Secluded 'Mountain Home' 12 Mi to Tsali Area

Reviews

• Great get away

  4/5

  Had an enjoyable time.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Property needs some attention

  3/5

  Let’s start with what we liked about the property. It was simple. We could let the kids be loose and not have to worry about them breaking something or wedding something up. The views were amazing. Evolve was very helpful prior to our arrival. A good amount of antenna channels come in on the tv. Now let’s get to the bot so good things. The cleanliness of the property. There were rat dropping in the kitchen drawers. Dirty dishes in the cabinets. What appears to be evidence of an exploded coke in the ice maker. A package of cigars on the nightstand of one of the bedrooms. Mold on the ceiling of the dining room. Now things that did not work. The dryer door didn’t stay closed, there had been duck tape placed to hold the door. Don’t worry we fixed that. There is no heat down in the basement. There were space heaters located in the bedrooms down there several of which did not work. There is a gas heater located down there we could not get it to light, could have been an operator error. The downstairs bathroom sink would not drain, we cleaned it out and found a bottle cap, a rock, and a wad of hair the size of a mouse which I suppose goes back to cleanliness, how do you clean a sink and not notice it won’t drain. You couldn’t wash your hands without it filling up. Others have complained about the deck, it is very questionable on the side of the house. We didn’t use that area, we only used right at the door. The central unit thermostat batteries were dead, we replaced them. A few other things to note for future visitors. The upstairs bathroom can not be accessed by a wheelchair. The doorway was not wide enough. The house sleeps 10, there were not 10 towels and wash cloths. We had 7 people and had to go buy towels and wash cloths for everyone to be able to have a shower everyday. The house is much smaller than it seems in the photos. Which wasn’t a problem for us just something others may want to know. The kitchen sink leaks, there was a bowl under it to catch water. The washing machine does not have cold water, so to rise you have to restart the cycle . We did not call the management company because we feel like they know, and we were already there it was a holiday so we just let it go. The purpose of this review is to inform them of what needs to be done and to warn future visitors of potential issues if these things go unfixed. Overall we had a great time it was just frustrating to stay in a home with so many issues. Will not stay here again.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

  Manager's Response:

  Hi Holly, we want all of our guests to rest easy when they stay with us, and we're sorry that you experienced some issues during your trip. We followed up with the homeowner after reading your feedback, and they wanted to share the following:
  - We sincerely apologize for the issues you had at the property. We will pass along your feedback to the cleaners so they can look into the items you mention and address them for future guests.
  - We will also go out and address the maintenance concerns you spoke of.
  - Although the master bedroom does not have a heating duct, there are two heating/AC vents downstairs and supplemental space heaters in the bedrooms. Those were functional, but we will check them again and replace them if needed.
  - We are surprised by your comment regarding the towels. We always leave enough towels for the number of guests on the reservation.
  Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!

• Beautiful cabin

  5/5

  There was 5 of us plus 3 dogs and there was still more than enough room the cabin fits 11 people easily and comfortably. Yes the place is a bit difficult to get to but once you get to the cabin it's worth it's Exactly like it describes. The only problem we had was on the outside left side of the house (driveway side) it was starting to bow but other than that my family and I will b back. Thank you for a great stay. My favorite part was the sunrise on the mountains BEAUTIFUL.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Rural Cabin was fantastic, but not perfection.

  4/5

  My family thoroughly enjoyed our stay here last week and would definitely stay here again. If you're looking for a 5-Star Ritz-Carlton experience, this isn't it. It's a cabin in the middle of nowhere and it's age means it's a little rough around the edges (broken coffee table, aging deck, a couple soft spots in the sun room floor) - a bit like visiting your grandmothers house. But we don't see that as a negative at all. It was very cozy and just perfect for us. And we can also see where the owners are making improvements with many things being recently replaced, so that's good. The deck is aged, as other reviews have said, but perfectly safe. We loved it out there while cooking dinner on the grill or just enjoying the incredible mountain view. We had no issues with water, as some other reviews have said. We were all showering, cooking, and running the dishwasher daily, and never had an issue with running out of water. Water was nice and hot when needed too. There was no issue with bugs either. I figured it would be buggy to be so out in the middle of nowhere. But I didn't see any bugs, really, except for some millipedes which are completely harmless, so that's not a big deal. The only real issue we had (which would be a benefit for some) is that our phones didn't work at all. We had absolutely ZERO reception and couldn't even send a text message. This was only really an issue when we first arrived because we couldn't open our emails to get the check-in procedures to get inside the home. So be warned about that and have all your check in procedures opened and saved before you go anywhere close to the area. Once you're in the cabin, however, you have access to the cabins Wi-Fi which is surprisingly fast to be out in such a rural area. We had no problem streaming movies on the TV and using all of our phones while on the cabins Wi-Fi. While the cabin is beautiful, it is VERY rural - way more out in the sticks than we realized. It required a 45-60 minute drive to get to pretty much anywhere, with Pigeon Forge being a full 2 hour drive away. And anywhere you go also involves wild, windy, twisty mountain roads so have dramanine on hand if you're not used to such roads. Not a bad thing just more rural than realized. The driveway in front of the cabin is flat, but the loose gravel road up to the cabin is VERY steep. Our SUV never had a problem getting up there though. Just took some doing. Over all, it was a great experience and we're very glad we went.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Fishing trip

  3/5

  We stayed for 4 nights. Cabin needs some TLC and some updating. We had some issues with hot water and the gas grill. We informed the owner and both problems fixed within the hour. Overall our stay was good for a bunch of guys going fishing.