Mountain Laurel Chalets — Local services in Gatlinburg

My husband and I rented a chalet from Mt Laurel Chalets (Above Laurelwood) for our honeymoon from Oct 27 - Nov1, 2014. We found the chalet to be quite below expectations.

There were massive cobwebs in the windows, on the banisters and even connected from the dining room light to the dining room table. The kitchen was ill equipped w/ no dinner forks, no frying pans, and no pasta pot. We were told that we could've called the office and they'd have supplied us w/ these items but nothing stated that in our literature. The ceiling fans and bathroom exhaust fans were caked w/ dust. The furnace wouldn't run on HEAT due to dirtly furnace filter; we had to operate it on EMH. The icemaker made a terrible noise and made little to no ice. A bug had crawled up into the oven clock. There was very poor water pressure and not even enough hot water to fill a jacuzzi tub which left this feature useless to us. The light over the hot tub didn't work. The doors of the chalet leading to the outside were flimsy at best and could easily be kicked open had a would-be attacker wanted in. The bathroom upstairs had water damage by the shower and the shower was only big enough for a small child to bathe in. The shower curtain had water stains. The king bed felt like a piece of cement and the pillows were equally as hard. The bed to the full bed on the first floor was broken down at the foot of the bed.

Believe it or not, all of this we were willing to 'overlook' since the last 3 chalets we had rented in previous years were simply lovely. However, upon our last nite there, a snow storm came thru knocking out the power; which in turn left us w/out heat, hot water, and any means of cooking food. We were w/out power for 16 hrs; most of which was overnite as we slept. I had a terrible head cold the entire week and it started to get better the last couple days of our stay until this disaster. I now have bronchitis and walking pneumonia as a result of breathing in the cold air w/ no heat and no emergency supplies. I've missed an entire week of work as a result.

The part that is most disturbing is that I called the office 4 times to report no heat, electric, no food and being stranded. There were also NO phones except what cell reception you could get. We were told emergency help was on the way after the 1st call. An hour later when I called back, I was told to 'sit tight', that a tree was down and roads were too bad to leave. Mind you, 4x4 vehicles could pass, but not our Toyota Corolla! At no point did the staff offer to send extra blankets, food, or alternate heat source. The fireplace was wood burning NOT gas and there were NO extra blankets, throws or anything to cover up with. Upon the 3rd time calling down, we were told to 'sit tight' until 1pm, that another tree was down but would be cleared out in 20 mins. Again, mind you, larger vehicles are getting thru, even in front of our chalet but no offer of assistance to get us down so we can check out and get home before the second storm comes thru.

Approx 1:07pm on Nov 1st, we got in our car and started down only to find the tree was NOT cleared. Roads were still slippery but it was supposed to be a short distance to the office. I called from the car this time was still told 'sorry, please sit tight, they're doing all they can do'. I said waiting is no longer an option, we're in the car and we need an alternate way out! So they DID stay on the phone w/ us and reroute us until we got to safety but that was after I yelled and cried in fear and in sickness that I was unhappy. Once reaching the office to check out, they only wanted to refund 100.00 of a nearly $1000.00 stay and that was refunded begrudgingly and still hasn't shown up on my credit card as a refund. I believe that due to all of the issues w/ this 'vacation' and the chalet, Mt Laurel Chalet should do the right thing and refund our entire stay! We will definitely not be back NOR will we recommend this to anyone else! They're great when all goes well but TERRIBLE in the event...

Thirty years ago my husband and I spent the first part of our honeymoon at Rose Mountain chalet, one of Mountain Laurel Chalets, at the time. As far as we know, it was lost in the 2016 fire, because we could not return for our 30th wedding anniversary this year. But we did return to the Mountain Laurel Chalets website and found a spot that we both thought we would like, Bear Paw. We thought correctly, because we absolutely LOVED it. And we did see bears. A mom and four cubs, right outside our bedroom window, on our third day there. But my phone/camera was outside on the deck. Lesson for the day: always keep your camera within reach!

Mountain Laurel Chalets did not disappoint. Online reservations were easy. My husband's phone calls to ask questions that were not on their website were answered pleasantly and thoroughly. In-person check-in was smooth and efficient with very friendly staff. I was very warmly greeted, too, because I was wearing the 50th anniversary T-Shirt for Rose Mountain Chalets, with the bright yellow name emblazoned across the front. I was not about to miss the opportunity to celebrate their 50 years (which was actually 2022) with our 30 years. It was close enough, right?

