Love Ridge Mountain Lodging — Hotel in Stuarts Draft

DO NOT STAY HERE!!! The Royal Oaks Inn advertises clean "chalets" with beautiful views of the blue ridge mountains. The website shows numerous pictures of the various cabins and chalets. However, when we went to stay there, Chalet 11 was a filthy mess unfit for habitation. It was obvious that the establishment hadn't actually been cleaned in some time (probably months). There were layers of dust and dirt visible to the naked eye in every corner of the house. There were hundreds of gnats flying around. The carpet was so dirty that after showering, we all had black feet from walking on the carpet. There was old garlic and a layer of dust covering the top of the fridge.

When I went to complain to the owners about the condition of the unit, I was immediately met with anger and told that I was outright lying about the state of the unit. I was then told, "If a refund is what you are after, you can forget it" although I hadn't even mentioned a refund. I had only asked that our chalet 11 be properly cleaned. (We had an 8 month old baby with us as well) The proprietor's wife was milling about and chimed in claiming she had personally cleaned the house. After a verbal altercation they followed us up to the house where we pointed out the filth. They were armed only with one small hand duster and a can of Raid, I kid you not. They stormed out claiming that the dirt was because "we were in the mountains."

As she was leaving, the wife said that they had experienced this (referring to people leaving early because of the disgusting conditions) many times before.

The manager reappeared some 5 minutes later and asked if we could talk. After I told him no, he said he was going to offer us a free night stay. Odd considering they just called us liars and told us a refund would not be offered. Most interesting is that they never offered to clean the place which was our only complaint. I can't warn you enough, do not stay here.

These people are more than unprofessional. They should not be allowed to operate a business in the state...

We booked 2 nights in the Three Ridges cabin (#7) and it exceeded our expectations. The directions to get there are very easy to follow, and the drive there is beautiful. There’s enough parking next to the cabin. Check in was a breeze, since it’s contactless. When we walked in, the cabin was super warm and cozy, which was great considering it was in the 30s when we got there. It was so clean, everything was completely spotless. We got an additional package for our anniversary of wine and candles and that was definitely worth the extra money, the local wine was delish!!! The bed was a little on the firm side which was perfect for us, and I will recommend bringing your own pillows if you need firm pillows. The kitchen had just about everything you could need. Plenty of dishes, cups, silverware, knives, cookware, coffee maker, utensils, even 2 lighters for the fire/charcoal grill. There is an induction stove which worked great to cook and a microwave, as well as a toaster oven. The water got SO hot pretty quickly. They also left some ice in the freezer as well as salt and pepper, some oil, coffee and filters. It was super quiet, didn’t have any issues with noise, the charcoal grill was perfect, and we could see the stars each night. We even took a peek at the game shed and grabbed a few movies to watch. There is very limited service and the wifi isn’t the best, but that is advertised and I didn’t want to be bothered so that was perfect for us. The ONLY thing I would add would be sugar for coffee and maybe do a good deep clean of the jacuzzi tub because we could tell the jets were kind of old. But other than that, the owners were so great, texting to make sure we were comfortable, and we were so impressed and look forward to making this an...

I can say almost nothing good about this "resort" other than it is in a fantastic location. I ignored any of the negative comments I read, and I wish I hadn't. We stayed in one of the smaller cabins, and I would describe the experience as camping with electricity and plumbing (but not). Our experience was tempered by a horrible storm and loss of power, but I can easily speak to what might have been a "normal" experience. Before the power went out, I could ignore the awful decor, the collapsed couch, the odd "hot tub" in the living room, the scratchy towels and even the tiny barely there kitchenette. What I could not ignore was the utter lack of cleanliness. Not dirt or dust from being in the woods, but consistent neglect. I am not a clean freak at all, but the dishes, pots and pans were covered in food residue, there wasn't a thing to clean them with. The part that really, horribly grossed me out was the amount of human hair in the blankets. Not just one or two, but ALL OVER the blanket. I felt awful for the owners who were attempting to put on a wedding without power, but the attitude of the husband was about as bad as it gets in the service industry. I got a hint of his lack of friendliness before we even arrived, but when bad things were going down, he could not have handled himself worse. All in all, the place resonates with the over-tiredness of the owners and dated neglect. If we'd paid $50/night, none of my feelings (other than the grossness of the bedding) would be nearly so negative because you get what you pay for, but at over triple that price, I give Royal Oaks Cabins two giant...