Tuckasiegee River Mountain Lodge

My parents bought this trip for my husband and me for our anniversary off of Groupon. We’ve stayed in many different B&Bs so we were happy to try a new location. Unfortunately, we weren’t so impressed overall at the end by our stay.
Once you’ve found the entrance to the grounds, be sure to slow way down or else you’ll drive right past it. If you arrive at night it’s even worse because there are no lights at the entrance to the driveway. You should also be warned that the ascent up the mountain to the lodge is hard on the average car. Our Toyota made it up but smelled horrible once we parked because of the strain on the poor engine.
We called ahead to let the owner know when we would arrive and she gave us the gate code that you’ll need to enter the property. She also gave us instructions to come upstairs to the office once we arrived. When we got to the lodge, we were greeted by one of the owner’s family members and she took us to Nancy, the owner. Nancy was very nice and showed us around the property and then to our room.
The property:
PROS —
1) isolated location which is great if you want peace and quiet with a beautiful mountain view
2) pet friendly — many couples /​families had their dogs with them. There are a couple of cats on the property that belong to the owner and her family.
3) friendly owner /​family — the owner and her husband, along with her son’s family, live in the lodge. The grand kids were running around the house playing, but always sweet and never obnoxious.
4) nice sized bedroom — plenty of room to get comfortable
CONS —
1) the service — in comparison to other B&Bs we’ve stayed at, we didn’t feel any more special than we would have at a standard hotel. We served ourselves coffee every morning we were there. I even waited each morning to see if drinks would be offered first but I was never asked. We even had to get up to get our silverware to eat with once our breakfast did come.
2) the menu/​food — I think it adds to the experience to have a special breakfast prepared for you at B&Bs. At the lodge, you are given a menu with about 10 items to choose from for breakfast. There isn’t anything «special» or exciting about choosing your own meal at a place you should be pampered at. The food itself was good, but it wasn’t better any better than what you would get at a Denny’s or Cracker Barrel. Also, if you wanted to add fruit or extra bacon to your meal, be ready to pay out of pocket for it.
3) the bathroom — straight from the 70s (or at least in our room, Amethyst). The shower head was like one you would see in your grandmother’s old country house. My husband spent a good 5 – 10 minutes before his first shower trying to adjust the water pressure. Once in the shower the water never got hot, only lukewarm.
4) entertainment /​activities outside the lodge — there is definitely not much to choose from when you do decide to head out for the day. Close by there are a couple of flea markets and small shops you can walk through. If you have kids and it’s warm enough, there is a rafting company close but we did not go so I cannot comment on the experience. Most of other attractions are at least 45 mins to an hour away.
We will definitely not come back. Please don’t let this place be your first B&B experience.

Lovely owners, clean and comfortable rooms. Be prepared to completely unplug as there is minimal cell and wifi reception. Good breakfast. Perfect porch for enjoying coffee in the morning and wine in the evening. Dog and kid friendly.

