Unicoi State Park & Lodge — Attraction in Cornelia

I will start with the good about this place. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and I enjoyed the hikes we took. The staff are very kind and when asked to do something or provide an item/service, they were very responsive. The rooms have a small refrigerator and blow dryer, both of which were very convenient, and my king size bed was very comfortable. We also enjoyed the fire pit, which one of the staff was kind enough to prepare and light for us within a matter of minutes. ||Now to the things that would keep me from ever staying here again. I don't know if it's because April is not their busy season, but this place was like the set of a horrible reality show. We stayed in the lodge (versus the offsite cabins) and it was clearly being run by a skeleton crew that looks like they're being worked to death. The staff were very pleasant to deal with one on one, but they all looked like they've been wearing the same, wrecked uniforms for days on end. The breakfast buffet is like the continental breakfast you get at a Holiday Inn type of establishment, except for the fact that it makes Holiday Inn look like a Michelin star restaurant. The breakfast that you can order off of their menu is equally as bad, as is their coffee (drive a few minutes away and go to Sweetwater Coffeehouse to get a great coffee and breakfast). The only good thing I can say about the breakfast is that everything is consistently bad across the board. The tavern was slightly better for lunch, but that's not saying much.||The lodge buildings that house the guest rooms do not have an elevator, so if you need one make sure to ask for a ground floor room. With that said, each of these lodge buildings have a common/living room space on the ground floor, with tables, seating area, fireplace and microwave. That SOUNDS lovely, except that the walls of the lodge appear to have been built with tissue paper and keep out none of the sound coming from outside your room. So if there are any guests that were raised in a barn and forget that they are not alone in this world, you will get absolutely no sleep because the noise coming from this lovely common area will drive you mad. This problem extends to the rooms, where you can hear what your neighbor is watching on TV at midnight or what your other neighbor is discussing on speakerphone at 2 AM. Yes, I was sandwiched in between two of the most inconsiderate guests on this planet. On the bright side, when I called the front desk the first time, they were very quick to contact the guest and resolve the issue. The second time I had more fun knocking on my neighbor's door like a SWAT officer and asking him to stop screaming into his phone, which was also quite effective. Luckily, I was reassured that there is a God, because the lodge emptied out on Sunday morning and this left us with a civilized, quiet facility for the remainder of our stay. That said, I can only imagine what this place is like when it is at full capacity.||After experiencing the bedding, I'm thinking these must be the same materials used to construct the walls of the guest rooms. I woke up shivering on my first night and had to turn the heat on because I had two ice blocks for feet. I hunted for an extra blanket, but no such luck. I'm sure if I asked the front desk for one, they would have happily provided one, but for the love of all things holy, just provide a better comforter to begin with.||For anyone wondering about laundry facilities or a business center: the laundry is nowhere near the main building so you either need to drive or walk about 1/2 mile down the hill to get to it. I did not have a vehicle, as I was part of a tour group, so there went that idea. They do have a shuttle, so that might be available to get you down the hill, but I didn't ask. I was going home in a day and had just given up at this point. Their business center is basically a room you can go into to use your own laptop. The staff explained they used to have a computer available for guests, but it broke and was never replaced. Bring your own laptop if you are going to need access...

