Bear Camp Cabin Rentals — Hotel in Pigeon Forge

Responding to your comment, i did not chose that cabin, you forced it on me without notice. stop putting words in my mouth and lie. MOST Definitely the worst rental I have ever been to, avoid the management company if you can, use Airbnb or vrbo, they will back you up. It is hard to get a hold of Booking.com, they don’t follow up or check on their customers as much.

Original cabin - Mountain Jewel - URL removed since not allowed.

I booked the Mountain Jewel Cabin on august 31, this was the cabin we booked. Very nice and appealing cabin with LOTS of amenities as you can see in the picture. 3 days before arrival, I get a new email with the ‘upcoming’ stay where I noticed the address was different.

Replacement Cabin - Bearskin Gateway - URL Removed since not allowed.

The new property we were re-located to, it has 0 cabin appeal, I would have NEVER booked such location. It has no pool amenity, no fire pit, no cabin feel and NO VIEW! The pictures show everything.

Calling the management company, they then informed me that the original location had been cleaned and was ready for us but has been changed to a different one because the original property did not have water. How do you clean a 4bd 4bath and 2 living rooms without water?? I was told they could issue a full refund or go to the new property. I synched up with the other family we were going to meet there and agreed to cancel to get a full refund. Called back and requested a refund, I was told that per the contract I signed, I am not entitled to a refund and there was no reasoning with “Jenny” the manager I spoke with at that time. Despite all efforts to reason the folks are bear cabin rental, they showed no mercy, no compassion and 0 empathy, it was ‘go or you lose everything’. Jenny literally told me that this change is considered an UPGRADE.

On top of the “UPGRADE” we received, we had other types of surprise “UPGRADES”, all the items have an associated picture to illustrate them at their best! Here you go:

The underground level had a special ‘UPGRADE’ in the power section. WE HAD NO POWER IN THE UNDERGROUND BEDROOM SECTIONS (3 bedrooms). This wasn’t a breaker issue, this was a real deal power problem, we called them to address as an emergency, NO ONE CAME, we stacked the kids all together in one room and we had to sleep on the sofa and in the living room. This is unacceptable and the fact that they completely ignored us show how well they treat their guests. I am still shaken about this, you can mess with anything else but not sleep, how rude and inappropriate, shame on you all! Upgraded dishwasher without latching capabilities, perfect for vacation. Guess what I never thought considering bringing my own dishwasher during vacation, I will be adding this item to my list of things to always carry with me. We called to ask for someone to come over and fix it the morning after our arrival, NO one came, no follow up, called again to check on the status, was BS-ed all the way through. They couldn’t care less. Power outlet was readily accessible to kids, this is SAFETY UPGRADE. We did not make mention of this because we as parents know how to care of our own children and found an intermediate solution. We use verbal communication and set expectations, I can’t say the same about Bear camp cabin rental. The floors were filthy, we couldn’t walk bare foot or with socks, we had to stay with our shoes/flops the whole time. The carpets had a nasty odor and suspicious stains everywhere in the bedrooms. The bathtubs in 2 of the 3 bathrooms were filthy, no one could use them, see the pictures associated. I mean, there is a cleaning fee charged for actual cleaning… I guess we have a different definition of clean. We got an upgraded Internet speed, “The world best and most reliable internet”, for 2024 almost 2025, I highly recommend spending a bit more with internet providers, that can really make a difference. Especially since you are providing a large cabin with 5 bedrooms, you can expect kids with electronic devices that require...

LeConte Mountain Breeze – Where You Pay to Clean and Off-Road for Free!

We’ve stayed in a lot of cabins over the years, but this one? This one was special. If you’ve ever wanted to experience the thrill of off-roading, test your lung capacity in a dust-filled environment, and engage in a battle of wits over cleaning fees, LeConte Mountain Breeze by Bear Camp Cabins is the place for you!

Let’s Talk Cleanliness (Or Lack Thereof)

First off, my wife spent most of the trip struggling to breathe, and we had no idea why—until we realized dust was EVERYWHERE. I’m talking “write your name in it” levels of dust. I considered leaving a heartfelt message on the table in case the next guests wanted to know how we felt.

And the deck railings? Mold galore. Since we spent a lot of time outside, this was especially concerning. Nothing says “relaxing mountain getaway” like leaning against a railing and wondering if you’ll get a bonus respiratory infection.

Then there were the ladybugs. Now, I don’t mind bugs, but I have never seen this many in one place before. The large front windows in the main room were completely swarmed. If ladybugs are a sign of good luck, we should’ve won the lottery by now. If you’re not a fan of bugs, this place might just be your personal nightmare.

And finally—the hot tub. If you’ve ever wanted to play a fun game of “Is This Algae or Just a Stain?” then congratulations, you’re gonna love it here! The water had a greenish tint that screamed “not quite right.” The cabin next to us (which I think was owned by the same company, but who knows) actually had someone come up to clean their hot tub. We called about ours, and they told us to send pictures. By the time they responded, my wife had already decided she wasn’t getting in. Smart choice.

