimited money and time, what could we turn this room into?
Between the two of us, we bounce ideas back and forth and come up with possibilities neither one of us would have dreamed of individually. From there, we slowly bring the concept to life based on the reality of our limited resources, remaining flexible and changing our minds about a lot of details along the way. We call this giving a space “the treatment.”
The entire process from tenant move-out to completed theme room took three to four months per room, with us using materials on hand, taking lots of trips to thrift stores and relying primarily on our own labor and ingenuity to get it all done.
Do you have a personal favorite room, and if so, why is it your favorite?
The rooms are like our children, each one a special, magical baby with its own quirks and beautiful qualities, so choosing a favorite seems unfair to the others.
That being said, Jason is particularly fond of the Colorado King room, in part because of all the time and care he invested in its completion. He artificially aged each of the wooden wall and ceiling boards and then hammered each of them up by hand so that the nails would line up just the way he wanted. He purposefully placed each board to emphasize its natural beauty. We built in a rock-wall fireplace using landscaping rocks we found in the yard and a fireplace he salvaged from a Fort Collins home years earlier.
Lindsay is particularly fond of the Enchanted Forest; it was her “Covid room.” She started painting its murals in March of 2020 and finished in July, spending countless hours in the room with just the fairies, an ogre and a Pegasus unicorn to keep her company.
What's the most surprising or creative detail guests tend to notice in the rooms?
Guests really seem to appreciate that we’ve used every inch possible in our creative designs, including the ceilings. In every room, guests can enjoy art while lying in bed, whether it’s the colorful fabric tapestry in the Jewel, nature paintings in the Colorado King, a giant, three-dimensional UFO in the Sci-Fi Zone or glittery butterflies perched on tree branches in the Enchanted Forest.
Can you tell us about how you collaborate with other artists?
We rescue art from various sources to display onsite, both in original and modified formats and we have artwork by Lindsay’s dad (R. Gary Raham) on display in our lobby. Years ago, Jason picked up a giant head made from railroad ties and other metal pieces. It was in someone’s yard when they bought their house here in Loveland, and they didn’t want it. We called him, “Abandoned Andy,“ and he spent several years moving about our yard until Jason decided that he deserved transportation and built him a locomotive. Now he’s “Andy Jones,“ and soon he’ll have the job of pulling Judge Osborn’s cultivator around the yard.
Do you find that The Oasis attracts certain kinds of guests, and if so, what kinds are most common?
We welcome everyone at The Oasis and have found that people in all walks of life enjoy our space. Our most satisfied guests are those with a willingness to be inspired, whether by nature, creativity or our shared humanity. We share the same affinity as Shel Silverstein:
If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er. a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…
If you’re a pretender, come sit by the fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!
What are some of your favorite things for guests to do in Loveland?
Nearby hikes, such as Devil’s Backbone and Round Mountain; a visit to the Benson Sculpture Garden; lunch at Daddy O’s or El Pueblito and dinner at the Black Steer.
Have you had any memorable guest stories you'd like to share?
People are often brought here at just the right time, to have just the right kind of experience; we call that the “kismet” of this place. We have been honored to meet many guests who feel like their lives have been positively changed by staying here.
A few years ago, we had a small family staying here (parents and their teenaged daughter). Jason was giving them a tour of the property and the guest staying in the 1950s Suite (which became the Sci-Fi Zone) popped out and offered to show the family the room she was staying in.
She apologized for her slow, awkward walking and blamed it on her rare, chronic degenerative medical condition. Stunned, the parents said that their daughter had just been diagnosed with that same condition. The woman said, “You can change your whole life if you get ahead of this thing. Here’s what you need to tell your doctor…”
It was clear that the universe brought those particular people together to help change the course of the daughter’s life.
Is there anything else you'd love readers to know about The Oasis, your story or tourism in Loveland?
One thing we’ve learned from our few years of owning this place is that people travel through Loveland for all kinds of reasons: there are those who plan to visit Rocky Mountain National Park, and many who are simply passing through on a longer cross-country journey.
But a significant number come here to visit family and friends, whether it’s for special occasions like weddings and the birth of grandbabies or simply to reconnect. Loveland is a perfect place for that connection. You can sit in the heart of town, minutes from great restaurants and trendy activities like axe-throwing and escape rooms and then walk a few hundred feet and be surrounded by nature’s beauty. There’s no place we’d rather be.
Stay at The Oasis and discover Loveland's most whimsical hideaway
We want to thank Lindsay and Jason for giving us a peek behind the curtain of the MuseInn magic at The Oasis on Eisenhower. From hand-built fireplaces to ceilings that double as art installations, their passion for creativity and connection shines in every detail. Whether you’re a dreamer, an adventurer or just passing through, a stay at The Oasis offers more than a bed. It offers a story.
Explore room themes, art installations and more at The Oasis on Eisenhower and find more inspiration for your stay by checking out our itineraries for all kinds of travelers.