Treehouse Grove — Hotel in Gatlinburg

The advertised pricing is deceptive. When searching for rooms the place was advertised at $447 per night. However, when the lease was sent the base rate was higher. I kept sending emails asking why the rate was higher in the lease when nothing changed from my original search and what still showed online – same dates, same number of people same unit. I just kept getting an answer that was the “base rate” and it could be higher for unexplained reasons. Then there were numerous unavoidable add on fees ($10 hot tub, $250 cleaning, admin. Etc. We did avoid the extra $50 early check in fee that would have allowed us to check in at 3 pm, a normal check-in time rather than 4 pm) such that what should have been about $900 for a two-night stay was over $1500.||It was not clean on arrival. The $250 cleaning fee was particularly annoying as they tell you to take out all your trash and wash all your dishes before leaving. When we arrived the toilet bowl had dark staining, there were dead bugs in the corners of the living room, the fire pit had not been cleaned after the previous guests, the deck was covered in leaves and acorns, and the screen to the dining room was ripped so they are not checking for maintenance. So we got to clean things up (including re-washing dishes others had not washed well and apparently had not been checked by the housekeepers), on arrival. ||It was not peaceful. We were willing to put up with the extra 20 minute drive from the park to have a peaceful visit. However, according to the rangers, from mid-August to mid-October car enthusiasts visit the area. The weekend we were there it was the “tail of the dragon” and all the loud cars were showing how loud they can be – all night, up and down the mountainside to the treehouses. The black skid marks on the road to the cabins should have forewarned us. None of us got any sleep the first night – the treehouse walls are too thin for a sound barrier. It sounded like they were revving engines in the parking spaces in front of the rooms. In the morning, you got to enjoy the addition of construction sounds as new units are being built (and looks like that will be going on for a while). The construction workers bring their dogs so when I went on a morning walk, a pack of four dogs rushed up behind me.| |The configuration/set up did not work. We had 7 adults. There was no place inside or out where we could hang out together unless you wanted to sit in the straight back chairs in the dining area. There was insufficient seating and room. The kitchen area was too small for even two people to work side by side. There is no stove (an interesting choice) and the hot plate kept going off and on and was not sufficiently powered. It took over an hour to boil a pot of water for pasta. There are no serving dishes (made and served salads out of pots) and no cutting board. The one room had a coffee maker but no cups.||Come here if you want to be overcharged, clean up after yourself and others, have no place to hang out, not have a functioning kitchen, and enjoy the sounds of construction and cars while tacking on another 20-30 minutes to get to the park. It was the most disappointing stay I’ve had at a...

The advertised pricing is deceptive. When searching for rooms the place was advertised at $447 per night. However, when the lease was sent the base rate was higher. I kept sending emails asking why the rate was higher in the lease when nothing changed from my original search and what still showed online – same dates, same number of people same unit. I just kept getting an answer that was the “base rate” and it could be higher for unexplained reasons. Then there were numerous unavoidable add on fees ($10 hot tub, $250 cleaning, admin. Etc. We did avoid the extra $50 early check in fee that would have allowed us to check in at 3 pm, a normal check-in time rather than 4 pm) such that what should have been about $900 for a two-night stay was over $1500.

It was not clean on arrival. The $250 cleaning fee was particularly annoying as they tell you to take out all your trash and wash all your dishes before leaving. When we arrived the toilet bowl had dark staining, there were dead bugs in the corners of the living room, the fire pit had not been cleaned after the previous guests, the deck was covered in leaves and acorns, and the screen to the dining room was ripped so they are not checking for maintenance. So we got to clean things up (including re-washing dishes others had not washed well and apparently had not been checked by the housekeepers), on arrival.

It was not peaceful. We were willing to put up with the extra 20 minute drive from the park to have a peaceful visit. However, according to the rangers, from mid-August to mid-October car enthusiasts visit the area. The weekend we were there it was the “tail of the dragon” and all the loud cars were showing how loud they can be – all night, up and down the mountainside to the treehouses. The black skid marks on the road to the cabins should have forewarned us. None of us got any sleep the first night – the treehouse walls are too thin for a sound barrier. It sounded like they were revving engines in the parking spaces in front of the rooms. In the morning, you got to enjoy the addition of construction sounds as new units are being built (and looks like that will be going on for a while). The construction workers bring their dogs so when I went on a morning walk, a pack of four dogs rushed up behind me.

The configuration/set up did not work. We had 7 adults. There was no place inside or out where we could hang out together unless you wanted to sit in the straight back chairs in the dining area. There was insufficient seating and room. The kitchen area was too small for even two people to work side by side. There is no stove (an interesting choice) and the hot plate kept going off and on and was not sufficiently powered. It took over an hour to boil a pot of water for pasta. There are no serving dishes (made and served salads out of pots) and no cutting board. The one room had a coffee maker but no cups.

Come here if you want to be overcharged, clean up after yourself and others, have no place to hang out, not have a functioning kitchen, and enjoy the sounds of construction and cars while tacking on another 20-30 minutes to get to the park. It was the most disappointing stay I’ve had at a...

Beware: There was no warning of high bear activity upon arrival at Cottonwood Cottage, which was difficult to find due to no signage leading us to the unit. There was a bear on our vehicle three times we know of in 3 days. A bear came up two flights of stairs and onto our deck. All in middle of daylight. This same bear ransacked and had a swim in the hot tub nearby the night before. We called the office to report the activity but unfortunately it took several minutes for anyone to answer. Once they picked up there was bad phone reception during the conversation.

A Maintenance man working near the cottage cleaning up the hot tub mess came over to assist with a bees nest on our deck and helped explain the bear situation. He was very helpful. The Office had no interest in this report of multiple bear sightings. We are New Englanders - well aware of animals and nature. Our complaint is that the management is negligent in not issuing a warning to all guests - beware you will see a bear. Should be posted In the unit, by email with the arrival directions, on site signage somewhere, everywhere. You can’t feel safe sitting on your deck or screen porch never mind using the common grills or hot tubs. You don’t even feel safe going to your car.

The Office is never open. Very difficult and frustrating to reach. They need to get it together. In our opinion the staff needs formal training in Hospitality and common sense.

Update:

Just saw the response from the owner. Disappointed that it has inaccurate information. All we were asking for is a warning in advance of our stay of increased bear activity and a warning notice posted in a conspicuous place in the rental unit. We received neither. There is no information about bears in the unit as claimed. The click through link on the website and reservation confirmation email is not obvious and when clicked only has 3 bullet points about bears that are common sense with NO SPECIFIC mention of increased bear activity on site. Sadly, there is no detailed information at all provided by the host as claimed. That is an incorrect statement unfortunately for all guests not just us. For the prices charged for these units the level of management is sorely lacking. Instead of wasting management time trying to cover up a lack of communication we suggest applying energy towards addressing these shortcomings. Thank goodness we didn’t have our grandchildren with us on this trip. That could have been a real disaster with...