Check in is super easy. Clean spot. Nice cabin and host is very friendly

This was a super fun and beautiful experience! The cabin was very nice and super clean! Everything was provided and the host was very informative. I would definitely stay there again. Thank you so much for letting us stay! 🤗

We enjoyed our stay in the nice cabin. It is quite remote but that was mostly on us. I should have looked into more.

There is a standard of housekeeping that one should maintain when opening their home especially when they are accepting a fee. This house did not meet those standards I feel. The porch was cluttered with caged birds and these areas were not clean. Between the caged birds was a hot tub that was not able to be used as there were leaves and pines needles floating in it when opened and the water was green and it was very apparent the tub had. Or been cleaned in some time. Inside the home we found the kitchen to be cluttered and common house hold items we found to be in bad condition and the overall home was just not clean. When going to bed we found that the sheets did not appear to be clean, in that it was obvious someone had slept in the sheets as they were wrinkled and there was hair in the bed. The structure of the home is nice, the home is just dirty and the pictures are not at all a clear representation of the state of the home at this time. The lake is also not visible from the home.

Let me start by saying the indoor part of the property was amazing! Super clean with very cool wooden decorative touches everywhere. However, it came as a shock that there were neglected outdoor pets caged as well as roaming the property. There 3 very skinny, flea and tick infested dogs, 3 very dirty (poopy) puppies in a kennel, 3 hens in a chicken coop, 2 quails in a coop, and 1 cat. All the animals were super dirty. The outside reaked of urine and poop. The adult dogs were covered in ticks and likely fleas. There was a suggestion that were could let the dogs in at night, but obviously we didn't want to bring fleas home. My kids loved the animals, but I was glad I didn't bring my cat-killer, rescue dog or my 11 pound chiwahua/cavalier king charles spaniel mix as planned. I wouldn't have minded the animals if they had been better taken care of and if I had been aware of their presence ahead of time. As it was, we felt as though we were supposed to take care of them. Also, the property is not very kid-friendly. My youngest is 4 and very wild and energetic with an obsession with weapons, as many boys are. My husband also couldn't make it on this trip, so it was just me and 3 kids who are 10, 8 and 4 and my parents stayed in a house nearby but weren't with us the whole time. There were many hazards on the property such as very sharp arrows, darts, even pool balls, were all not so kid-friendly. The TV also didn't work very well so I couldn't use that as a momentary distraction. My youngest one ended up scattering the sharp arrows all of the the floor and stepping on one while I was downstairs cooking. There was quite a trail of blood down to the kitchen, but luckily it wasn't as deep as it could have been and I was able to stop the bleeding. The actual lake and kayak and canoe were all super fun and, honestly, my kids want to go back again.

I booked this property for a bachelorette/bridal shower, which was told to the owner whenever I booked the property a few months before. Myself and 3 other girls arrived to check in around 3pm to begin setting up decorations and gifts for the event. Whenever we pulled up to the house, the outside was very unkept, grass had not been mowed, bushes had grown up, a dirty sock was laying in the driveway. We proceeded to walk into the house to find locks on the OUTSIDE of the bedroom doors, dirty clothes piled up in the downstairs bedroom and bathroom, dirty dishes in the sink, floors had not been swept or mopped, food in the fridge and the panty was piled full of stuff- so much so, that you could barely close the door. It appeared as if the owner had just grabbed a few of his personal things and left for the night. Around 5:30pm, the owner showed up UNANNOUNCED TO "feed the dogs". It is in the description that there are dogs on the property but it does not say anything about the owner coming to feed the animals. Although the dogs are very friendly, they appeared to be malnourished. The adult dogs' hips and rib cages were showing and the puppies were in poor living conditions. Also, if you are a good pet owner, who would leave their animals for the weekend anyway? Whenever I saw the owner pull up, I went out on the porch because I was very caught off guard. Please be reminded this a VERY remote location with NO cell phone service and the only form of communication is WIFI. I went out on the porch but left the door open behind me, the owner walked past me and went in the house. He was casually looking around inside. He asked if there was anything we needed and I told him the WIFI was being slow. He grabbed a machete off the top of the fridge in front of myself and the 3 other girls to go outside and check out the satellite. The weeds were so grown up around the internet satellite that he had to chop them down. The owner walks around the house and then we saw him leave. Later that night around 11:50pm, we were sitting around playing cards and the power went out- EXCEPT for one light in the kitchen stayed on. We looked for a breaker box but was unable to find one. Now we had NO form of communication since the WIFI was out. We ended up leaving that night and not staying at all because we felt very unsafe. We were all girls in our 20s and the owner had shown up unannounced earlier that evening. It was very sketchy and uncalled for.

A nature and animal lovers dream. Watauga lake is just steps away in the neighborhood. Host was easy to communicate with. Stocked kitchen, lovely puppies, quail and chicken eggs. Had a great time celebrating two birthdays.

Very clean home tucked away in a very remote area. Perfect for writers and dog lovers. If weather had cooperated the water toys would have been fun to use at the nearby lake.

With Kayaks, lake, stars, animals and waffles with fresh yard eggs. Definitely recommend and would return.

