A Wonderful Place

Guest: John's Family (Tallahassee, FL, USA)
Date of Stay: 11/27/08 Review Submitted: 12/01/08

Are you interested in a clean, spacious (seems larger than it is), isolated cabin in the woods? Would you like to get away from it all, have plenty to do and see, and not spend your life savings in the process? Our 12-year-old played ping-pong, foosball, climbed the mountain and stayed thouroughly entertained downstairs with movies etc while “Mom” and I just relaxed on the screened porch upstairs. A gorgeous view, casual comfortable décor, and enough variety in nearby areas to keep you busy for years. Frankly, if you’re into the hoyti toyti, personal concierge, and/or where’s the party, kind of place – I think you’ll be disappointed. On the other hand if you’re interested in getting away, feeling comfortable in your surroundings, and having everything you could reasonably need or want from a cabin in the mountains – may we recommend Mountainview Escape.

Owner response:"We are so glad John and his family enjoyed their stay! We have a book in our cabin full of similar comments from guests over the years and it makes us very happy to hear people find our place in the mountains as peaceful and relaxing as we do. From the other guests that have stayed, they agree it is a great retreat and place to unwind, kick back, and enjoy the mountains!"

Recommended for:Age 55+, adventure seekers, sightseeing, romantic getaway, families with teenagers.

The Perfect Mountain Escape!

Guest: Hawkins Family (Fairbanks, AK)
Date of Stay: 10/09/11 Review Submitted: 11/17/11

Our family are from this county in North Carolina. So, it was nice to visit family from such a peaceful, quiet and secluded home. The hottub was relaxing, the ping pong table provided laughter and the screen porch was meant for viewing the beauty around. Our trip was in October of 2011 and the leaves were as we remembered. Wish we could have stayed longer! Eat at the Dilliard House, just 7 miles south and our favorite restaurant when we lived here before. See Wayah Bald, 23 miles NW. Cherokee, Cades Cove and Pigeon Forge are great too. Rent this house and you will be very pleased!!!! We were!!

Recommended for:Sightseeing, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, families with teenagers, families with young children.

Perfect Getaway

Guest: Anniversary Couple (Cincinnati, OH)
Date of Stay: 05/18/11 Review Submitted: 05/31/11

What an amazing cabin! We were looking for a quiet, comfortable, affordable place to stay that had a view. This place exceeded all of our expectations. The photos do not fully communicate how great this place is. It is close to town and attractions, yet its setting makes you feel like you are miles from anything. The view is spectacular, and the surroundings are so peaceful. We loved the screened porch to relax and read. The hot tub was a great way to wind down at the end of the day or to start a new one. The cabin provided everything we needed, and the game room was a nice bonus. The cabin has plenty of space and was very clean. I would highly recommend this cabin to anyone looking for a place to rent in this area. Thank you to the owners for allowing us to stay in your cabin as part of our vacation. You were so helpful in answering all our questions ahead of time. It was a privilege to deal with you. If in the area in the future, I would love to stay here again!

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

perfect vacation

Guest: A (Cedar Key FL)
Date of Stay: 06/01/10 Review Submitted: 09/12/10

We spent 3 months in the cabin and ended up wishing we had stayed through September. The cabin is "family friendly". The downstairs has a terrific complete game room. We ran a continuing ping-pong tournament througout the summer. Upstairs, our favorite spot was the porch and the hot tub. which was located on the deck below. Loved the view of the surrounding mountains so spent hours out there reading and relaxing. Cabin location is ideal. We were within 5 miles of 2 entrances (N/S) to the Appalachian Trail. South of us, 25 minutes, was awesome rafting on the Chattooga River. North of Franklin near Bryson City, we took a zipping tour of the Nantahala Gorge. Franklin, also, has an olympic size public swimming pool that opens an hour early for lap swimming. We are "flatland" people so spent a lot of time biking the Greenway, which runs through Franklin. We had a terrific summer. Our dilemma....so many fun activities, too little time.

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

Perfect Summer

Guest: A (Cedar Key FL)
Date of Stay: 06/01/10 Review Submitted: 09/12/10

We spent 3 months in the cabin and ended up wishing we had stayed through September. The cabin is "family friendly". The downstairs has a terrific complete game room. We ran a continuing ping-pong tournament throughout the summer. Upstairs, our favorite spot was the porch and the hot tub, which was located on the deck below. Loved the view of the surrounding mountains so spent hours out there reading and relaxing. The cabin's location is ideal. We were within 5 miles of two entrances (N/S) to the Appalachian Trail. South of us, 25 minutes, was awesome rafting on the Chattooga River. North of Franklin near Bryson City, we took a terrific zipping tour in the Nantahala Gorge. Franklin, also, has an olympic size public pool that opens an hour early for lap swimming. We are "flatland" people so spent a lot of time biking the Greenway, which runs through Franklin. We had a terrific summer. Our dilemma......so many fun activites, too little time.

