Boxwood Lodge — Hotel in Blowing Rock

In a nutshell: I'm incredibly disheartened. The treatment I received was rude to the point I almost don't believe it. The location is fine if you want to be downtown; for a two star hotel the rooms are just as expected, but the customer service from Dory was so awful, I doubt I'll ever return to this place with so many comparable options and such a big window for a better experience. If I could write this as a zero star experience: I would.||In a slightly larger nutshell, if you are considering this place: don't. They're letting this extortion go and it's a scam. Grab your tea and settle in...||My husband and I stayed here two years ago for our honeymoon in Blowing Rock. We paid online and never actually spoke with or saw anyone (keys were in an envelope at the office) - and that was fine for us. The room had cosmetic issues, but nothing major and was clean. The location was near restaurants that had outside seating and fishing spots so pup could always be with us. For a two star hotel it got two thumbs up then.||And that right there - is exactly every nice thing I can say.||Fast forward to a couple weeks ago when my husband surprised me by saying we had enough saved we could go back. The situation may not be the same for all of us, but if you can't relate, try to imagine saving every penny you have; no going out to eat, off brand cheese, your clothes are work clothes only, no Netflix subscription, no cable - you get it. We have and are building a great life together, but the money do be quite tight - is my point. The fact that he managed to pull this off almost brought me to tears. I cannot believe how lucky I got with this guy.||Expedia offered the best deal; they said we may incur additional taxes from the property, but even so, it was the best rate - so we booked. The payment was processed on the 12th, and though it hurt to watch it come out of the bank, all I could think about was fishing spots and my husband getting a few moments where life wasn't looming over him.||Que an email from Dory yesterday afternoon, the 17th, indicating I need to call to finish making reservations. What? I did! Frantically I called the number listed - the wireless caller was unavailable.||Everything is fine - must just be busy. I have confirmation. It's ok.||Two spaced calls with same outcome. Panic rising, I searched the Lodge on Google and found a different number than I'd been given. Weird, but additional number is all, I'm sure. I called and got the same recording. I called again - same outcome.||I sent an email response to let Dory know what I was experiencing. Thinking she may call me, I kept my phone close. She emailed me and told me to call. When I finally did get through she told me to give her my address and credit card information, and that I would need to pay additional pet fees. I was crushed. I understand pet fees, but I had entered everything correctly online. I was told additional taxes, not additional fees with their own additional tax. When I asked for nothing more than clarification, she cut me off. I waited, then tried again, thinking she was unable to understand my concern. This happened several times, each cutoff more rude and faster than the last. She insisted I wouldn't get keys if I didn't pay more. I told her to please wait a moment so I can get my wallet and safely come to a stop; she insisted I call later. I was shocked - and sad. This money was supposed to be our one meal out. This experience was suppose to make us happy. ||We decided the lack of hospitality was going to ruin the whole experience, and sought a refund, but because Dory didn't reach out to me until the 17th, a full refund is unavailable (last available day was 16th). Expedia has also reached out insisting we get a full refund, and she's told them the same thing. Dory clearly ensured that was not going to be an option. If I didn't pay more money, I was going to lose money. That may not be physical force, but that certainly is fiscal force. Sounds like extortion to me. ||And y'know what... If she'd been polite I wouldn't be here - even if I couldn't afford it in the end. I would have taken it on the chin and moved on, but I mean man I've never spoken with someone less suited for a job in hospitality.||Dory has taken hundreds out of my wallet, ruined this location for us, and has done everything she can to ensure a sad anniversary ahead. She really shouldn't work in this industry, and I hope the head honcho hears that loud and clear. Still hopeful this can be salvaged by someone else at the lodge. I'm sorry Dory has not left a lot of time. If not, well: I hope this review saves just one person from what we just...

My daughter and I are in town from Asheville. It's Western Regionals this weekend at Appalachian State University and My daughter is one of their violists. It's going to last the entire weekend so we needed to get a room. Every hotel, Inn, motel B&B... We're outrageously priced and I can only assume that it's because it is within Boone or the surrounding areas. So I had to venture out a little further and found Boxwood Lodge. It's 15 to 20 minutes away from Appalachian State just outside of Boone which isn't very far.

I must admit I was surprised because I thought that it would be like your typical Bates motel because the cost is so cheap, but when I got here I was welcomed by a very pleasant woman behind the counter. The office was nice with a fireplace and an outdoor deck. The lady was polite, well mannered and professional. I reserved online, so when I got there the only thing they needed were to see my driver's license and the card I used- took maybe 10 seconds. I was given a key and off I went. No extra deposit was required. It was quick and easy.

When I came to the room I opened the door and ...it's very clean, fresh clean linen and towels, there's a 50" flat screen smart TV, and a Keurig style coffee maker. There is free wifi, which I found to be reliable. I don't even see one speck of dust. Trust me, I ran my finger all over the place looking for dust and I can't find any. It wasn't anything fancy or like the Omni hotel or anything, but it was nice and smelled great. I'm posting some pictures.

When I checked out the only I did was hand over the key- that's it. Check-out took 5 seconds.

All I can say is if you're looking for a nice, safe, clean place to stay with polite and professional staff at a reasonable cost... You must come here. We...

After Helene needed a place to stay near my home as I had no electric or water. Person who checked me in on 9/28 told me that although I reserved that day for 2 days, should electric be restored or if I wanted to cancel the 2nd night, I could do so as long as I told the front desk before 11:00 am on 9/29. I was told, no problem.||I was charged for the entire for an additional day. I asked to speak to the manager about this mistake and he told me “our policy is we require 72 hours notice” I explained the conversation with the desk clerk and was told by the mgr “they had no authority…” I told him that was “bull sh-t and he told me he would not tolerate my obscenity and he hung up on me. Three more calls, three more hang-ups!||This is on the heels of the catastrophe in our neighborhood. I will add the accommodation was clean but “Spartan” - Not told no internet or tv available, although likely a product of the storm. Stayed 4 hours as it was and preferred to go back to my dark home to sleep after taking a shower. Total charge $323.90 on my AMX card for a 4 hour stay. Again, checked out the next morning in person at 10:30am next day and told “no problem, I’ll cancel any remaining day(s)” ||The mgr was “unavailable” to speak to me and I only spoke with him the next day when I called.||There are better places to stay and more customer friendly managers and staff to deal with in Blowing Rock. I’ve lived there 20 plus years and usually only run across friendly folks. Not this time. ||Try another place and not this one or the other 2 properties managed by the same person...