I don’t know how to describe this place besides that it was nice… but not nice enough. The Boyfriend and I came up here with a Groupon, and I wish we had read more reviews before making that purchase. It wasn’t a bad vacation — but it wasn’t an amazing one either. Unilocal’s description for 2 stars is «Meh, I’ve experienced better», and that pretty much sums it up.
The place wasn’t TOO hard to find — but I definitely stressed about whether my dinosaur of a car would make it up the hill. We made it, somehow, only to be totally confused about how to check in — no signage, no doors in obvious places. After some unsuccessful wandering, we stumbled upon another couple staying there, who pointed us in the right direction. The woman who checked us in was very kind, and definitely tried to get us comfy and situated.
The food situation was kind of weird — we didn’t realize exactly how secluded the place was until we got there, and then we realized we’d probably have to eat there. They were able to feed us on short notice, luckily, but 1 meal there was enough to convince me that it was worth the twisty drive back down the hill for our next meal, even in my cantankerous Nissan that is as old as I am. My chicken was undercooked so as to be raw/​slimy in the middle… and given that it definitely felt like we were being specially accommodated, I didn’t want to make a fuss, so I ate around it and prayed for the best.
We struggled to find fun things to do in the immediate vicinity. Maybe we were spoiled by the Pacific Northwest, maybe it was the season (summer), or maybe we just went to the wrong places, but the «waterfalls» nearby were mere trickles. Everything in town closed early, so we didn’t get to see some of the museums and things we hoped to see. The ruby mining tour was disappointing. That said, we DID find the creepiest abandoned Wal-​Mart ever when we tried to find a drugstore. We definitely relaxed… but relaxed like laid around/​watched TV, not relaxed as in see pretty things/​do fun activities. Because we went on a Groupon, the trip was still worth it… but had we paid full price, I would have been deeply irritated.
The thing that REALLY killed it for me was some of the other guests. The front porch of the lodge is gorgeous, so Boyfriend and I spent our evenings out there, watching the fireflies and just enjoying the view and the moment. Our first night, after sunset, we were treated to a vitriolic rant about socialists/​liberals/​immigrants ruining the country — and I’m very, very obviously a minority. Awkward. We were asked more than once during our stay if we were engaged — which is sweet, I suppose, but the disapproving looks following our cheerful «Nope!» were less-​than-​sweet. The second night, another couple on the porch wanted to talk all about how cosmopolitan they were — but the wife wouldn’t shut up about how she thought Asian women are thin «because they eat with those sticks». My boyfriend is half-​Chinese, so… again, 50 shades of NOPE. We were pretty stoked to leave the place in the dust the next morning.
I can’t blame the owners of the lodge for the behavior of their guests, but if you’re an unmarried couple, or not white, I think you should be aware that this was our experience. Can’t decide if this was a North Carolina thing, a Southern thing, or a bad luck thing — maybe some weird combo. We’ve both dealt with worse, and we were gracious enough to smile and nod and trot away ASAP, but that definitely wasn’t what we were looking for out of a vacation.
Pros:
*The building itself is gorgeous, as is the surroundings
*It actually got cool at night; altitude made the humidity bearable
*There is a chicken, which is fun to watch
*The owner’s kids were sweet (though one of them talked about guns a lot)
*Secluded trails around the lodge, for if you decide to make your own activities ;)
*Other people’s dogs were cute
Mediums:
*The wifi situation in the room was kind of dicey, but the main lounge got very good signal, good enough to stream Netflix
Cons:
*Weird guests who think it’s cool to talk politics/​racist-​views with strangers
*Food
*Location in terms of isolation from food
*Super see-​through curtains on windows
*Some poorly behaved dogs
*Cats (I’m so allergic it’s not even funny)

My two dogs and I recently spent one night here. I was thrilled to find a lodge/B&B that allowed dogs.
Once you turn off the main road you drive a mile and a half to get to the end of this road/​top of a huge hill. The house has a beautiful view and lots of covered porch space. When I got there I immediately curled up on the ledge of the porch and sat as the rain fell. It was beautiful and peaceful. The room was clean, spacious enough and had a new, but small, bathroom.
Things kinda went south from there. There were no lights on when I arrived, no one in sight and no signs indicating where an office was. It is strange to me that no one greeted me because this place is so secluded it seems impossible that they could miss a guest approaching. (When you book here you have to call the morning of to get the gate code — I told them when I’d be coming and I arrived at that time.)
Eventually another woman pulled up and she did not work there but had the owner’s kids with her. Eventually they found a woman who worked there. I asked about dinner and she said it was by reservation only. When I originally called to book the room I told them I would want dinner — it was my mistake to assume that this meant they would write that down with my information. She said the only thing she had out was steak and if that was ok with me I could have that. I was fine with it but eventually she told me that they couldn’t accommodate me after all. She said she could suggest a local place, but I had just driven several hours and and as dusk was approaching I had no desire to leave again.
The website does say you have to «make a reservation for dinner WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR RESERVATION TO STAY. You can also check for availability at check-​in.» In addition, the brochure found on site says they offer dinner but it says nothing about reserving several days in advance. I asked about dinner at 4:15 when I checked-​in. Where was the hospitality? I regret not saying something at the time but the whole issue just made me feel uncomfortable and confused.
There were some other strange things: My room was clean and well lit but the sheets are some kind of plastic. I woke up several times because I kept sliding around. The only window coverings were sheer curtains, which made it kind of weird when the owner’s kids kept running by. It would not have been hard for anyone to peak in. (BTW: the kids were very polite and helpful! This is not a negative comment about them).
When I asked about breakfast and if I could come up at 7:30a, like the website and brochure said, she told me that it would be at least 8:15a because she had to take her kids to school. I understand that they have lives but why run and live in a B&B if you aren’t going to be available to your guests or stick to the policies you list on the website?
There were a few positives over all:
* The older woman I met was very polite, friendly and helpful. I think this would have been an entirely different experience had she been there to greet me.
* For breakfast you are handed a menu and able to choose from more than 10 options. Breakfast came out hot and in a timely manner.
It’s real shame the arrival and dinner situation happened — I could have seen myself coming back with my husband or with friends but after hearing about that none of them said it would be worth it. :(

The owners were wonderful. The were relaxed. They treated us like family. great christmas decorations and lively veranda. We had a connecting room called the pearl and friends of ours stayed in one and us in the other. Room was cozy with a terrific view. It was in a great location, we went to gatlinburg, Asheville and Sylva is a great town. We hiked in Deep Creek and took lots of pictures!