Bear Tracts Vacation Cabins — Local services in Gatlinburg

We stayed at "Best Kept Secret" and I really wanted to love this company due to the fact we come down probably 3-4 times a year but unfortunately the cabin and experience was very disappointing. I am not one to complain ever but staying with this company put a huge damper on our honeymoon. First when we arrived the AC was not working and the house was 78 degrees. My husband had to spend our whole first evening fixing the air conditioning so kind of sucked to have to waste time on that but it ended up being fine. We really splurged on this cabin for its amenities such as the indoor pool theater, the smart TVs, and the hot tub which unfortunately was all either not working or a complete disappointment. We complained that the pool theater was not working so after a couple days a tech came out and said that the entire system was toast and would not be operational during our stay. The pool theater was a big reason we spent so much money on the cabin so this came as a huge disappointment. Not only was the pool theater not functional but after the tech was done looking at everything he spent like 30 minutes talking about religion then questioning us about our religious beliefs which I just found super uncomfortable. Since the pool theater was not working, we decided to use the hot tub which was also a gigantic disappointment. There is barely a difference between the hot tub just idling and the jets being on. It barely pushes any water out at all. I complained and they said that is just how the hot tub works but I highly doubt that. After that we just decided to watch TV which also did not work because both TVs just continued to kick us out and take us to the TV Home Screen instead of playing our selection. Any time we had an issue they just sent us a step by step guide to fix stuff which didn't work either. The whole experience was very frustrating. After a lot of headache and constant emailing they offered us a free ticket somewhere and a very minimal amount of money back considering what we paid for was the amenities and we didn't get to use any of them. But atleast they offered something so it's better than nothing and I'm not arguing with it. Overall just very very disappointed.

The cabin itself was beautiful and the location was convenient, just nothing worked correctly. Wouldn't recommend because I...

The overall experience was extremely disappointing for the amount of money paid. Awful. The first night the heat did not work - it would not go above 61 degrees - after repeated calls and texts the owners finally said they would send someone to fix - at 11:30pm - they said to check into a hotel if needed (we had 8 people and 2 elderly people in party and up a mountain) - of course we had to sta and slept in coats. Next day they said they sent someone but didn’t need to enter house to fox heat - lies! That afternoon - they called and text and said heat does not go above 64 because of cold weather - all other units by us had heat at 74. They sent over 1 space heater to heat 3500 square feet and said it was fixed. That evening heat worked again and magically went over 72!

Also had issue with smoke alarms/ carbon monoxide alarms going off for hours - called and had to leave property - didn’t know if it was truly carbon monoxide- worried bc had elderly and young kids. Fixed that afternoon.

Last two days we had snow - some private roads in resort in front of homes were plowed and cleaned - many were not and Bear Tracts resort did not salt or sand - they said it was “it was in gods hands to melt” which made impassable. Initially they said they called the maintenance of the resort and they were working on it - then the story kept changing and nothing was ever done after repeated calls and texts.

Roads were never salted, sanded or plowed. We could not stay in house last night and had to find 2 hotel rooms in pigeon forge - next day management company would not assist - would not send truck to help us retrieve stuff out of house in order to check out. Had to walk up and down mountain for 4 hours to get belongings - worst experience of my life and the management company would not answer any calls on last day after 10 am and it help.

For a 4 day 6k+ rental, 1 night did not have heat, one day alarm went off for hours, final day we had to get hotel. Management company is not willing to work with us or refund. They are a scam - reading all reviews they continuously turn every situation on the renters and say it was their fault. I wish we would have done a lot more research - DO NOT GET SCAMMED. Thought they were more viable - especially with booking through VRBO. No one has...

I am writing this review to express my extreme disappointment with the management of the cabin we rented in Gatlinburg. Our experience was fraught with issues, starting with a complete lack of communication from the management company.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with the aftermath of a storm, which had knocked out power in the area. A heads-up from the management, especially considering we were traveling from another state, would have been greatly appreciated. Due to the power outage, we were forced to stay in a hotel for the first night. When we contacted the management, their response was unhelpful and generic, promising to work on restoring power but without any specific information or assistance.

The next day, we found more power lines down and, of course, still no power. The treacherous conditions made it impossible for us to access the cabin, and we had to make the tough decision to return home. Despite not using the cabin, our request for at least a refund of the cleaning fee was met with the same unhelpful response.

We were also unaware that snow and power outages were common in this area. This lack of transparency in their listing is unacceptable. It would have been beneficial to know that purchasing insurance for such incidents was advisable.

Additionally, the cabin's location and surrounding views were misleading. Contrary to what we expected, the cabin offered no scenic views, only a sight of neighboring homes and power lines. Also, the 13-mile distance from Gatlinburg is deceiving, as it translates to a 45-minute drive in the mountains.

A simple and inexpensive device in the cabin to monitor power outages and inform guests would be a basic expectation from a quality management company. Since we didn’t even step into the cabin, the refusal to refund the cleaning fee is unreasonable, adding insult to injury.

In conclusion, we are deeply unsatisfied with our experience. This was supposed to be a pleasant family vacation, and instead, it turned into a frustrating ordeal. We will certainly not be returning and feel it's important to inform others of these issues so they can avoid a similar situation. Future guests deserve transparency and a management company that adequately handles...