Gorhams Bluff — Hotel in Scottsboro

My daughter was recently married at Gorham's Bluff and I've like to offer a word of warning to anyone considering an event larger than 15 - 20 people. While there were parts that were beautiful (The view, the photos), there were many things that didn't meet our expectations at all. ||1. Dawn (facilities manager) is scattered, ill prepared and forgetful. While she presents herself as an expert on events small and large, she has issues with poor communication, organization and overselling the abilities of herself and her staff (or lack thereof). We experienced so many dropped balls from Dawn and her very limited staff, it's hard to list them all. ||2. The cost of the Venue - When you rent the Gorham's Bluff venue for 5 k, that includes almost nothing. No chairs, tables, linens, forks, cups, etc. They tried to have us pay for chaffing dishes and warming boxes, claiming that they don't have room to store those things and that we needed to pay for them to be rented. They claimed that they provided staff for the reception, but there were only two servers for 100 guests and everything ran out (including water). You would be much better off renting other venues that charge the same fee but provide some items and are certainly better equipped to effectively execute feeding large parties in a timely manner (trained chefs and staff are the key). Dawn offered to cut down a tree for the tent located outside the reception area (an extension of tables and a bar). It didn't happen until the week before the wedding and the stump was left. It was unsightly and not at all what was promised. ||3. The Reception - where to begin. There were so many fails that it's hard to remember them all. ||We asked for passed appetizers and what we received were very few and they were luke warm to cold. The "bruschetta" was a few marinated tomatoes tossed on a piece of toast. No balsamic sauce or much flavor. Big fail. The bacon and cheese app on toast was cold and waxy when they were brought to our table. They held out the trays for people to pick up with their fingers instead of using tongs to serve. We also had a meatball appetizer as well but the server never came to our table with those, even though I was the person paying for this event (Bigger Fail). Everyone was starving and only received a few pieces of toast and some received ONE meatball. It was so mortifying for me as my family and friends were asking if any more food would be served before dinner. *SCREAM||The Dinner was very late due to lack of staff setting up the chaffing dishes and other stations. These should have been set up ahead of time, but again, the lack of employees was glaringly obvious. By the time we started calling the tables up to get their food, people were downright hangry. I noticed that the brisket was severed sliced, even though we emphatically stated at the tasting that we wanted it pulled (that requires a longer cooking process) and not sliced. I specifically made sure Dawn was aware of this, but she failed to execute with the "chef". The Brisket was luke warm and pretty tasteless. We requested rolls at the tasting to eat with the brisket and no rolls were provided. This is another "missed" detail by Dawn. The mashed potatoes for the mashed potato bar were cold. The toppings were placed on a table that was too large and nothing was labeled (absolutely no labels on any of the food). The creamed Spinach was more like spinach dip, but it did taste good, so that gets a pass. The chicken marsala was absolutely, 100% NOT chicken marsala. It was nothing like the marsala served at the tasting. It was chicken in a butter/garlic sauce with mushrooms. There was no marsala taste or color. HUGE FAIL. At least the rice was hot (It was the last thing out and we waited a while for it to arrive). The green beans were well cooked but absolutely naked. No butter sauce, salt, pepper, nothing. Also, there was no salt or pepper offered for the guests. Yes, you read that correctly, no salt or pepper in the place. The salad bar was passible, but nothing was labeled. One of the guests looked at me and said, "I'm counting on this being balsamic". It was on a too large table and seemed skimpy. SCREAM. ||The water and tea ran out by 9:30 (this lasted until 11) and the employees vanished about that time. One of my friends literally went to the BATHROOM to get water from the tap. JESUS MARY AND JOSEPH, I was so mortified yet again. The bartenders also did last call at 9:30 because they were only paid until that time and they left without serving cases of beer, 1/2 a keg and a large container of Sangria left. No one asked if if we could pay for another hour. They just disappeared. The attendees served themselves at that point. Again... EPIC FAIL. They bartenders were slow and had attitude. I asked if they could serve from both lines and I was told "no". The fact that we were paying their hourly rate seemed of no consequence. I was gob smacked. ||I tried to enjoy my daughter's wedding and overlook the glaring issues. Most folks had left by 10:30 and we let the DJ leave 30 minutes early. As he was packing up, Dawn came by and gave us the keys and told us to "turn off the lights and lock up after her leaves". US. TOLD US TO WRAP UP AN EVENT AT HER ESTABLISHMENT. We locked up and left, not understanding how this was our responsibility. ||4, The Lodge - When you use the venue for a wedding, you are required to rent out all 6 rooms at the lodge for Friday and Saturday night. The lodge was shabby and clearly a decade in need of an update. The doors on the water closets in the two largest suites came off track. The fireplace in each room were confusing, some were turned on and some off and we couldn't figure out how to turn on/off. There needs to be a TV in each room but there is only 1 in the main room of the lodge. One of the guest rooms had a door that kept spontaneously popping open in the wind. We had to put a chair in front of it. This place could be amazing, but it needs a real influx of cash and someone who has the ability to run a B&B and host large events. Dawn isn't that person. ||My advice? Don't use Gorham's Bluff for any group larger than 20. They don't have the management, facilities, organization, abilities and most importantly, staff to facilitate a...

