Charming Chalet at South Holston Lake and Cherokee Forest

• Virginia Group

  Virginia Group

  • Guest Chris
  • Date of stay 03/31/13
  • Review Submitted 04/15/13
  Great place! Beautiful setting and wonderful view from deck. Very clean house and had all of the amenities needed. Very nice master bedroom! Great location near public boat ramp. Driveway is a bit tricky and narrow if pulling a boat but doable. Owner was very accomadating and responsive with answers to any questions we had. I would recommend this house to others!

  Recommended for: Age 55+, sightseeing, pet owners, romantic getaway, adventure seekers.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Relaxing Lake trip

  Relaxing Lake trip

  • Guest Frank
  • Date of stay 08/08/12
  • Review Submitted 08/16/12
  The property was all that was advertised. We had 7 adults and 2 kids stay for 5 days. Never was water an issue. The house was clean and nice upon arrival with the A/C on and comfortable. Only a short ways to the boat ramp, just right for us. The kitchen is adequitly stocked with cooking stuff etc. With all the negative feedback that I read, I was a little hesatant. After talking to the owners, who answered all my questions I felt good about it. There sure isn't anything to complain about at that house. We thought it was terrific and will not hesitate to stay there in the future. With the large decks on the first and 2nd floors, you can see the lake through the trees. Thanks a lot for the opportunity to stay there.

  Recommended for: Age 55+, families with teenagers, sightseeing, families with young children, romantic getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/1

• great summer vacation spot

  great summer vacation spot

  • Guest sandy
  • Date of stay 07/04/12
  • Review Submitted 07/10/12
  My family and I (two sons-12 and 17, husband, and dog) stayed at south holston for 4th of july. wow, what a breath of fresh air-literally. The view from the deck-awesome, the hike to the water-inspiring, the fire pit-fun to sit around even if it was a bit hot for a fire while we were there. great location, we went to the creeper trail for biking and into abingdon just to shop around. we have friends here with a boat so we got picked up close by at laurel marina and spent the day on the most amazing lake I have ever been on. the house was clean, nothing fancy, but had everything we needed-comfortable, well stocked.the view in the morning from the master bedroom was truly a great way to wake up. oh, and parks mill bbq on the way to abingdon-awesome!! too good, don't bring home extras or you will never stop eating it. susan was super helpful, nice to deal with. would definitely recommend to others and will come back again!!

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, families with young children, pet owners, romantic getaway, adventure seekers.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/2

• NICE HOME & AREA BUT DIRTY, SMELLY AND NOT MAINTAINED. THE PICTURES ARE VERY DECEIVING.

  NICE HOME & AREA BUT DIRTY, SMELLY AND NOT MAINTAINED. THE PICTURES ARE VERY DECEIVING.

  • Guest mommamiaria
  • Date of stay 06/14/12
  • Review Submitted 07/09/12
  The owner of this unit is very nice and she was made aware of the condition of this home by email when we returned home. I have rented many times through VRBO and this is my first negative review because I truly felt other potential renters should be told. I wish I had known just how poorly maintained this home was. This chalet was was probably the most expensive home I have ever rented through VRBO and I cannot believe I was charged an additional cleaning fee since this home was just filthy and clearly not cleaned before our arrival. I am not very picky but even I was taken aback by the lack of cleanliness. The kitchen was particularly dirty. The toaster oven was so bad I took it apart and scrubbed it with steel wool & 409 before we could even use it. As soon as I sprayed it with 409 you could see the dirt/grease dripping off of it. Coffee cups had coffee stains in them and I don't mean the permanent kind. I took a sponge and the stains came right off which meant they were not cleaned. The dishes & cups and utensils on the counter had a film of dust on them. I had to clean everything before we used it which was extra work for me & I was supposed to be on vacation. I spilled something on the floor and when I went to wipe it up I looked at the paper towel and it was black. There were 2 smoke detectors that were removed & non functioning and had been taken apart and just left on the window sills in the dining room and kitchen. The upstairs had a very strong distinct odor that smelled musty. There was a lot of dead bugs on the floors and cob webs everywhere. I suffered terribly with allergies and sneezing during our stay and it took me a few weeks to start to feel better. The lack of cleanliness really was definitely not a healthy situation for me and my family. Even our daughter who does not have allergies suffered during our stay. All of the bulbs were out on the deck so there were no lights out back at all and the living room light switch was broken so there were no lights in the living room either. This could be a beautiful chalet for anyone to stay if it were clean and maintained since it is large and in a lovely area. It truly has a lot of potential. However, I find it unsettling that it was rented in the dirty and unhealthy condition it was in.