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

great mt get away

Guest: Mt family vacation (Gainesville , Fl)
Date of Stay: 09/25/09 Review Submitted: 10/03/09

We just got back from this mountain cabin. We had a WONDERFUL time. There was plenty of room for the 6 of us and there is lots to do in the area. Waking up to the mt scenery every morning was relaxing and a great way to start your day. If you need a place to just relax and enjoy the peace and quiet there is no better place.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, romantic getaway, families with teenagers, families with young children.

Loved every minute!

Guest: Mountain Momma (Springfield, Missouri)
Date of Stay: 08/04/09 Review Submitted: 08/09/09

We are so sad we couldn't have stayed longer at this secluded cabin. We had a slight glitch with the cleaning service, but Joel (the owner) took care of it super fast and was very professional about everything. The view is breath-taking and we loved the screened in porch. I recommend going on a full moon if you can because the mountains were even more beautiful all lit up. The cabin is very cozy and warm and we felt even more relaxed there than at home! We don't like crowds are touristy areas and this cabin fit the bill perfectly. There is a grocery store nearby and a great little restaurant called "The Mountain Man" that we recommend. Very easy access, not to mention a beautiful drive, to Bryson City and Smoky Mountain Park. The cabin has great amenities and our son loved the foosball table. I enjoyed the big picture windows looking over the mountains first thing in the morning, in the very comfy recliner, drinking my coffee. We are definitely going back as we felt we did not get to spend enough time at the cabin. We've finally found a place that we can spend more than one day at and not get tired of it. Thank you Joel and Laurie!

Owner response:Laurie and I are very glad to hear you had such a good time. We agree the view is energizing no matter when you see it. When people come here they understand why we call it "Mountainview Escape". Hope to see you back soon!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, sightseeing, girls getaway, romantic getaway, families with teenagers, families with young children.

Guest: Deborah & Jim (Pensacola, Florida)
Date of Stay: 06/24/09 Review Submitted: 06/24/09

This lovely mountain home was more beautiful than the pictures described. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there this June. The cool mountain weather and sitting on the screened in porch were fantastic. The scenery, shopping in Franklin and quiet accommodations in a secluded environment were a welcome get-away for us. We'd love to go back to this wonderful mountain retreat. So if you are looking for a place, pick this one.

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An Amazing Getaway!

Guest: The Happy Floridian Couple (Orlando, FL)
Date of Stay: 04/24/09 Review Submitted: 04/28/09

WOW! This cabin exceeded all of our expectations. The view was better than I imagined it from the photos. You can't see any neighbors, the house is very well kept, well equipped with essentials to cook, game room with ping pong, darts, Foosball, the deck space and jacuzzi are also amazing. During our stay we went gem mining (Mason's Mine and Sheffield, better quality stones at Mason's), horseback riding at Chunky Gals Stable through the Nantahala National Forest (20 miles outside Franklin but an amazing ride), and visited The Factory for arcade like amusement.... Everything including groceries are between 5-25 mins away, but you enjoy the drive too with the views. We ate out once at Mountain Man for bbq, but I say grocery shop, and grill out on the deck! The owner was very nice and a pleasure renting from we would recommend this cabin to everyone and definitely go back with friends next time.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, sightseeing, romantic getaway, families with teenagers.

Guest: Angel & Ben (Niagara Falls)
Date of Stay: 04/27/09 Review Submitted: 04/27/09

Words cannot being to describe the setting at this stunning mountain retreat. The pictures on this site do not do justice to the spectacular tiered deck and screened porch. Living in Niagara Falls, we are used to seeing natural beauty up close, but the sights, sounds and heavenly fresh mountain air were absolutely breathtaking. After a long 13+ hour drive, we were greeted by wild turkey halfway up the driveway. They were pleasant birds and stayed close to the property throughout our stay. It was raining lightly upon arrival which quickly gave way to glorious sunshine and the most stunning rainbow that stretched across the mountain tops. It was like seeing a gateway to heaven. Thankfully I had my camera in hand and was able to get many spectacular photos. On the evening of the second day, I heard rustling outside and saw a herd of 6 deer right above us on the ridge. I was totally amazed at how close they were! We were able to watch them for quite a while as they grazed literally yards from where we were standing on the deck! More great photo opportunities! The last day we tried hiking to the top of the ridge that overlooks the state park. We got more than 3/4 of the way up, but my broken toe (prior to our arrival) prevented us from going any further. It was a fun, challenging hike for beginners like us. Still was able to get more fantastic photos from the vantage point. We went to a local gem mine where we hand dug and found 14.73 carats of sapphires and a few other stones. We visited the Gem Factory and are having our stones facet cut into custom made, hand found wedding bands. After long, glorious days, it was such a pleasure to soak in the luxurious hot tub and see the dark sky bursting with starlight. Each night before bed, we used the games room for ping pong and foosball tournaments. What a fabulous vacation! Although just the two of us came to "recharge our batteries", we are already planning a trip next year with our kids and family! Thank you Joel and Laurie for allowing us the opportunity to stay in your UNDERSTATED and glorious mountain treasure!

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