Repeat retreat...

Guest: Jeff (new Smyrna Beach, Florida)
Date of Stay: 11/22/11 Review Submitted: 11/28/11

We just got back home to our Florida home yesterday, after a wonderful Thanksgiving week at Pam & Chris' place. This is our second stay, the last one being in late October, 6 years ago. How anyone can find anything negative to say about this place is beyond me and makes one wonder about other issues....My wife, daughter (now 19) and I had such an easy and relaxing time that I look forward to a next opportunity. For a 19 year-old to want to spend a week with her family speaks volumes about this place! The ride up the mountain, to me, is amazing. Sure, you have to be careful, but you absolutely know that you are about to be rewarded as you climb higher up the mountain....and then...there it is! Wow! I have a very stressful job and the stress just drains out of you almost as soon as you arrive. Time is the only negative...as the days seem to go by too quickly. All I can say is thank you, Pam and Chris for sharing your haven with us. We always try to leave things as nice and clean as we find them. What a great place to give Thanks!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, age 55+, girls getaway, sightseeing.

Wonderful Rental!

Guest: Mary (Barrie, Ontario, Canada)
Date of Stay: 07/24/11 Review Submitted: 08/25/11

What a beautiful home! Pictures and listing do not do it justice! Windows galore with beautiful views. Nicely decorated with comfortable furnishings and a fabulous art and book collection. VERY clean and well equipped. The view of the mountains from the deck and dining room is wonderful. What sunsets! It was nice to be up in the canopy. The birds, especially hummingbirds, kept us entertained for hours. The road and driveway was easily traversed by both a small SUV and a sports car. Great t.v. room with a plethora of stations, including movies and weather. Stereo and good wifi. Close to rafting, hiking and swimming. Short drive to groceries, great BBQ joints, concerts waterfalls, shopping and antiques. Owners are VERY accommodating and a pleasure to deal with. NO complaints! Highly recommended! You won’t want to leave!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, adventure seekers, girls getaway, sightseeing, people with disabilities.

Great cabin at high elevation

Guest: peg (Decatur, GA)
Date of Stay: 04/01/11 Review Submitted: 08/03/11

My husband and I rented the cabin in early April for his birthday getaway. It is a lovely place. I am a pretty good cook and am often disappointed with the kitchen supplies and cookware in rental houses that we stay in... Everything here was in great shape, sharp knives, nice stainless cookware and even an espresso machine. There were some of the owners supplies in the pantry and a couple of things in the fridge which were offered for our use, even so... there was plenty of space for all of our supplies (and I bring a lot of food). I personally like having a backup pantry for a spice that I may have forgotten. I love the open floor plan! The house is even nicer in person than the photos. The living area is very tastefully decorated and there is a nice cozy den for watching TV. The winter offers a fantastic view of the mountains and lake below that is less open after the trees leaf out but still offers a beautiful mountain view. We have stayed in winter and spring and loved it each time. I have forwarded this cabin information to some close friends who are interested in doing some gem mining, invited my sister to stay with us (she loved it and wants to plan a girls weekend here) and consider it one of our favorite mountain getaways. Next time we stay we want to rent a pontoon on the lake for a day and will invite some friends to join us. It makes me sad to read the disparaging review from a previous renter... I cannot imagine what he expected? Not having power would dampen any ones experience, but the homeowners have no control over the weather... Just buy some batteries, ice and a flashlight, sit back and enjoy the peace and quite! The owners have always been very accessible and willing to go the extra mile to make sure that our stay was as perfect as can be. Pam and I have emailed back and forth enough that we are practically friends... We have stayed in lots of rental houses and this one is a favorite. Did I mention the fantastic scenery on the drive up the mountain? Really beautiful!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, adventure seekers, age 55+, girls getaway, sightseeing.

Great Rental

Guest: Curt (Jacksonville Florida)
Date of Stay: 07/16/11 Review Submitted: 08/01/11

My wife and I have stayed twice at Pam and Chris's home and look foreward to another stay as soon as we are able. Their home comes as advertised...Quite and secluded, well appointed and comfortable. If you want a party pad this is not the rental for you. If you want solitude with scenic views of the mountains and limited but still nice lake views this is the rental for you. The drive up is "fun" for someone from Florida but is no big deal. ( Note we hava a Toyota Sienna and also a small Lincoln both of which made the drive up in low gear with no problem.) Though house is indeed secluded, Andrews is no more than 30 minutes drive and we went rafting on the Nantahala after a drive of 35 or so minutes. We dined a Relias restaurant at NOC and had an enjoyable meal. The house is very clean and I highly recommend this property to anyone wanting quality time with their wife or husband as well as peaceful days and nights amidst the beautiful nature of the mountains of North Carolina. We walked all the way down, and back up(!), the mountain everyday we were there..a great workout !

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, age 55+, girls getaway, sightseeing.

