There is no sauna, no heated pool, no chauffeur or sommelier. In fact, no alcohol is allowed on the premises, and guests share a bathroom with their next-door neighbor.
But for $250 a night in a city where Super Bowl rentals are topping out at $250,000 a week for a mansion in Scottsdale, the sisters at Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery figure they have an offer that cannot be beat.
In debt from the recent purchase of a nearby parcel, the Benedictine nuns are hoping to make a dent in their mortgage by converting their 10-bedroom spiritual retreat into a crash pad for Super Bowl fans this weekend.
“A Super Bowl doesn’t happen in a city very often,” said Sister Linda Campbell, the prioress of the monastery where rooms usually go for $105 a night. “Then we heard of all the folks that were renting out homes and we thought, wow, that would be something that would be beneficial to the monastery and help us to help others.”
The Rule of St. Benedict specifies that hospitality is one of the chief elements of a monastery, so that to this day, Benedictine monasteries have a quest house as an integral ministry of their community. However, when they charge a set rate per night, they aren’t running a guest house, but a hotel. Now, that might be understandable under the circumstances of a major event like the super bowl, but not on a day to day basis.
The irony is that donations tend to be higher than set fees, according to one quest master I know. And that’s not too surprising.
I suppose you’re right Words, but I don’t see how one can run a guest house in the old way – free, that is – in this world any more. Besides, it sounds like a pleasant place to a degree, and I would gladly pay if I had the money. Larry