Bryson Inn — Hotel in Mount Airy

We stayed here Tuesday 7/26/22. Back story first: We traveled from our home in Atlanta, through Kentucky, across Ohio to western NY. Our return trip took us to Connecticut, through Pennsylvania, and down I-81 through Virginia. Crossed the NC line on I-77 kind of late, no reservation. We stayed in a real dump one night. We stayed in a fancy name brand for 2 nights at over $250/night. The Bryson Inn was by far the best hotel we've stayed at in a long time. Let me tick off a list of the qualities of this place. Great location just off the interstate. Quiet even being so near the highway and truckstop. Staff was so nice (more following) Price was right. Room was clean, odor free, and well appointed. Not a single hair found anywhere. Housekeeping really did a great job. Bed was really comfortable and the pillows were great. TV worked great, full cable package. The towels, OH THE TOWELS! The Bryson Inn towels were as good or better than the towels on our last Caribbean cruise. Breakfast was okay. Some people complain about no eggs but this hotel is a bit limited on what they can serve. This morning I had some of the best biscuits (ever) and gravy, really good coffee (a huge plus) that was even better than the coffee at the $250 hotel near Rochester. Those biscuits were warm and soft and fluffy, unlike the hockey pucks at most hotels. The gravy, although lacking chunks of sausage was flavorful and had just the right amount of pepper.

Now, about the staff. First, the desk night shift. As I said we got there late, no reservation, about 10pm. A NO VACANCY sign on the door didn't deter me. I mentioned to the desk clerk that all the reviews on the hotel were good and if they were in fact sold out. AHA! She says they did have a cancelation and we were in luck. Yay! Next, the breakfast attendant was wonderful. Breakfast is open until 10, I walked in at 9:30, and the hotel was full the night before. The breakfast attendant appeared to be speaking with the manager and as soon as she saw me enter the lobby she rushed to the breakfast room. Everything was stocked, turned on, fresh, and available. And beyond that, she asked if I'd like the biscuits and gravy (even offered to make me waffles) and would I like it to go or to eat there. I asked for a plate to go, and then went to pour myself a cup of the great coffee. She brought my plate, covered with another plate, on a tray with napkin and plastic cutlery. SERVICE! Unheard of at most hotel breakfast nooks. Along with this, I picked up some prepackaged items for my wife in the room. Was surprised to find more than the usual bagel, English muffin and toast. There were little cheese Danish, and cinnamon twists (like churros), along with some fresh fruit, cereal, and yogurt. Again, all well stocked and available even after most of the house had come through. We finally finished breakfast, showered, packed, and checked out at 5 til 11. The front desk clerk on duty was pleasant, efficient, and happy to answer a couple questions.

So, after all this, I gotta say we'll be back. In fact, we'll plan on leaving with reservations to stop here the next time we have to travel to the...

My husband and I stayed there 04/08-04/13 and the first night I was bitten by a bug, which turned into a rather large red welt that persisted for 7 days. It was hot to the touch, very red, painful and itchy.

I agree the rooms are nice and clean, but Housekeeping could do a better job of filling up the shower dispensers and I found a bug in the bathroom after I was bitten. One night while snacking, I accidentally smeared chocolate on my flat sheet and when we returned after sightseeing, the maid hadn't swapped the sheet out and I had to go to the Front Desk to request they do so. They did send the maid right away and she did change it.

We had several burnt out light bulbs in the bathroom and the switch was missing from our bedside lamp, so I took a list down to the Front Desk Clerk and the maintenance was done while we were out that same day. The heating/cooling unit doesn't work on automatic where it shuts off once it reaches your programmed temperature like most hotel units do -- I don't know if ours was broken or that's how their units are, but we had to manually turn it off on a constant basis once the programmed temperature was reached.

They do seem to care about the motel and are very accommodating to please their guests especially disabled ones. This motel is right next to a very busy truck stop, so ask to be booked on the opposite side of the truck stop entrance and you will have nice restful sleep.

Suggestions to improve: Get rid of the ironing boards and irons and put a mini microwave in each room on top of the mini fridge; provide a better breakfast, and fumigate the rooms on a regular basis.

Their breakfast was one of the worst I have had in a motel. If you like lots of starch and carbs, then you'll be happy with their cereals, waffles, toast, and muffins. The ONLY day I saw ANY meat was our last day there (Sunday) and it was biscuits with sausage gravy. Fruit is limited - 2 apples and 2 tangerines. There was yogurt and NO eggs. When I asked the 15-16 year old girl that manages their breakfast area, she told me the health inspector wouldn't allow them to serve eggs. I don't believe her. I think because the price of eggs have gone up, they just don't want to buy them! They watered down the orange juice and it was the worst I have ever drank! I didn't care for their coffee either.

The mattresses were nice and firm, which we really liked as most places have soft, lumpy mattresses. This was plus as well as the cleanliness of the room.

This motel is owned by an East Indian family and the two young men that manage and work the front desk are very, very nice. Their prices are very competitive and I saw many Senior couples staying there and overall it was a good value. I think if they tweaked their breakfast offerings and fumigated the rooms, it could be a 4-5 star motel. I rated it only 3 due to the bug bite, no microwave &...

I was excited to give them 5 stars because the woman that checked me in was very kind, the room was very clean and maintained (little things like new, straight caulk between shower seems). I'm a carpet cleaner, so I'm very sensitive to when a room feels clean. This place was sterile. Props to maintenance and to the cleaner (the paper in my room says her name is Rocio). However in the morning, I needed some extra time for checkout, as it's really hard for me to wake up (it's related to a sleep disorder). I asked for some extra time to take a shower and get ready, but was only given 10 minutes. I expected her to say 30 minutes or an hour- which is what I've always gotten at other hotels. I work on the road and am in hotels more than I'm not. She was very rigid, "I could give you 10 extra minutes but after that, you gotta be out of there." I mean 10 minutes? Why not just put my towards the end of the list of the rooms that are to be cleaned? So my conclusion is that my initial estimation that they are a very "tightly run ship" is a double edged sword. It benefits you in that the room is very well maintained and clean, but don't expect much of any wiggle room in any way. The only exception I can think of is if she has a contractor scheduled to work in my specific room at a specific time, but I'm sure that's not the case, as she didn't mention that. Overall a great experience at a great value that left me a little sour at the end. I'll clarify that I WOULD stay again.

EDIT: I was going to give 4 stars, but I've now since checked out and the woman was very kind and definitely takes her job seriously. So I feel bad docking a star. I also met Rocio on my way to my car and gave her tip. I've ran and operated a business for 7 years and overall I really respect the organization, structure, and punctuality. My tip to front desk would to give at least 20 - 30 minutes. As I'm in my car typing this out, it's been 20 minutes and no one has entered my room yet to clean it, so I think it would be in everyone's best interest to give a touch extra time.

Hopefully this is helpful feedback for the company as well as potential customers!

EDIT2: I'm in my car sending emails and making calls. It's now 30 minutes later and still no one cleaning my room- however they're cleaning the room next door. So 30 minutes would not have worked. I'm thinking management was trying to defend workers' time, which I can respect. But I stand by 20 or 30 minutes even so if it brings the customer added value. But again. I'm overall happy with my experience and edited from 4 stars...