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Cabins of the Smoky Mountains has garnered mixed reviews, with travelers praising its convenient location and scenic views, yet many express dissatisfaction with the overall experience. Guests have called out the rooms for their poor condition, cleanliness issues, and dysfunctional amenities. The service also fails to impress, with reports of slow and unresponsive staff leading to a sense of poor value for the high costs incurred.
While some find the atmosphere welcoming, others suggest it needs updating. Furthermore, cleanliness throughout the hotel, especially concerning amenities like pools and hot tubs, is a recurrent complaint among reviewers.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Inviting
Rooms
Neglected
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Dirty
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Underwhelming
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The cabin was very dated and surprisingly sparse given the number of people it sleeps. The linens were very thin, ill-fitting, and worn. We had to request towels (which were delivered) but initially had 12 towels for 12 adults. The kitchen utensils were very worn and made cooking meals challenging at times. We had to use the grill from the cabin next door because the grill at the cabin was rusted and had old coals and cigarette butts in it. Overall, we were very underwhelmed.
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Date of stay: February 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Make sure to bring your own cooking equipment and extra blankets.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Julia Scozzafava, Guest Services / Front Office at Cabins of the Smoky Mountains
Responded 2 weeks ago
Dear Linzy, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We truly value your feedback and are sorry to hear that your stay did not meet your expectations. We apologize for the condition of the cabin and the linens provided. Your comments regarding the kitchen utensils and the grill have been noted, and we will address these issues with our maintenance team to ensure that future guests have a more comfortable experience. We strive to provide our guests with a pleasant and enjoyable stay, and we appreciate your insights as they help us improve our services. If you decide to stay with us again, please reach out directly so we can ensure your next visit is up to our high standards. Thank you once again for your feedback. We hope to have the opportunity to host you in the future.
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The Mountain Dacha was comfortable but needs improvements. The water pressure was sketchy at times especially if the dishwasher or washing machine was in use. We were most disappointed on arrival to find that the cabin was not decorated for the Christmas holiday season. We have been bringing our kids/grandkids to the mountains for years and every cabin has been beautifully decorated. (Every cabin surrounding the Dacha was decorated also). There were no kitchen towels/cloths, no spare sheets/blankets and very few bath towels. The WiFi was not accessible and the remotes didn’t have batteries in them. Trash cans were never emptied and we were there for almost a week. The size and amenities were just right for our family. Overall we made the best of it but wouldn’t rebook/recommend.
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Date of stay: December 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip: Bring extra towels. If you’re traveling during Christmas season be advised that the cabin is NOT...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Lacey Bull, Guest Services / Front Office at Cabins of the Smoky Mountains
Responded 6 Jan 2025
Dear Bonnie, Thank you for sharing your thoughts about your recent stay at The Mountain Dacha. We truly appreciate your feedback, and we’re glad to hear that you found the cabin comfortable. We sincerely apologize for the issues you encountered with the water pressure as well as any supplies. We understand how inconvenient it can be when multiple appliances are in use, and we will certainly address this concern with the property owner to seek a solution. Regarding the holiday decorations, we strive to create a festive atmosphere, but since each property is individually owned, decorating choices may vary. We regret that this was not consistent with your previous experiences and understand how that could be disappointing during the holiday season. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we aim to enhance the guest experience, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future with improvements in place. Thank you once again for your understanding and for being our guest. Warm regards!
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First of all, we loved the cabin and location. It worked out great for us! We did notice a few things that could have been better, especially for the price point we paid in comparison to much cheaper rentals we have stayed in that provided much more. Also, the check in info was sent after 4:00 while we were on the road which made it difficult because we had to pull over to figure everything out, get the driving directions and codes wrote down, etc. We had no info on the location before this time and we had been traveling for 6 hours.
When we arrived, we let our baby crawl around to stretch his legs, this is how we found out how dirty the floor was, his shirt and legs were black from the dirt. He also ate a teddy graham that was left over from some other time, I guess the floors were not swept or mopped. At least by the time we checked out, our infant had the floor cleaner than it was when we arrived. There needs to be a deep cleaning done of this cabin, floors, dusty walls in the bathroom, etc.