My daughter was recently married at Gorham's Bluff and I've like to offer a word of warning to anyone considering an event larger than 15 - 20 people. While there were parts that were beautiful (The view, the photos), there were many things that didn't meet our expectations at all. ||1. Dawn (facilities manager) is scattered, ill prepared and forgetful. While she presents herself as an expert on events small and large, she has issues with poor communication, organization and overselling the abilities of herself and her staff (or lack thereof). We experienced so many dropped balls from Dawn and her very limited staff, it's hard to list them all. ||2. The cost of the Venue - When you rent the Gorham's Bluff venue for 5 k, that includes almost nothing. No chairs, tables, linens, forks, cups, etc. They tried to have us pay for chaffing dishes and warming boxes, claiming that they don't have room to store those things and that we needed to pay for them to be rented. They claimed that they provided staff for the reception, but there were only two servers for 100 guests and everything ran out (including water). You would be much better off renting other venues that charge the same fee but provide some items and are certainly better equipped to effectively execute feeding large parties in a timely manner (trained chefs and staff are the key). Dawn offered to cut down a tree for the tent located outside the reception area (an extension of tables and a bar). It didn't happen until the week before the wedding and the stump was left. It was unsightly and not at all what was promised. ||3. The Reception - where to begin. There were so many fails that it's hard to remember them all. ||We asked for passed appetizers and what we received were very few and they were luke warm to cold. The "bruschetta" was a few marinated tomatoes tossed on a piece of toast. No balsamic sauce or much flavor. Big fail. The bacon and cheese app on toast was cold and waxy when they were brought to our table. They held out the trays for people to pick up with their fingers instead of using tongs to serve. We also had a meatball appetizer as well but the server never came to our table with those, even though I was the person paying for this event (Bigger Fail). Everyone was starving and only received a few pieces of toast and some received ONE meatball. It was so mortifying for me as my family and friends were asking if any more food would be served before dinner. *SCREAM||The Dinner was very late due to lack of staff setting up the chaffing dishes and other stations. These should have been set up ahead of time, but again, the lack of employees was glaringly obvious. By the time we started calling the tables up to get their food, people were downright hangry. I noticed that the brisket was severed sliced, even though we emphatically stated at the tasting that we wanted it pulled (that requires a longer cooking process) and not sliced. I specifically made sure Dawn was aware of this, but she failed to execute with the "chef". The Brisket was luke warm and pretty tasteless. We requested rolls at the tasting to eat with the brisket and no rolls were provided. This is another "missed" detail by Dawn. The mashed potatoes for the mashed potato bar were cold. The toppings were placed on a table that was too large and nothing was labeled (absolutely no labels on any of the food). The creamed Spinach was more like spinach dip, but it did taste good, so that gets a pass. The chicken marsala was absolutely, 100% NOT chicken marsala. It was nothing like the marsala served at the tasting. It was chicken in a butter/garlic sauce with mushrooms. There was no marsala taste or color. HUGE FAIL. At least the rice was hot (It was the last thing out and we waited a while for it to arrive). The green beans were well cooked but absolutely naked. No butter sauce, salt, pepper, nothing. Also, there was no salt or pepper offered for the guests. Yes, you read that correctly, no salt or pepper in the place. The salad bar was passible, but nothing was labeled. One of the guests looked at me and said, "I'm counting on this being balsamic". It was on a too large table and seemed skimpy. SCREAM. ||The water and tea ran out by 9:30 (this lasted until 11) and the employees vanished about that time. One of my friends literally went to the BATHROOM to get water from the tap. JESUS MARY AND JOSEPH, I was so mortified yet again. The bartenders also did last call at 9:30 because they were only paid until that time and they left without serving cases of beer, 1/2 a keg and a large container of Sangria left. No one asked if if we could pay for another hour. They just disappeared. The attendees served themselves at that point. Again... EPIC FAIL. They bartenders were slow and had attitude. I asked if they could serve from both lines and I was told "no". The fact that we were paying their hourly rate seemed of no consequence. I was gob smacked. ||I tried to enjoy my daughter's wedding and overlook the glaring issues. Most folks had left by 10:30 and we let the DJ leave 30 minutes early. As he was packing up, Dawn came by and gave us the keys and told us to "turn off the lights and lock up after her leaves". US. TOLD US TO WRAP UP AN EVENT AT HER ESTABLISHMENT. We locked up and left, not understanding how this was our responsibility. ||4, The Lodge - When you use the venue for a wedding, you are required to rent out all 6 rooms at the lodge for Friday and Saturday night. The lodge was shabby and clearly a decade in need of an update. The doors on the water closets in the two largest suites came off track. The fireplace in each room were confusing, some were turned on and some off and we couldn't figure out how to turn on/off. There needs to be a TV in each room but there is only 1 in the main room of the lodge. One of the guest rooms had a door that kept spontaneously popping open in the wind. We had to put a chair in front of it. This place could be amazing, but it needs a real influx of cash and someone who has the ability to run a B&B and host large events. Dawn isn't that person. ||My advice? Don't use Gorham's Bluff for any group larger than 20. They don't have the management, facilities, organization, abilities and most importantly, staff to facilitate a...

