Secluded mountain top luxury getaway in the Nantahala National Forest!

Thank you so much! We hope to se you again soon!

Michelle: Thank you for your great review! That is so cool that your daughter was working at the NOC! One of our neighbors in Mystic was a long time guide and instructor at the NOC. We look forward to having you and your family visit us again. Steve & Angie

Thanks for your comments. We will try to make those improvements as soon as posssible!

Adam; Thank you so much for your kind words and great review! We can’t wait to get back to “our” mountain…it is a bubble in a troubling world! We look forward to hosting you and your famiky anytime!

Thank younso much for staying wIth us and your kind words. Yeah, about that Internet thing….Hughesnet is (was) awful. We have made the switch to Starlink. What a difference!

Tracy; thank you for your review and your insights. First, we apologize for the septic issue, that was the first report we have received. We had our septic service company come inspect the system the day after you left. I wish you had let us know as soon as you noticed the issue…it’s possible we could have resolved the issue before you departed. The smell was due to the septic being over-full and the vent standpipes were, therefore, ineffective. The issue was resolved the promptly. As for the excessive fees, and to be direct you have a good point. We have also modified those issues as well. We agree that the pricing structure had gotten “fee heavy.” If I can give some background the hot tub cleaning fee was an overly aggressive response to a couple of bad experiences with guests leaving the tub in bad shape. That fee has been eliminated. As for the pet fee, we are pet lovers and live with three dogs on an everyday basis. We know from long first-hand experience the cleaning necessary to keep our home presentable….especially in a rental scenario. Every dime of the cleaning fees go to our cleaning team and we expect a lot from them! I know there was an issue on your reservation about the pet fee. The issue was that when you booked with us you did not select the “YES” toggle for the pet question. After we spoke I went back and checked and the toggle button for PETS is on the first page of the booking page. Slide it to the “YES” and the pet fee is applied. In your case that was overlooked. When we realized you had pets as your were checking out our property manager contacted you. I know it is a poor way to finish a trip with a request for more money, we hope you understand the position we were put in. Back to the hot tub fee….I will be remitting that fee since we have eliminated it as a practice going forward. I hope that makes a difference to you and your family. We hope you will give us another opportunity. Best regards, Steve & Angie

You guys are too kind and thanks for the Waze tip! I’ll include that in the instructions that are sent to our guests prior to check in. I guess that revalidates the adage that we are always learning. Yeah, about that AC. I am still so frustrated with myself for that. After you left and the “emergency” call-out to our HVAC contractor we had a full inspection and over-haul completed on the AC, heating and even the Generac generator systems. The lesson I learned from your visit is that an ounce of prevention….”you know the thing!” I have to let everyone reading this know that my wife and I are always willing to help with any issues if our guests will just let us know….so you guys get a lot of credit for just taking that small step! On a personal note thank you both for your kind words and for being so understanding. We don’t live in the area but, as it turned out, we had travelled to the area to stay in our home after your departure so that was a providential thing that allowed us to be Uber-responsive! I can’t promise that will always be the case but we do have people that are available., just saying! The fact that I got to meet you and your lovely wife was such an added bonus. You guys are welcome back anytime!

Wow! What a pleasant and useful review for our future guests! Cathleen and her extended family were a host’s dream; respectful, great communicator, attentive to house rules and they left our home like it was their own! Cathleen and her family are welcome back anytime!

Alexis; Thank you so much for staying with us at Lone Start Lodge! We really appreciate your kind words and thank you for your input regarding the directions and including the actual distance between the Nantahala High School and our home. We do make kind of a big point of referencing the school as a "last known point" for navigational purposes. Not including the distance from there to ur home seems like an obvious thing to include. I have updated our directions to include that very important fact so, again, thanks for the input...we firmly believe that our guests' input makes for a better experience for our future guests! You are welcome back any time!

Melissa; Thank you for your kind words! It looks like you caught the same “rapture bug” that we got the first time we arrived…it doesn’t get any easier! You and your family are welcome back any time!

Thank you for your great review! Yeah, despite my best efforts to prepare our guests for the last climb up to the house they always have that reaction! And you’re right, after the initial “holy cow” moment everyone is cool. I figure it’s part of the adventure. You guys are welcome back anytime!

Suni, thank you for your nice review. Yes, the getting to our home requires some prior planning. That is due to the cellular coverage and we have tried to prepare our guests for that fact. Like we say, the key is to navigate to the high school because after that two things happen; you are out of cellular coverage and you are very literally “off the map” at least from a navigational database perspective. I’m writing these words here in the hopes that our future guests will benefit from your experience. You were wise to call us for assistance and I’m glad it worked out. We made Lone Star Lodge our temporary base camp while we were between home beginning last October. We had the blessing to enjoy the Fall color change and there simply are not words to describe the beauty! We hope to see you and your family soon.

Thank you Kathy! We are so pleased that you got your “paddle on!” You and your family are welcome back anytime!

Steve, thanks for the nice review. We would be happy to have you stay with us again. We saw the minor damage and we’ll let you know but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It would be an insurance claim so we’ll look into it. Thanks again!

We are very sorry you had such a difficult time navigating your way to our home. We will look into ways to make that task easier. As for gaining entry I’m afraid you were our first guest and we had some kinks to iron out. For that we apologize as well. Finally, a note about those doors blowing open. The doors and are top-rated Anderson doors. The Lone Star Lodge “House Manual” actually includes a clear explanation about closing, opening and - yes - locking the doors. It’s pretty simple, really; to latch the deadbolt just close the door and raise the handle. If that step is omitted then, yes, the door could blow open if it is not closed securely. To be fair, it took me two or three tries to understand how the door worked. That is why I added the specific instructions on this step. ADDED NOTE: As I write this update it has been over six months since this review was posted. Unfortunately this review has been mentioned by prospective guests more than once. I therefore believe it has become necessary to make a rebuttal. We have had many guests stay with us since the review was posted in April, 2021 and no one else, not a single guest, has reported any difficulties either making the drive up the hills or locking the doors. The reviewer mentioned, correctly, that we helped these guests depart. What they failed to mention was that after we had extended their reservation because of their anxieties, at a reduced rate, we sent two people up to “rescue” them; one to chauffeur the guests down and another to drive their car…for them. As for the directions I don’t know what else we can do. We have written the directions as clearly as I believe is reasonable. Furthermore we have been clear in our description that care must be exercised in both making the drive and understanding the specific issues with cell service in the remote mountains of western North Carolina. We have always been ready and willing to assist our guests as they make their way to our home. I hope this explanation helps.

Thank you Kyle for the nice review! Please come see us again!