My husband, daughter and I booked this property for a celebration getaway and although our visit was cut short due to work purposes, our stay was very enjoyable! The owner was very easy to communicate with and super helpful from the beginning and really made us feel welcome. He and his welcome committee of his three very friendly dogs (as we called them) made the visit fun for all of us. We really enjoyed the convenience of being able to rent the boat which was located nearby rather than have to drive to a marina. Looking forward to a return trip! -The Mahoney Family

First, I would like to say this is a beautiful area of TN. We rented the cabin for one night for a wedding at Sugar Hollow Retreat. The primary purpose of this rental was to be as close to the venue as possible, which it certainly was. I had read other reviews & I did not mis-read what they said. Description was a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom rental. This is not the case. There is one bedroom upstairs that has 1 queen size bed, 2 twin size beds, & in the corner two smaller kids bunk beds. There is no other bedroom unless there is an additional bedroom downstairs that is locked & not for rental use. There is a pull-out couch bed on the loft but no sheets, very worn & virtually “un-sleep-able” unless you are a child. There is ABSOLUTELY NO CELL SERVICE, I didn’t think that I would have needed to screen shot ALL of the check-in info prior to arrival in order to be able to access wifi. The cabin does have wifi, but upon entering the cabin there was no “welcome info” (i.e. wifi password, check out directions). With no cell service & no way to access the wifi we were literally dead in the water with no way to contact anyone. The only way that I was able to ultimately get the wifi password was at the wedding venue, I was able to pull up the email from Ricky that contained that info. Getting to the cabin is complicated. Directions are confusing, roads are narrow, steep, unpaved - generally not a problem, but would have been nice to mention, not everyone has SUVs. Under certain circumstances, there is no way that a front-wheel drive sedan would manage. This cabin is certainly “lived in.” Upon arrival, there were trash bags piled on the side of the home, a dirty cup left in the sink, & was just generally over grown (foliage needs some TLC). The cabin itself was very dusty, musty & not what we expected for $268 for the night. Ricky does allow the dogs and cats in the home & so if any guest have allergies they need to be aware & prepared. The design inside the home was beautiful & I think can certainly get there again, it is obvious that Ricky loves his home & the animals, it just needs a little TLC & thorough cleaning if he continues to rent it out on VRBO. The purpose of this review is not to tear down this beautiful home/owner, but rather the description and lack of pictures were very misleading. Any renters who intend on renting this home need to be aware of what they are renting and paying for, along with appropriate expectations.

With Kayaks, lake, stars, animals and waffles with fresh yard eggs. Definitely recommend and would return.

To quote texts received after the stay on the property: "Ricky is the man!" , " friendly dogs and chickens", "decorations on point". The house was amazing to stay in, it had great ammenities and is in a great location. The host provided great instructions and was incredibly nice, and maintains a beautiful property. To quote a friend who stayed; "10/10 Very nice (in Borat voice)

The captain was AQ locab and it was decorated nicely. We were a little misled from the listing but that could have been our fault. There was only one bedroom that has 6 beds in it. There is a pull out Couch and the upstairs loft. The pool table is uneven and we couldn't play it.. The house is not actually on the water but the water is fairly close by. The picture online looks like when the house was originally build. It is a beautiful cabin, just looks a bit lived in now with some a side by side and a jet ski outside. The neighborhood is very pretty and a nice view. The owner was very kind but beware you have no cell service up there. The kitchen is stocked and it does have a hardline gas grill. Overall a very nice place. Just pay attention to the description.

The captain was AQ locab and it was decorated nicely. We were a little misled from the listing but that could have been our fault. There was only one bedroom that has 6 beds in it. There is a pull out Couch and the upstairs loft. The pool table is uneven and we couldn't play it.. The house is not actually on the water but the water is fairly close by. The picture online looks like when the house was originally build. It is a beautiful cabin, just looks a bit lived in now with some a side by side and a jet ski outside. The neighborhood is very pretty and a nice view. The owner was very kind but beware you have no cell service up there. The kitchen is stocked and it does have a hardline gas grill. Overall a very nice place. Just pay attention to the description.

To quote texts received after the stay on the property: "Ricky is the man!" , " friendly dogs and chickens", "decorations on point". The house was amazing to stay in, it had great ammenities and is in a great location. The host provided great instructions and was incredibly nice, and maintains a beautiful property. To quote a friend who stayed; "10/10 Very nice (in Borat voice)

Our stay was absolutely amazing!! The host is so nice and helped so much. They have everything you could possibly need and offer help with any problems and even breakfast cooked by the host. My second time coming, and I will definitely be back!!! 10/10

We enjoyed out stay very much. The property has a beautiful view and all accommodations are as described. We had a peaceful night's sleep and a pancake breakfast on the porch overlooking the mountains. This was a stop on our three day road trip with kids and so relaxing was important to us. We felt totally refreshed and we were able to move on to the rest of our trip renewed in spirit. Thank you so much and we will hope to see you again soon!

We had a great stay. Ricky was a great host...even found us some fresh morel mushrooms right on the mountain! The dogs and other animals are great and we enjoyed the fresh chicken eggs. We will definitely stay here again.

Very nice & clean, plenty of towels for after the hot tub & for after the shower. Felt very at home! 10/10 would recommend this cabin!

Loved the location! There were other properties relatively nearby, but it is still secluded and picturesque. The topography of the area is spectacular. Truly delightful :) You can tell this place is loved by the owner and his family. Everything you need is there and then some! We even took advantage of renting his pontoon boat which is just down the hill at the private dock. I didn't realize just how present the dogs would be, but they were sweet and our pup loved the socialization :) They regularly guided us home! All in all a great place!

The cabin is remote but beautiful. The cabin appears "lived in" so everything needed is there for you and then some. Ricky's dogs do stick around and they open doors if not locked so be aware of that. Their kennels are housed on the cabin porch as is there food and water. We had to move the food or our own dogs would have eaten it all up. Also, be warned, they take shoes off the patio. Ricky was amazing and offered to cover our missing shoe but we found them. We had an emergency during our stay, unrelated to the cabin and Ricky was so kind, flexible and understanding. Due to our emergency our own dogs had to stay locked up for longer than they ever had and tore a bit of carpet up, Ricky was so kind about it. Genuinely caring and helpful all around.