This review is most relevant to tent campers in the spring

Highly recommend this park for day use and RV camping!! Our experience was a 3 star overall but I rated it 4 because I think there is a lot of potential here for others. Pros: beautiful park with great views, several hiking trails, a dog park, playgrounds, plenty of picnic spots, a beach and a camp store/visitor center. There was a space heater placed in the bathhouse - hallelujah! There is also a hotel/conference center on property which was a lifesaver for tent campers like us when the weather was stormy - we were able to get dinner at the tavern there and hang out for a bit in their comfy lounging area! You can hike from here to Anna Ruby Falls but it is a strenuous 4.8 miles one way. (About 6 hours round trip). You can drive up to the falls (which still requires a nice 1/2 mile hike) but since the falls are actually on National park property, your state park pass doesn’t count. You will need to pay a few dollars to get in. Well worth supporting protected lands in my opinion! Concerns: There is no fencing around the park and no controlled access at all. The check in/visitor center is a good mile inside the park, past a couple of the camping loops so it’s easy for anyone to access the campsite area and facilities. We arrived on a Saturday, everyone except 2 RVs left the next day (including the camp hosts) so we knew who was in our loop. That night, my husband came across a man he didn’t recognize hanging out in the bathroom - the guy seemed startled and uncomfortable to be found. The next night, another gentleman arrived late at night, parked next to the bathhouse (across from our site), crawled on to the mattress he had in his truck bed to sleep and then took off by 6:30am. We’re fairly certain neither of those guys were registered campers. In all my years of camping, this was the first time I didn’t feel comfortable walking to the bathroom alone at night. I imagine in season when the sites are full and there is a camp host - this probably does not happen? The other issue is that their website offers tons of activities beginning in March which we were really looking forward to. Seeing 3 days of storms on the forecast, we carefully planned our outdoor adventures, saving our favorite - kayaking, for the prettiest day in the forecast (Thursday). Only to discover they only rent equipment on Fridays-Sundays 😕😕. Sunday would have been the one day we could have done anything (since we were settled Sunday through Thursday) but we weren’t aware and hiked waterfalls instead. Call ahead to check the schedule and reserve your equipment or activity! Also - be sure to bring your trail map when you hike.

Overall, we noticed an interesting phenomenon in the park and in Helen - many of the folks we encountered didn’t seem to like their jobs or maybe people in general? We figure it’s been a really rough year and folks are just going through. Also - the sudden surge in visitors has left businesses who had closed or laid off employees, scrambling to get back on track. Everyone is short staffed so please BE...

Update* In response to Tony T. It's not practical for me to drive the 573 miles to come back to hopefully have a better experience. Our 40 th anniversary was a once in a lifetime experience that can't be replaced. I'd like to point out a few things about the $17.00 lodging fee. 5.00 for a parking pass where this is no parking and most cars in the lots had no pass. 2 bottles of water not requested In room coffee, not everyone drinks coffee Wi- fi, everyone has a phone with Internet access. Also it clearly states in the brochure wi- fi access is free. How can it be both? Free and charged? Access to phones to make unlimited calls, again everyone has a phone, this is unnecessary. And the best one, shuttle service to and from Helen. Only problem is with no parking the shuttle is useless. We had to drive to Helen and pay for parking since there was no parking at the lodge. Basically I paid 17.00 for two bottles of water.

Maybe Georgia mountain authority needs to take a look at their contract with coral Hospitality.

Don't stay here. I had made reservations for Saturday night and arrived a little early. I wanted to pre- register so we could get our parking pass and hop on the shuttle for Helen. This is where things go downhill. I go into the office the gentleman behind the counter says I have nothing ready but I'll give you the parking pass and text you when you're room is ready. He gave me the parking pass knowing there was no parking available. So Instead we had to drive into Helen. We NEVER received the promised text. We drive back to the hotel and I walk into the office, two ladies are on their phones and completely ignored me. The bell alerted them someone came in but then never even looked up. Finally a different man comes in and ask if he can help me. I explained I just wanted check in. Once I received the card keys and parking pass I tried once again to find a parking space. In all three parking areas there were many cars parked, double parked and parked on grass without parking passes. I finally found a space and we went to our room. The room smelled horrible! We stayed only because we were stuck. The hotel was loud, one guy even filled a cooler at seven am. Then there's the billing, your told the room is $119.00, they bill your card send a confirmation stating you owe and additional $17.95 Upon check in only to find out it's double that amount. So your $119.00 rm ends up costing almost $157.00. all in all a pretty terrible experience. It's obvious the hotel staff has let the locals take over, It's a free for all. What makes it worse is it was our 40th anniversary and I was trying to do something special. I'll...