The view from Gorham's Bluff gets 5 stars as it's quite impressive but the natural beauty is the only positive thing I have to say about this place. We stayed 3 days at the Evans cottages which was a little worn and exhibiting water damage in the ceiling and in the kitchen floor but still very comfortable. However, there was virtually no room for food items except in the fridge. It's clearly designed for only a couple.

Because we were staying longer, we had to move the Greek Revival cottage, which has only half a kitchen and is NOT designed for people planning on cooking for themselves. This is a major problem as there is no nearby restaurant except the Lodge, which has a good, if somewhat limited menu. The Lodge itself also showed signs of a lack of maintenance. The back deck on the Greek Revival had wooden planks that were very worn, warped and the nails were popping out in several locations. Also, there was no indoor dining table. There was an outside table with 4 chairs but with the high humidity, that made eating outside uncomfortable. Thankfully, the air conditioning in every location worked well!

Despite issues with maintenance, the rooms were comfortable. However, the single biggest drawback is that there is nothing to do around here. Several, but not all, cottages offer bicycles and there is a small swimming pool and playground but that's the extent of the activities. There is a short trail along the bluff but one of them is a long wooden walkway that is in serious disrepair. The nearby town of Pisgah (and all other nearby towns) lack any meaningful facilities. This is not a place designed to handle tourists. A pity, since the Tennessee River is at the bottom of the bluff with a large gulf that could be a place for water activities but there is no quick route to it, nor did I find anything nearby when I searched for boat rentals.

All around are signs that this place started well and there was a serious investment in its infrastructure but it hasn't been maintained in many years. The playground is overrun with spider webs and the wooden planks are starting to split. The benches are worn, broken, not kept clean and not repaired when needed. Also, bring DEET if you plan on exploring the nearby woods, they swarm with mosquitoes and ticks (3 of my 5 family members brought ticks into the cottage - thankfully no one got bit by them). All in all, I won't be coming back unless I intend to stay inside while viewing some very...