The amenities should include more toilet paper and paper towels, even simple things like coffee filters should be included at this price point. There is also a lack of a large frying pan and other dishes and a lot of silverware is missing. There are however 23 coffee mugs, again with no coffee filters or complimentary coffee to start off with? We didn't have enough towels and wash cloths but got some brought up in a reasonable amount of time. Hand soap would have been a nice touch, and even a single use scrubbing sponge to clean the dishes, which is probably the reason all of the pans we used had a film and had to be washed again before we used them for the first time.
The kitchen chairs could use some work, most of them were wobbly.
Moving to the outside, the sauna was unusable because someone before us had smoked in it, even leaving the ashes in the floor. I couldn't even stick my head in, the smell of smoke was so strong. Even tried airing it out to no avail. The hot tub was ok, no problems with it.
Overall, for the price we paid, we expected more, based on our comparison of other places we have stayed. If these improvements were made, we would be more likely to stay again.
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Date of stay: July 2022
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rented the Bluebirds Over The Valley cabin for thanksgiving and a Wedding on Friday. We arrived at 10:00pm on Wednesday and found all 4 upstairs doors to the patio open. The cabin sleeps 20 there were 2 rolls of toilet paper and 4 towels and no hangers in the closet. the main floor was clean the upstairs but the lower level were not. The oven and microwave were dirty and kitchen drawers and handles were completely missing. one of the beds in the lower level had a half eaten bagel under the sheet
Waking up the next morning we found Both Hot Tubs were left uncovered and Full of branches one hot tub cover was broken the other had been tossed off the balcony there was a bed spreads and 2 of the plastic plants hanging in the trees off the balcony there was no gas for the gas grill There was no theatre room as we were told the projector had been removed 2 of the bedroom windows were broken most of the blinds were broken or completely missing The dishwasher and toaster were broken There were no usable chairs on the balcony The dining room table that was supposed to seat 16 had only 5 chairs 2 televisions were broken and the TV in the game room was missing the dart board had no darts the air hockey table had the wiring ripped out most of the balls on the pool table were chiped the video game console was missing one of the Spa tubs in the master suites drain plug had rusted off the stair railing to the upstairs was broken all the fire extinguishers were 6 years out of date 2 of the smoke detectors had been removed leaving only the wires and 4 others did not work. the cover to the hot tub electrical box was missing leavign exposed wires the outside cover to the bathroom fan was missing leaving exposed wires we were not allowed to use the weight room or pool as promised the front desk person at that location told us this happens all the time and to document everything
on Saturday as everyone was getting up to leave at 7:30 am the water was shut off no one answered the phone at the service desk or any desk until 9:50 and no one showed up to fix the water until 11:00 am I made 14 phone calls to maintance and Gatlinburg Falls Cabins over the 4 day stay I spoke to 8 different people all promising to call us back. none did we did get towels delivered on day 2 and a person showed up on friday, didnt fix anything, said he would be back and never returned I was offered a 12% discount from Gatlinburg. I declined and protested the charge wtih my credit card company
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Date of stay: November 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â Please dont rent from this company
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jessica Hance, Guest Services / Front Office at Cabins of the Smoky Mountains
Responded 31 Dec 2023
Hi Kevin, we're truly sorry for the experience you had at Bluebirds Over The Valley. We understand your frustration with the cleanliness and lack of amenities. We apologize for the inconveniences and will address these issues internally to ensure they don't happen again.
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We recently stayed at the Wink Bear Lodge and on arrival we noticed that the bathrooms had no tissue, towels and wash clothes. I started walking around the cabin and also noticed something so unsanitary which it being someone's bra, shirt and pants hanging in the closet. Maybe it being the past guests. Meaning the cabin wasn't properly cleaned and inspected. Luckily we bring cleaning supplies when we stay in these types of places. I called the number that was provided to me on the check in email and they said they was sending someone out. We had to leave before someone came but upon returning we noticed that someone had came and left TWO wash cloths and a bar of soap on the sink of the bathrooms but still no tissue nor towels and the clothes still hanging. I had to call back and complain again which I shouldn't have. They finally got someone to bring towels and tissue by that time someone had gone out and bought tissue and towels. We also never was able to get in the "heated" pool because it was never heated which I made them aware of also. They responded saying someone would check it out the next day which we knew wasn't going to happen. There was also broken furniture that needs to be throw away so don't let them tell you it was something you done. This was by far my worst cabin experience ever. We were like 6 hours from home so we couldn't just pack up and leave so we just had to settle for what we had
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Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Without doubt the worst stay I’ve ever paid for.
