Don't Back Down

After the events of the year, Denise and I decided that it was time to take a break. So we looked into lodging where we could truly get away from it all. The good news is that we found it in the The Cottages at Spring House Farm. The bad news is that it wasn't quite as they advertise.

For seclusion, we definitely rate the Cottages highly. Though just a few minutes from Interstate 40 near Asheville, and perhaps a few minutes more from the heart of Lake Lure, the property is quite remote. No cell phone coverage could be found, and the environment was indeed quite peaceful.

I might recommend going when the trees have their leaves, however, as at night on the porch we could see the occasional car traveling down the nearby highway. Also another farm house nearby had their Christmas lights on, which was nice - until they didn't go off. Just spoiled the illusion a bit is all, and if we closed the curtains over the windows and huddled by the fire, it would return to our own little world quite quickly.

The cabin itself (The Compleat Angler, #2) was quite nicely furnished. The king bed was very nice and the bathroom was excellent. The kitchen was well-stocked when it came to utensils, including plates, glasses and even cookware. The water apparently comes from the spring, and I'd buy that - it was quite clear, very fresh and a wonderful surprise.

The fireplace was pre-built with a fire ready to light, but the wood that stocked both this fire and the wood on the porch was not only green but very hard as well, making fires very difficult to start. Once we dug through the wood pile to some of the good wood at the bottom, and kept at this wood until it really started burning well, that problem was solved. Still, for a property that bills itself as this one does, it was a bit frustrating. Someone who wants to get away from it all likely doesn't want to spend their time trying to make the fire happen.

Still, you will definitely be able to get away from it all. In fact, make sure you take your own DVDs (or be ready to choose from their light selection), because there isn't a TV channel to be found. In fact, we had to plug in the TV and DVD player in our cabin, as well as go through the initial setup on the TV, to get to anything at all. We also had to turn on the ice maker, but that may or may not be an issue for you.

You will have an XM satellite radio - or we did at any rate - but that might not be your cup of tea. Also, the instructions provided with it are dated, to put it mildly, so if you don't know how to operate one, you might want to study up beforehand, since it isn't completely intuitive (and the channel lineup is way off). Lots of trial-and-error will get you there eventually, but again that just seems to go against the idea of relaxation.

It is also important to make sure that you take some food of your own (or be prepared to go get some or ask them to supply it, presumably for more money), as their claim of being "fully stocked" doesn't seem to relate to anything digestible. While we were there for two nights, and managed to get by on the soap, shampoo, towels and wood (barely), we certainly would not have done so on what they provided to eat.

As we arrived, we were given a small brown snack containing a loaf of homemade bread, with the tell-tale bread machine hole in the bottom. This was actually nice, but hey - two people, two nights, and one loaf of bread? There was also a good supply of "farm fresh" eggs in the fridge, but there is really no way to tell how long they had been there (they did taste good).

Three small containers (as in one serving each) of jams, a couple of miniature bags of microwave popcorn, some coffee and a carton of OJ concentrate in the freezer rounded out their "provisions". No telling what happened to the seasonal fruit, chips, pretzels or cheese crackers, and the condiments were restricted to spices. Still, it wouldn't have been so bad if they had at least restocked what we used, but there was no sign of housekeeping the whole time we were there.

On telling the reception area that we had a full trash can, we were told to empty it into the can outside the cabin. Huh?

The whole trip was planned by Denise and one of their representatives. I believe her name was Jennifer, but I may be mistaken on that point. Denise spoke with her up-front, we talked with her when we got there, and after our first night - in fact, she was the one who told us to dump the trash in the can outside. We also talked with her about leaving one night early - we had originally booked two nights, then the day before Denise said we wanted a third, and after our first night we decided to see about going back to two. We were told that it wouldn't be a problem.

The only problem? When we left after the second night, an enitrely different lady (and I use that last term loosely) was there. I don't recall her name, though she introduced herself. The reason being is that shortly thereafter, she informed us that she would try to book that third night, and if she could, she would give us a credit for a future night. If she could not, she would simply charge us for the third night.

While the policy is understandable, it's a big problem if her other employee told us outright that it wasn't going to happen that way. I'm not always a proponent of the customer always being right, but when one employee says something, the other one needs to stick to it. Not the case here. We were instead berated as if we were the ones in the wrong and had the audacity to take advantage of a "small business". We took our receipt and left. At this point, I'm going to take it up with the credit card company and let them deal with it instead of trying to argue with someone who obviously has no concept of the way to treat customers, either while they stay or to ensure repeat business.

It's worth noting that Denise received a message on her cell phone some time later (we were still out of coverage, so we missed the actual call) that the room had miraculously been booked for that night and she would credit our card for the balance. Frankly, it's not important to me. The receipt we have shows that our night was canceled and our credit card charged for two nights. She tries to pull a fast one and she'll just have to deal with them about it.

While we likely wouldn't have returned simply because it wasn't really a good experience, it's safe to say that we won't be going back because of the way they treat their customers. I don't have a problem paying a bit of a premium for something nice. For poor service, less provisions than advertised, having to get things going on my own and being my own maid? I'd rather go to the Motel 6.

As to the Historic Albus Ledbetter House? Don't bother unless you really just have a thing for old wood. It looks pretty authentic, I guess, but it really isn't much other than a few rooms that they have "restored" to their original state. Is it original? No idea. It certainly looks old enough, so it might be the real thing. In either case, it probably isn't worth it unless you happen to be headed by on the way from I-40 to Lake Lure. Just make sure they don't try and bill you for a night just to see it.