Stone Mountain Manor — Hotel in Stone Mountain

I don’t normally leave bad reviews. I have sent a handful of well-worded emails to massive corporations that earned me little more than an automatic reply (and hopefully some chuckles in the break room) but I seldom leave poor reviews online. In a brief encounter with a hotel manager recently, he said, “We’ve got two responsibilities, a good bed, and a hot shower - if we fail at those, we’ve not done our job”. In a world where hotels start around $129 a night… the last ‘Hot Breakfast’ at a Hilton wasn’t more than an empty pot of oatmeal and powdered eggs - the last Hyatt took three room visits to find working AC. That manager’s comment framed my mind as I checked into a BnB last night. Not an AirBnB, a Bed and Breakfast. Let’s note I was in a bad mood, while not gruff, I wasn’t my sparkling best self when the kind man greeted me at the door of an 1800s stately mansion on the hilltop. While signing in, he made kind, polite, proprietor small talk. He walked me to my room and explained the remote and door lock. At the doorknob on his way out, he asked if I had plans for the night. I said no, “I hadn’t planned on being here.” I’ll swear it was in an apologetic tone. “Well,” he said, “It’s 7:40, if you leave now, you might get to the top of the mountain by sunset, if you only get halfway, it’s always a beautiful sunset on the mountain.” A big room with a giant bed. Surely hard. Seniors who stay at BnBs love hard beds. I sat down. I laid down. Soft. I noted the furniture, floor trim and molding. I’m sure the owner hand-curated the furniture. I regretted my short replies to his kind conversation. I looked out the window. Light. I looked at my feet. Tennis shoes. “The sunset is beautiful, even if you only make it halfway up, that's what the man said, and I've got no plans," I thought. Once there, people of all shapes and sizes ascended and descended. Languages I didn’t understand and music I’ve never heard filled the air. Names and dates are carved in the stone at my feet. Halfway up, looking behind, there was still a lot of sun, maybe I needed to see from the top. Once to the summit, my eyes turned to see the layers of color dissipate from the blazing sun, more reds revealing themselves as the fireball eased to dim. Music and laughter filled my ears - like a beach party, but on top of a Stone Mountain. No picnic baskets. It would be a lot of effort to get a picnic basket up here. Well, one picnic basket. He must really love her. I started to trek back down, but stopped. Why go? "I’ve got no plans". Instead, I breathed deeply, looked out in every direction, wished my wife was there. A day’s aggravations washed away in sweat and sunset. When I descended carefully through the dusk, others made their way toward the summit – now the music they played was louder than before. I didn’t recognize the songs, but they had a groove. Robert Palmer’s ‘Every Kind of People’ played in my head. This morning, I’ve re-focused, found my mind's eye, and been spoiled by a wonderfully prepared Breakfast after my Bed. The proprietor’s name is Adam, he has been the owner for six years, lives behind the property, drives a hybrid, makes excellent coffee, and I’ll tell you, there’s not a cobweb, not a smudged window, and he made each breakfast for each guest - I can only hope they appreciated the rosemary on the roasted tomatoes. Sometimes it’s worth getting off the interstate to find an overnight. Seek out those people who give us more than "a bed and a hot shower", find the folks who make preparation and presentation their occupation. Special thanks to my proprietor; You helped this curt man see the colors, breathe the air, rest his mind, and fill his belly, better than the Mr. Hyatt and Mr Hilton of the airport. I'll recommend Stone Mountain Manor to anyone, regardless of their disposition...

After a 10 hour drive, arrived at. 2:46. Would not allow me to check in because it wasn’t at 3pm, unless I paid $20. Adam made sure to let me know. Instead, we sat out on the patio with my 13 year old daughter in 90 degree heat waiting to be let in. Stayed once here a couple of years ago. Never again. When I notified him that we won’t be staying again , Adam was sure to get the last dig “Thanks for the update!. Enjoy your stay!” After checking in within 5 minutes, I get a banging on the door and I asked who it was, and he says Management. I open the door and a man says “I have to ask you to leave. You are not staying here. You left us a 1-star review”. I told him I did. He says “You have been extremely rude” I said, “I haven’t been rude. You have our text messages. I am not leaving and he says “I am calling the cops. I’m the owner here. Get your things and get out; you are not staying. If you refuse to leave I’m calling the police. “ I said “Go ahead and call the police. I’m staying”. I shut the door and then I get a text from Adam saying “The police are on their way”. Within 10 minutes I have 2 armed police officers at my door with guns asking my daughter and I to leave or be arrested; admittedly both shaking their head in disbelief.. My daughter packed her things, and then in the lobby I ask Adam if he wants to talk and resolve this-because if leaving a 1 star review is the problem, then perhaps resolve it because it won’t be adjusted upward otherwise. He walked away and said no. So, we left and called Booking.com to make them aware. They reached out to the property while putting us on hold, and the rep came back and even told me that after they spoke with Adam, Adam hung up on THEM! Booking.com was wonderful. They made us a reservation at another property and were completely apologetic and took care of us. So, this is our experience. Just know that if you choose to stay here, and you wish to write a negative review about your experience-Do it after the fact or you will be threatened...

Looking at Google maps satellite, this place is a laugh and very questionable. Nothing anyone can do about that. Upon arriving, the building is very nice and set back. It's not a large hotel, so you will not find many parking places. But there is plenty of parking for the rooms they have, no need to worry there. The check in process without reservation was easy, since they had rooms available. I prefer you make a reservation 1st, due to limited rooms. Room 2 was very nice and had a small jacuzzi style tub. I did not use it, but it was centered in front of a nice big window. Luckily the window had wooden blinds that closed it off, because that window looked right into the parking lot. That being said, room 2 has no privacy if you want natural daylight from the windows. Other than that, very nice room. Breakfast was very good, but limited. Today was eggs, bacon and french toast. Apparently, they cook enough for the #of guests that's staying the night and that's it. So on bacon day, you only get 2 slices. Not sure on the eggs and fruit bowl(mixed with yogurt and granola) but I did get 2 servings of French toast and eggs. They did also have toast, mini bagels and other fruit and small pastry, orange juice, tea and coffee. This is not a buffet, it's pretty much made to order. So at least the food is hot when you want.

I would stay here again for sure. But I will request an upstairs room so I can have some natural light privacy.

I must mention, there is only a .7 mile walk to the Stone Creek Park Entrance. And slightly less if you going to the walking trails.

Thanks...