Context: We stayed in a cabin through this company two years prior, and it was overall a positive experience. The cabin was old/musty and a bit neglected, but we excused a lot of it and had an enjoyable time.
Our trip over Labor Day weekend was a stark contrast. We were arriving after dark, and had our navigation system pulled up and directions from email. The directions kept dead ending but the email mentioned something about “Friendly Falls,” which we couldn’t find.
After driving around for 30 minutes lost, we stopped by an old business (a restaurant that was shut down and indicated as much online, but apparently was turned into a “gem mining” stop for kiddos) and a very narrow gravel path adjacent to the building’s end with a “NO TRESSPASSING” sign that had a shed by it. But this at least had falls / water as mentioned.
Calling the company’s front desk was useless, as we were encouraged to drive to the headquarters 40 minutes away from where we were (with exhausted children in the backseat).
We risked taking the gravel path and found it eventually lead to a ramshackle cabin (hovel is the best description) with minimal lighting, after passing another cabin and a residence. It didn’t feel safe. There was only a tiny sign that wasn’t lit up to indicate it was a rental.
The code the company supplied to enter the cabin didn’t work. We waited 45 minutes longer for a response, then they sent a new code.
We entered to find the cabin had not been cleaned- towels and trash, dirty bed covers, crackers in one of the beds… TV was on, like we’d just missed somebody sneaking out. One can conclude the code didn’t work because housekeeping had never visited between guests.
They did not send someone to bring new sheets and towels until the next afternoon; by then, our family had already purchased cleaning supplies and done laundry, trash disposal, and cleaning. But it meant some uncomfortable couch sleeping for half of us, as one bed was unusable. Cabin was also in shoddy shape (insulation coming out of the ceiling, for example).
Venture Resorts / “Cabins of the Smoky Mountains” barely apologized- when we asked what they could do to make it right, they said they’d forward to management for review. Without a response, we inquired again- they said they’d refund us $150 (when the trip cost over $1,600).
Please understand the greatest grievance I have here is how poor the communication was: bad directions, no working code late at night in the woods with children who were tired and starting to feel scared, and then coming in to a mess that made us wonder if we were actually alone in the cabin at first!
No accountability or customer service, will not be staying again.
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Date of stay: August 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I understand that these cabins belong to individuals and are just managed by the site, but that seems to cause additional issues if something is wrong. We stayed in the Crown Jewel and from the first moment there were several issues of concern.
The hot tub was leaking and it had been for a while, there was mold and mildew. The basement air conditioning did not work. There was a leak from one of the upstairs bathrooms to the main floor bathroom. We booked for 15 and it was set for maybe 8. There were not enough towels for each guest, there were no linens for the sleeper couches, there was only enough forks for 8 and spoons for 4 and coffee cups for 5. The kitchen was missing cookie sheets, mixing bowls, hot pads, and the majority of the cooking pans were scratched because the only cooking utensils were metal for Teflon pans.
Getting the linens, towels and kitchen issues resolved should have been an easy fix. The linens showed up later that night after 2 calls, It took 2 days and multiple calls to get towels. Those were the only things resolved because that was the only thing management could address. The rest was up to the cabin owner.
The hot tub, air conditioning, bathroom leak were never reviewed or resolved. No one even came out to look and we were there for a week.
The cabin was in a good location, but did not have the mountain view boasted about. It was the lowest on the mountain and overlooked the road and trees.
There is something in the locked room in the basement that beeps randomly and loudly. It made sleeping difficult because it was loud enough to wake you up. This was not something we called to have resolved. It just seemed to be a feature of the downstairs. It was loud enough to hear on the main floor but not in the closed door bedroom on the main floor.
We did stay the entire week because it was in a large enough cabin, convenient location, the site pool was nice and the game room was appreciated by the kids.
I cannot recommend the Crown Jewel or the management company because of the inability to resolve issues.
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Date of stay: June 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We rented the “A Cozy Den” cabin from Cabins of the Smoky Mountains for our trip from 08/24/2024 -08/29/2024. They advertise “luxury cabins”. This cabin is absolutely NOT luxury! The carpeting on the stairs and in the lower level is absolutely disgusting. The carpet is dirty, stained and wrinkled - Definitely not what you want to put your feet down on when getting out of bed in the morning!! I’m sure that’s why the lower level smelled stale.
The lower level bathroom shower is moldy and the shower doors have no handle to open or close on the inside. The shower doors also have no track holding them in place.