Great Rental

Guest: Curt (Jacksonville Florida)
Date of Stay: 07/16/11 Review Submitted: 07/29/11

My wife and I have stayed twice at Pam and Chris's home and look foreward to another stay as soon as we are able. Their home comes as advertised...Quite and secluded, well appointed and comfortable. If you want a party pad this is not the rental for you. If you want solitude with scenic views of the mountains and limited but still nice lake views this is the rental for you. The drive up is "fun" for someone from Florida but is no big deal. ( Note we hava a Toyota Sienna and also a small Lincoln both of which made the drive up in low gear with no problem.) Though house is indeed secluded, Andrews is no more than 30 minutes drive and we went rafting on the Nantahala after a drive of 35 or so minutes. We dined a Relias restaurant at NOC and had an enjoyable meal. The house is very clean and I highly recommend this property to anyone wanting quality time with their wife or husband as well as peaceful days and nights amidst the beautiful nature of the mountains of North Carolina. We walked all the way down, and back up(!), the mountain everyday we were there..a great workout !

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, age 55+, girls getaway, sightseeing.

Great Mountain House

Guest: Dave (Decatur, GA)
Date of Stay: 05/06/11 Review Submitted: 07/21/11

My wife and I have stayed twice this year and love this place. Way up high and nice and cool. Windows everywhere. Even the kitchen has fantastic views and lots of windows to let in the moutain air. The house is light and open and the kitchen is nicely equiped. You really know you've arrived at a mountain destination after driving the steep, but well maintained, neighborhood roads. The elevation of this house is hard to beat. The owners are easy to work with and everything is at least as nice as described. We've stayed in lots of different cabins over the years, but this is one we'll keep coming back to.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, age 55+, sightseeing.

stay away

Guest: jeff (orlando)
Date of Stay: 06/11/11 Review Submitted: 07/11/11

was told a price with cleaning fees ..a week b4 arriving cleaning fees went up..awful road, pitted and rutted. fridge and freezer full of their junk. all dressers and closets full of owners personals.left 1 drawer for us. was without power for almost 2 full days and internet for 3 days. very limited view as trees not trimmed. small tv located only in the den with very limited channels. all their food in freezer thawed during power outage and half our deposit was kept b/c the cleaning ppl had to scrub the freezer and said we left some recyclable cans in recycle bin in garage..at least half of windows dont open in house b/c broken..a/c doesnt cool well..

Owner response:Our clientele tend to be those persons who are committed to the natural environment, and who usually involve themselves in outdoor activities during personal holidays, but who also may simply want a peaceful environment, away from the noise and chatter of their daily lives, preferably in a modern, well appointed home on top of a mountain where, if they want to, they may simply stay at home all day enjoying dramatic mountain vistas from the deck or out the huge windows on every side. Our clientele do have the option to watch TV or plug in their laptop, but they generally prefer not to. I knew that when a series of unusually powerful storms knocked out power throughout the Smokies, that Jeff and his son were not our typical clientele. The power was off for 24 hours, not 48 (this can be easily verified) and the Internet WHICH WAS INSTALLED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS RENTAL was down for 36 hours, not 72(also verifiable). I offered to pay for a hotel in the nearest town that had power so Jeff could have TV and Internet, offered to pay for his meals, and offered to pay for the food he said he had to throw out. He declined my offers. When power was restored, Jeff and his son once more had their electronics so things were again great with him and I will provide copies of his emails to verify this. After Jeff and son departed, our cleaning service arrived to find our home pretty well trashed - melted and refrozen ice cream, huge bin of recyclables, deck furniture cushions soaked, paint chipped and scratched off walls,etc. - I notified Jeff that we were returning $100 of his security deposit and retaining $50 to pay the additional cleaning fee we were billed. Allowable response space prevents me responding to each of Jeff's false statements individually. Of 16 large casement windows, 2 are indeed inoperable due to persons forcing them and stripping the gear mechanism; these are scheduled for repair and do not prevent cooling breezes from traversing the length of our home. Our AC system is more than adequate if one also closes the windows. Of 15 large dresser drawers, 10 are empty for clients. Our pantry and the few open items stocked in refrigerator are there for clients as well. We keep approx. 15 hanging items in the closets. DirecTV provides 180 channels. We have never in 12 years kept security money and I can provide written testimonials from over 50 REPEAT clients. We regret $450 discount we provided Jeff so he could "afford" to stay 2 wks.

Recommended for:

Wonderful home and mountain views

Guest: Wanderer (Central North Carolina)
Date of Stay: 09/18/10 Review Submitted: 04/27/11

It should be noted that the drive up into the neighborhood and on to the mountain top is extremely steep and graveled. A 4 wheel drive and nerves of steel are recommended. Once you make it to the top you will be rewarded with a lovely home and wonderful view of the moutains. Sadly the trees have grown up so much you can't see the lake through the foliage. You could glimpse the lake if you walk to one side of the deck or house and lean over. Most of the time we would forget there was even a lake down below. The house is wonderfully appointed and comfortable. The extra room allows for families to have their own space. You will need to cook your meals there as it is far too difficult to leave the house just for a meal. There is little close by anyway. It is very remote which does lend to peace and quiet. The roads are very narrow and curvy in that region so the drive to Franklin takes at least 45 minutes. Nantahala takes about 30 minutes. It is a great house to just stay at in the mountains. If you like to go out a lot and explore then this is not the place for you.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, age 55+.