The Hidden Fees Are a Work of Art

Bear Camp Cabins is running a fun little pay-to-clean game! You pay a cleaning fee upfront, but if you dare to leave any trash in the cabin or fail to run the dishwasher, you’ll be charged extra. And don’t even think about leaving a single dirty dish behind, or they’ll hit you with a $65 fee.

So let me get this straight—I pay a cleaning fee, but if I don’t clean, I pay another cleaning fee? Am I missing something, or is this some kind of psychological experiment?

Now, I made sure to leave the place spotless because I wasn’t about to hand over another dime for their ridiculous cleaning rules. But if you don’t? Watch out! They’ll slap you with extra charges so fast your wallet will beg for mercy.

The Road to Adventure (a.k.a. Your Cabin)

The ad says the road to the cabin is paved. And technically…they’re not lying. But what they fail to mention is that it’s paved with potholes so deep they could swallow your car whole. I was driving a brand-new all-wheel-drive vehicle, and it still struggled to make it up the road. If you have a smaller car, bring a tow truck or a prayer.

And just to make things more exciting, the last mile before you reach the cabin is a single-lane road with almost no shoulder room. If someone is coming from the other direction, hope you’re good at reversing, because you’ll have to back up quite a bit before you can find a spot to pull over. Bonus points if it’s after dark!

The Refund Request That Turned Into a Joke

After all of this, I reached out and requested a 15% refund, thinking that was pretty reasonable given the subpar cleaning, the mold, the questionable hot tub, and my wife struggling to breathe in their dust trap of a cabin. Their response? A 10% discount on our next stay.

Ah yes, because what I really want is to give you more of my money.

Their excuse for not offering a refund? Since I didn’t let them come back and clean during my stay, they apparently “couldn’t do anything.” I’m sorry, but why should I have to spend my vacation waiting around for someone to come back and deep clean a cabin that should have been clean before I arrived? If they had done their job in the first place, we wouldn’t have had this...

First, let me say I'm just a regular guy who typically only leaves positive reviews. It is unusual for me to leave a negative review. Unfortunately, our experience was less than stellar.

The booking experience was easy. Loved the check-in procedure (just show up to the cabin), checkout was easy, attraction tickets were a huge bonus. The issues were with the cabin itself and the seemingly one-sided reviews on their website. We chose this cabin based on pictures, description, and positive reviews on their website. After staying in the cabin, I am convinced there must've been some negative reviews that simply weren't posted since the company controls what content gets posted. We experienced several issues.

Cleanliness: The cabin was dirty. The floors were especially dirty. Although the gray laminate flooring hides it well, the floor was terribly dirty. The cleaning crew had definitely been there, but the house was not properly cleaned, especially the floors. It seemed like the cleaning crew was heavy on some sort of cleaner or spray that had a strong odor. It smelled like someone intentionally sprayed a lot of something to make the place smell clean. However, it was too strong and smelled bad.

Internet: the Internet was absolutely terrible. It worked somewhat in the morning, but still not enough to do anything. In the evening/night, the internet was non-existent. It literally wouldn't even load any streaming service on the Smart TV. The cabin was equipped with three smart TVs, none of which were usable because the internet was so bad. Might as well not have TV's.

Thermostat: the thermostat UP button barely worked. In fact, the first night we were there, it would not work at all. I got it to work on day 2 by pushing the button VERY hard. This was inconsistent though, because it still wouldn't work sometimes. Because of this, we were uncomfortable at times. Not an emergency, but uncomfortable.

Water: the water in this cabin smelled terrible. There was a very strong sulfur smell. This should be advised in the cabin listing or allowing reviews to be published which might mention the negatives. We would not have stayed here had we known. We had to go buy air freshener just to cover the smell emitting through the cabin while someone was showering.

Other small annoyances:

the fridge had a built in ice maker, however, it did not make any ice.

the check-in procedure says to call the number and press 1 to finalize check-in once you arrive. However, option 1 for after hours arrival was for emergencies. Seeing as check-in isn't an emergency, I didn't press option 1. I should add that it wasn't super late when we arrived, yet we received the after hours welcome menu when calling.

the checkout procedures were different in the email versus the book in the cabin. One example is the HVAC settings. The book and the email said to see the thermostat on two different temperatures. One of them said set it at 60 during the winter, the other said set it at 65 during the winter. This is confusing information. Might as well not have any instruction for the thermostat at all.

it was a nice surprise to see the cabin was supplied with one pack of coffee. However, there was no coffee filter. If coffee is supplied, a filter should also be supplied.

Prior to writing this Google review, I left this same information on the Bear Camp departure survey/review and asked for the company to contact me, requesting a partial refund due to our negative experience. After nearly a week, I have not been contacted.

UPDATE: The company has still not responded, several...