  Owner response: Thank you for calling our attention to this situation. As absentee owners we rely on our property manager and our renters to help make sure our home stays looking good. Although upon inspecting the house we did not believe the issues were quite as bad as you described we did believe it could have been better. We have hired a new cleaning service to make sure our visitors have the best experience possible. We are sorry that you did not have a good experience. I always encourage renters to call right away if they have any issues so we can fix them at the time. It is difficult to do anything about lightbulbs and smoke detectors after the fact but everything has been replaced and is in good working order. for future renters, we have a binder on premise with local numbers to call if you need anything. We keep extra batteries and light bulbs etc on premise. If ever something is not in order do not hesitate to call. If the house is not cleanly or something is not in working order we will send someone right away. update to this response: while I was waiting to have my response posted to the site I thought I would reach out directly to this renter to say "hey, we do our best, this type of review is really detrimental and I don't think it is accurate, maybe you are over reacting." The implication was that for a price it could come down. wow-don't know how to respond to that but considering there is really no way to keep anyone from writing anything they want I have decided to live with the good, the bad and the ugly!!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/2

• Extremely disappointing experience.

  Extremely disappointing experience.

  • Guest Julie
  • Date of stay 04/27/11
  • Review Submitted 04/26/12
  My husband and I rented this home for a week, but had to leave after the second night because there was a mouse running around between the bedrooms (it was there both nights) and we were unable to catch it. It jumped on me in my bed while I was trying to sleep, my children were scared, and my husband was unable to sleep at all because he was up all night trying to catch the mouse. I phoned the owner, and she was very understanding, and offered to refund my money. I thanked her, and said I would be fine with paying for the two nights we were there. After waiting 6 weeks I still had not received any money back from her. We had touched base a few times through phone or e-mail, and I had given her my address twice, but never received anything. In her e-mail to me dated 6/15/11 she stated, “The check was obviously mailed to the wrong address, possibly the wrong state so either I or the bank made a mistake with the address.” She said she would re-send the check, so I waited a few more weeks. Still nothing. At this point I felt enough time had been given and that I was being taken advantage of, and left a public review indicating the problem in the hopes that the owner would correct the situation, and stating I would be happy to change my review once things got sorted out. Unfortunately, instead of handling the situation in a professional manner, she became rude and then publicly lied, claiming she sent me a check for $400 which she then claimed I cashed. I never received anything from her, and certainly never cashed a check. She also made rude comments about my family, and the fact that we had problems with the mouse, and publicly stated that there had not been any mice in the house previously. Her public statement is at odds with what she said in an e-mail to me dated 5/9/11: “One of the perils of being in the woods is bugs and mice and snakes and even a bear every now and then. We do try to keep the house free of them but occasionally they do sneak in. (Not the bear or the snake thank goodness!)” I have put off writing this updated review because I have been so grieved by this situation that I did not want to think about it. Honesty and integrity are very important to me. It has been very upsetting to find neither of these attributes present in my dealings with the owner of this home. I want to caution anyone interested in renting to pay close attention to the rental contract, which is one-sided and written to protect and benefit the owner

  Owner response: I hesitated to respond to this email as I thought VRBO would remove it based on the absolutely baseless and nonsensical allegations contained within. They are not going to however as their policy is to allow a forum for all to speak. They feel it is best if i address the issue myself in writing so that is what I will do. Not only did I allow this owner to leave because the mouse obviously had her in a panic, but I refunded her the portion of the week she did not stay. I thought that was a very nice thing to do considering the fact that a field mouse in a cabin in the woods is not normally grounds for breaking a contract. After cashing my check she called to say I never sent it. I told her the check had been cashed. I sent an inquiry to my bank and sent her the results of that inquiry. She did not call back after that so I assumed the matter was resolved. The check was mailed directly to her by my bank, to the address she gave, and was cashed with her signature on the back. What has caused her to resurface now, a year later is something I can not even guess at but I can not now after a year, try to figure out who and where that check was cashed if not by her. I have rented my cabin out for years with no issues until now. It is disheartening to have to publicly call people out for writing things for the wrong reasons. I realize however that if I don't potential other guests will have the wrong idea. I just got another review in the past week from another person for the wrong reason and it is just a horrible feeling when you do everything you can to work with people.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/5

• Nice, rustic lake house on a lovely, wooded lot.