The map to get to the chalet was perfect. WE were NOT. We missed a turn, going left instead of right. When the names of the roads we were on were on the other side of the map, we back-tracked. If you've ever driven the roads in those mountains, you know they are narrow, steep and winding. Just like the driveway we needed to take, once we found Bear Paw. BUT THE VIEW WAS WELL WORTH THE CLIMB!!!

We had a little problem using the key-less entry, but a call to the office and a remote reset had us inside in no time.

We were greeted by Alexa playing music that was heard throughout the chalet. We're not Alexa users and after a few unsuccessful attempts to get her to change the music to our 80's rock, we just told her to go to sleep and we enjoyed the natural mountain sounds.

The chalet was everything we wanted and more. It was not only beautifully furnished with bear themed decor, but well stocked with laundry soap, dish washer detergent and a "surprise" breakfast treat from a local bakery. And THE VIEW had me smiling my "I'm in heaven!" smile.

We had made a few plans for our Gatlinburg visit that would take us back into town, but I would have been content to just stay at the chalet the whole trip. There were things to do (hot tub, TV's, checkers and backgammon), a full kitchen and grill to cook whatever our hearts desired, a reclining sofa for watching movies or reading books (that we'd brought from home), bistro-like tables and chairs on the deck for outdoor dining.

We had breakfast on the deck every morning, after I got up early to watch the sunrise over the mountains.

We were having trouble getting the TV's working on our third day there. Nothing we tried could get us anything beyond the welcome screen. We called the office and someone was at our door in a couple of hours. We enjoyed some Gatlinburg wine and a movie that evening.

We enjoyed the stay so much we made reservations to...

My kids and I selected a chalet in Gatlinburg,TN through VRBO for Christmas and the pictures on VRBO were amazing. Nowhere on the VRBO website did it warn us about a very steep driveway requiring 4 wheel drive or something with a lot of power. When we we arrived in our rented 2021 Toyota Camry to say we were scared would be an understatement. Not only did we not make it up the hill we stalled and slid backwards and the kids were very scared also. After several attempts and scraping the rental car up pretty good ( yes I was responsible for that cost thank you) we made it up the hill and we’re scared to go back down again. The chalet “On the Rocks” itself was old and musky with visible cobwebs, peeling wallpaper, old gross ceilings, stained furniture and just downright felt dusty and dirty. The indoor jacuzzi that looked great in the pictures was either too hot 108degrees and was preset so we couldn’t change it or kept us up all night. The maintenance person came the second day to lower the temperature but the following night it made so much noise (jets blasting) I had to sleep in the other room with my son. The only good things were the view out the main windows and the beds were comfortable. Everything else was dirty. When we ventured out the next day to the office to see if maybe we could park somewhere, anywhere else or SOMETHING we were met with dismissal. An older lady with short blond hair said smugly the “there is nothing we can do for you… I can’t rebuild the driveway (yes very rude) and you can’t park on the road or you will get towed.” When I pointed out that the guest book comments had at least 20-30 comments about the steep drive and my impression of it being dangerous I was told that “it’s listed on our website that low clearance vehicles may scrape.” I reiterated that NOWHERE on the VRBO website did it say ANYTHING about a steep dangerous driveway where you possibly could stall and slide down backwards and mess up your car. This staff member proceeded to be unhelpful by saying that “I could leave and get my money back” which is perhaps the most disturbing part to say to a guest that spent $1900.00 on a chalet for her and her kids for Christmas. This woman decided not to be helpful and could have offered something for us by means of another place to park at a different chalet etc. I do not believe for one second that nothing could have been done. She just decided not to help. I regret not asking for a manager or owner or something to let them know what she said. I informed the staff member that I would be providing my negative review online and also suggested they need to add to the VRBO listing and whatever other sites they list their rentals on about the steep driveway to which she lied saying “we don’t have control over what is printed in VRBO” which is a total lie. This is the first time I have complained about anyplace I’ve stayed during my travels but this experience was so upsetting customers should be made aware to stay far away from On the Rocks or Mountain...