Fairway Forest Resort — Hotel in Highlands

We are just finishing up a week's stay here and what an awful experience this was. Our advice is to find quality lodging at a reputable establishment. This is a low budget, ancient, nasty, dirty mess. Our unit was up in the woods... exterior lighting was scant. If we would have had problems with wildlife/intruders, there would have been NO ONE around to hear our call since there was no front gate & no parking paperwork/tag system. Observed no security guards or vehicles anywhere on property for entire stay. As for our unit, we opened the door and almost cried. Saying it looked very old inside would be a huge understatement...1960's formica, linoleum tiled floors, olive green 1970's blender, ancient furniture & stained up light- beige carpeting, particleboard nightstands covered in gouges & stains, popcorn ceilings that were cracked & peeling, blasts of dust from the central air/heat, mildew in showers. It would have been unacceptable in the 70's, but here we were 40+ years later totally dumbfounded that we left our clean, modern home to stay in this squalor. When we called to ask if there was an updated unit or one that was truly CLEAN we were told they were all identical. No help there. No one at this property really cared. They were just people punching a timeclock.On our first morning we realized that a glass of water left on the nightstand overnight was covered in a fuzzy particle mess by morning. Gross. Maintenance did follow through on that call VERY promptly and Mike replaced the air filters throughout, but the problem must have gone beyond filters because we went in healthy and all of us left with runny/stuffy/bleeding noses and irritated sinuses and eyes. HVAC units and ducts need to be cleaned and mold and popcorn ceilings (could possibly contain asbestos based on the age of it) need to be remediated immediately. Unfortunately the recreation center was just as nasty and drab as the unit. There was an okay swimming pool and exercise room. There was a game room with pool, ping-pong tables, a videogame arcade, a jukebox, and two wooden folding chairs. There was nothing on the walls. We would envision a prison recreation center as looking somewhat like this. It was sad. There was a little newsletter with the week's activities listed, most of which were bus trips or Thai cooking classes, and wow, were they on the costly side for what they entailed. In a different building there were ancient books for loan and a tiny gift shop. All of this combined meant that we hiked a few waterfalls and did our own sightseeing and then watched a lot of Red Box videos and tv on this trip...not what we expected on our vacation to the mountains, sadly. As a final note to activities, there was a mini golf game at the recreation center that the kids enjoyed, but like everything else, it was old and had that same abandoned feeling. This was a really awful vacation. We had booked two weeks but were called on the afternoon of day 6 and were told we would be moving units even though we were the only occupants in a 4 unit building. Nice touch. There was nothing they could do. We just had to accept it. Supposedly the unit's owner had booked himself in his own unit, so we would need to be ready to go by 10 AM the next morning. When weighing the pros and cons of packing up all our belongings and moving ourselves to a completely different building or just going home, we decided to return home where it is clean and safe, where our vents are not filled with dust and the tile on the floor and back splash is not linoleum. When we called Diamond Resorts to discuss the cancellation for week 2 we could not miss the irony of the calm, recorded voice telling us how doctors recommend vacations as a way to de-stress and live a more fulfilled life. Holding this up in juxtaposition with our ridiculously awful vacation seemed to be cruel. Doctors would maybe recommend vacations in clean, comforting quarters, but certainly not this hot mess called Fairway Forest in...

The critical reviews about this place are so unfair. This place is a 10+.  First, everyone needs to remember this area had hurricane damages beyond belief less than a year ago. So yes, some roads have detours and repairs needed as does infrastructure and businesses.

And yes, some pricing may be a bit higher however just remember, once again, they were out of electricity and phone/ computer signals not to mention washed out roadways/bridges and flooding damages, a few of the many tragedies that accompany a terrible traumatic event out of everyone's control.

We never had any issues with the wi-fi as each unit has their own password and connection. We did encounter frequent "no signal" issues when traveling throughout the mountains but never hear.

To understand where they were last year versus today one could say is a monumental accomplishment.

One is unable to access the back outdoor balcony upstairs or downstairs due to the damages and unsafe reports acquired in the hurricane. We did not miss them as we loved the wooded views from the inside and outside front areas.

If I were selfish I would say to focus on the critical reviews so we can stay more often by having more availability however I am not selfish. This place was incredibly amazing.

From Check-In to Check-Out we were pleasantly surprised how incredible this resort is. (We were concerned due to the recent negative reviews).

The staff were extremely positive, hospitable, overly attentive and accommodating, and yes occasionally tending to other guests via the text messaging system they use on a cell-phone.

Every request or question we texted to them went unanswered. They showed zero signs of not caring ever. We were always welcomed when we stopped in at the office.

It is a large resort so the AMENITIES are not in your backyard but worth a short drive to the location where they are located:

A beautiful pool-indoor and outdoor An up to date and upscale fitness center/work out gym A beautiful hot tub area A very nice tanning bed A fun putt putt golf course A challenging high rope course to navigate

Friendly staff as well, just to highlight a few of the perks-Be certain to take your guest pass to access everything in this area.

We stayed in a two story condo (1341 to be exact). The updates, upgrades and renovations are breath-taking.

Every condo is well stocked with supplies everyone needs to cook and manage one's kitchen, bathroom, bedding and linens.

The Master bed and bath, and the laundry (washer and dryer) are located on the 2nd floor/basement which are gorgeous. The shower is huge with renovated and updated finishing. We believe we had 10-12 steps, easy to access with handrails.

In closing, we cannot wait to return and further enjoy this...

It was our time visiting the mountains of NC. We were on a working vacation but excited about seeing some of the beautiful sights. We were celebrating my husband’s birthday and excited for him to get to play golf. Sadly, we had no internet service. Even the we were charged resort fees which are supposedly for internet service? We didn’t use any of the resort activities so the extra charges were just added frustration. We explained to Nicholas in main office how essential it was that we have internet. He said the repair company was coming Monday and “hopefully” it would be fixed but “no guarantee,” which was not very reassuring since our jobs depended on internet. We attempted to use our vehicle internet to do our work but we were unsuccessful which created angst. The repair people did not come on Monday. We explained again how essential it was that we have internet. Nicholas said we could do our work out of the Welcome Center- which did not fit our needs for work and far from convenient but we were desperate. After arriving and setting up at Welcome Center, we still had no working internet even there. Our stress was building. Nicholas said we could go to another apartment ~ one that had working internet and do our work there. Although we did not want to have to move everything we were willing to move if that the only way to do our work. But Nicholas said we couldn’t “move” rooms, we could just drive to this other room and do our work?!? So anytime we would need to check an email, prepare google slides etc we would have to leave our room? We expressed that this was not a logical or feasible solution. He replied, “The Hampton Inn has good rooms right up the road,” suggesting we leave the resort and go elsewhere! All we needed was a working modem from one of the working rooms but Fairway Forest thought we should just leave. Such a lack of care and effort given for customers. Additionally, the golf course was not an option due to the condition of the greens. The detours at resort made every trip to office and anywhere that might have working internet extra long and...