  Nice, rustic lake house on a lovely, wooded lot.

  • Guest richmartharaylisarachelle
  • Date of stay 09/17/10
  • Review Submitted 09/20/10
  Although the house was clean and well maintained, there were a few things that would have made our stay a little more comfortable. The house is big enough for 8 adults. We had 5 in our group, which the owner was aware of. We were only given 4 towels and 4 wash cloths for a 2 night stay. Had I known, we could have brought our own, but were told that it was included. In the kitchen, there very few utensils and cookware, except for the very basic items. Nobody wants to travel with casserole dish, muffin pan, etc.A full size coffee maker is a must when you have a house that sleeps 8 people.We're big coffee drinkers, and we spent our morning brewing pot after pot because it was so small. But I guess the most troubling inconvenience was the water situation. I believe the house has well water. After 2 showers, we had to wait quite some time before anyone else could shower, or even flush the toilet. One person in our group couldn't wash her hair because of this problem. Outdoor furniture was of poor quality, with no padding. But the deck was huge! A hot tub would have been a nice addition on a deck that large. Drapes in the master would have been nice, since the room faces east, and the sun was beaming in by 7:30 or 8:00 am. No sleeping in on this vacation! But all in all, we enjoyed our stay. If certain upgrades were made to the property, we would definitely return for another stay.

  Recommended for: Girls getaway, sightseeing, families with young children, romantic getaway, adventure seekers.

  Owner response: Thank you for your comments. Some were valid and we have addressed them. The most important one being the water-we are on a well and every now and then a power surge or other interuption will cause the switch on the well to flip. It just needs to be reset, directions on how to do so are in the info binder at the house. I will make those more prominent for future guests. A phone call to us could have helped you but we are sorry for the inconvenience. As far as the muffin pan and utensils etc... there are actually two pans in the draw under the stove, utensils for 12 as well as glasses, wine glasses, coffee mugs etc for the same number. Not sure how much is expected but has not been a problem before. A larger coffee maker has been added. Apparently the one that was originally there was broken by a renter and replaced with a smaller one-we did not notice until you mentioned it so thanks. There is also a full supply of towels in the linen closet. We put out one for each guest but have a healthy supply for replenishing. Again, reading the info binder or a call to us would solve most problems but I will make note of that more prominent as well. Aaa yes, a hot tub-that would be nice, but we don't have one. :-(

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 6/7

• • Guest Mike Kabasinski
  • Date of stay 08/25/08
  • Review Submitted 08/25/08
  Simply stunning, what a wonderful place, we couldn't have asked for a nicer house to stay at during our recent trip. Looking forward to returning there!!!!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 3/3

• • Guest Dennis Brickner
  • Date of stay 03/25/08
  • Review Submitted 03/25/08
  There were 3 couples.All 6 of us really enjoyed the location and how private it was.You couldn,t ask for a better place.To have a family vaction,or getaway with friends.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• • Guest Anne N
  • Date of stay 01/05/08
  • Review Submitted 01/05/08
  The most wonderful vacation retreat ever! Our visit was April 2007 and it was the most relaxing, enjoyable experience for our entire family. We are still talking about it! The view was fantastic - the area was peaceful - we will return!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Guest comment entered by owner

  • Guest P. and J. Jenkins
  • Date of stay 06/18/07
  • Review Submitted 06/18/07
  The best vacation we have had in years. We loved it. It had so many touches of home. We will definetly be back.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

May 01-Oct 31 ....... $250/night-$850/week
Nov 01-Apr 31 ....... $200/night .. $ 750/week.
Holidays ............ $250/night .. $1100/week (Christmas, New Years).
Bristol Race Weeks .. March race-$350 per night, three night minimum,
august race- $500 per night, three night minimum or $2250 for the week.
all renters must pay a $75 cleaning fee

Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.