We never used the hot tub (we were charged a $46 "hot tub" fee)…There was sand in the bottom, so we didn’t even bother.
The finishes on dining table and coffee table are peeling, The stain on the deck is also peeling.
Be prepared to purchase EVERYTHING you might need if you're going to cook. There are no staples like salt, pepper, oil, coffee filters, spices, etc.
The pool/sauna/steam room area is not far away. The pool is large and there are many loungers to choose from. It was fine, just very outdated.
We didn't try the restaurant that is located next to the pool, as it was closed each time we went to the pool.
The area is beautiful but we most definitely will not rent a cabin from this company when we return. The fact that they think it’s acceptable to rent a cabin in this condition and call it “luxury” is absolutely ridiculous. This cabin needs to be updated to an acceptable standard if it's going to be advertised as a "luxury cabin". Definitely false advertising!
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Date of stay: August 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If you like the following in a cabin, then rent from them, but buyer beware. I feel it is my responsibility to warn everyone I can about this company. Stay away if you want a clean and enjoyable vacation.
-Mold in every bathroom ceiling and corners.
-Very old, stained shower curtains that had a buildup of soap scum and funk in every bathroom.
-Stained bathtubs and showers from gross water.
-Mold in the jets of every tub in the cabin. It was great they put in nice tubs in every room, but each one was absolutely disgusting and none of us wanted to take baths due to the mold, film, and stains.
-Cockroaches, many, found in two bathrooms.
-Ants crawling across the knife block in the kitchen.
-Broken furniture across the entire house. Bar stools broken, rocking chairs broken, door frames broken where you could not lock doors.
-The worst mattresses you could imagine. My wife barely slept for the 4 days we were there. One of them felt like the whole mattress was made of springs and would toss you out of the bed. It was actually kind of funny to roll on it, because it was so springy it would literally push you out of the bed.
I could go on, but overall, it was a horrible experience. To be fair to the company, we didn't call to complain. We did not have a lot of time there, but due to the condition of the cabin, it was evident this is how they manage their company, and we didn't want to waste half a day finding another place to stay since we were spending most of our time outside of the cabin.
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Date of stay: October 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â Go with another cabin rental company or at least do your homework on this one before booking.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We rented A Chance To Smile June 13 and nothing has gone according to plan with this management company. The property is advertised as a luxury cabin but it was nothing but a huge disappointment. Upon arrival, the master shower had giant clumps of dark hair stuck to the walls and floors. The hot tub only has one functional jet and the filter box is detached and is currently floating in the middle of the hot tub. The gas fire pit is leaking gas and is not operable we called the management company to report this leak as we believe this to be a safety issue and it’s been 29+hours. Still no service person has appeared to address these issues. We have 7 bath towels in the entire house, for 6 bathrooms and a cabin that sleeps 20 people this is simply asinine. The kicker is half the beds only have a bottom sheet and no pillowcases, no top sheets and we have searched all closets, drawers etc to no avail. Don’t even get me started on the poorly stocked kitchen. We have one plastic cutting board that appears to have been through one too many trips in the disposal and no good cooking utensils or spices. We are traveling with two families and small children and have spent the better part of our vacation on the phone (holding) with these property management company. They don’t ever answer the phone and after filing multiple maintenance requests and begging for clean linens I lost all hope these issues will be fixed. I am heading to Homegoods to purchase all the linens this place lacks and plan to file this expense back to the company. Do yourself a favor and avoid this company, this cabin and this situation. It’s been a full 29 hours and we are still waiting on our chance to smile. Renters BE Warned!!!!
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Date of stay: June 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â Save yourself the nightmare that this has been for our family. Avoid
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We no longer have that property with our program. We do have many other great options (almost 400) that are individually owned that you can choose from that may accommodate your group. Please give us a call at 1-866-34-SMOKY in order to book.
I wish you good luck. Check the reviews for cabins of the smoky mountains. The cabins look great, but what you will find inside may be quite disappointing. Be sure and take note of everything you find that is in poor condition, and be sure and complain to the management. You may be held on hold for quite a while but stick with it. They will try to help you, but deep down I wonder if they really care about the quality of their visitors experience.
There are more places to choose from in the Gatlinburg area.
LOCATION
United StatesTennesseeSevier CountyGatlinburg
NUMBER OF ROOMS
4
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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