The Hammel House Inn, Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Waynesville

An unfortunate visit, but good points first. Clean, good food, reasonably priced. I like their outreach to people with pets, their indoor and outdoor seating, and catering to people using the nearby bicycle path. The historic ambiance is genuine and comfortable. However... three strikes and you're out. 1. Mom fell when a poorly designed chair fell back from her. 2. The staff basically insisted she was the cause. 3. The waitress served my salad at the same time as my flatbread entree, so that got cold and soggy. 4. They took Mom's order for spice cake (Mom didn't want real food after her fall), and the waitress came back 10 minutes later to explain she wouldn't serve it because it wasn't to her standards. (This was about 1:30 in the afternoon on a weekday, so... wouldn't they have known already?)

This was my first visit and I took my 89-year-old mother. Mom has NEVER fallen in a restaurant, and we eat out several times a week. When we were shown to our table Mom hung her purse and coat on her chair as usual, and when she tried to sit the chair toppled out from under her and she fell, hitting her head on the wall. Thankfully we're hard-headed and tough ladies and she recovered. Other patrons and the hostess helped me get Mom up, and showed genuine concern that she was OK. But the troubling thing was the staff's attitude that it was Mom's fault for hanging her purse on the chair. All their narrow wooden chair legs curve inward (under the chair) in the back, putting the center of weight bearing well forward of the center of mass. We're not complainers - if anything, we're too nice. But when I nicely pointed out that they probably want to change those chairs when they can, the staff said the chairs were already here when the current owner bought the place (as if keeping the previous owner's mistakes make them not mistakes), and again insisted she shouldn't have hung her purse on the chair. This was a serious fall, folks, and we're just fortunate that she didn't hit her head harder on the wooden trim! The other patrons who saw the fall were extremely concerned about it and I monitored her for several hours for a potential head injury. I would love to know how many people have had exactly the same accident there.

Then to top off the visit, I mentioned to the waitress that I would like to have received the salad before my entree, she flippantly said "I know, my bad!" This wasn't a kid, but a "mature" woman. The flatbread was so soggy I had to wrap it like a taco and then stuff still fell out - it tasted good, but was very messy.

These attitudes are why I won't be back, and why I took the time to write this review. I hope they get things straightened out and keep this historic restaurant in business for a long time. They have a lot of very good points, but me, I'm going across...

It was early December 2020 when my sisters and I checked into the Hammel House. It was hectic and unwelcoming. We had made reservations and paid half of the charges yet our reservations were lost. The owners were not on the same page and were disorganized. No apology was given. Luckily there were two rooms available. My one sister had a room to herself it was a beautiful room with a king size bed but the mattress an/or support was horrible as the mattress had a downward lean to it towards the headboard. It was bizarre. The room was $170.00 dollar a night . She ended up having to pull the rollaway bed that was out in the hall and attempted to sleep on it. In the morning after she showered She noticed no large towels only wash cloths. My other sister and I shared a room with two twin beds. It was a dark room and no lamp on the table that was between the beds but there was a plug. The next morning I noticed a hole in the ceiling where a light fixture should of been! The room was cold and no way to adjust the temperature that we could tell. It was the towns Christmas weekend so the shops were open late. When we arrived back from shopping about 9 pm the doors were locked and no one was around ! We were locked out. We called and banged and banged on the door. No answer. Finally a couple ladies that were staying there heard us and called the owners. They let us in after the owners told the ladies to ask what our names were before letting us in. We had been locked out in the cold at 9 pm. ! The ladies Asked if we had our code to get in ? Code? What code. We were never told the doors locked at 9 or before and not one of us were given a code. When I called the owner and stated this he stated his wife gave us a code. Instead of apologizing! I could not believe it. I argued and stated we did not get a code otherwise we would not be locked out. The next morning we got a quick apology by the one owner , not a word from the other. The tax was removed off our bill, that was it. We will never stay here again. What a shame as it’s a neat building with...

So sad over this experience. I haven't been to this restaurant for probably 10 years or more. I realize a lot can change over the years, and I can accept that. I always thought it was classy and higher end, so I chose to go there for my 56th bday. Family came in from KY to join me. They had the table reserved for us as requested, thank you, and the server was kind. However, she did put in part of the order and forgot to put in the entire order. I literally was the last one to get my food, about 15 minutes after everyone else. Then, the turkey hot shot, I believe it is called, was turkey deli meat. A horrible thing to serve in such a restaurant. The section we sat in felt like a cafeteria, tables and chairs all crammed in the small room. The other side of the restaurant is nicer. They had a Santa in that section and apparently that room wasn't chosen for us. Then two sweet kids, under the age of 14, I'd guess, were busy bussing tables. I love kids and they were working hard, but they were practically yelling at each other in their efforts to keep up. It was already loud, but I just felt heartbroken. I rarely get out with these family members, and this was a special day with special people. I couldn't even hear them in this loud crowded exceptionally unattractive room. I'm sorry this place has lost its cozy & classy feeling. Every worker had to rush about to apparently keep up with all the madness, which just ruined the atmosphere. Some of it might have been the day my birthday fell on, which happened to be a busy day for Waynesville. I am thankful we live in an awesome country, and thankful we have the ability to get out safely and do activities. However, when that happens next time, I have absolutely no plans to ever return...