Hillwinds Inn

Decent stay for 2 nights This Inn (really a motel) was better then expected. Although it seemed a bit dated, it had comfortable beds/comforter, fridge with freezer, microwave, table with 2 chairs to eat at, 2 rocking chairs out front of each room, friendly staff who were helpful, next door to the Famous Toastery which offered breakfast, very convenient to town. Cons: Internet was slow and the AC unit in the window didn't really cool the room. But then again you are in the mountains on vacation so how much internet and AC do you need. Overall a decent place to stay for 2 nights

Not good not bad The bad: Room was really hot even though thermostat was set in the 50s and we couldn’t control the temp apparently (then freezing by the time we woke up). WiFi didn’t really work at all and you don’t really have cell service. We called at 11:00 asking about early check in and they said no problem and that we were “third on the early check in list!”. But then we had to sit in the parking lot for hours with no check in until 4:00. They said check in can be at late as 5:00 even though check in time says 3:00. Really wish they would be transparent upfront so we wouldn’t have wasted literally hours of our time in the area waiting to check in with our dogs in the car. They did give us a 1 hour late check out though and were super nice throughout everything! The good: Rooms are pretty decent with comfortable beds, especially for the price. Clean rooms. Good location (walking distance to everything; no views). Pet friendly.

Disappointing stay My husband and I planned to stay here while visiting our daughters’ family. We were unable to stay with them. It was advertised that Hillwinds Inn accepts pets, including cats. We arrived after 6:00 pm and there was no one in the office. When we did reach someone local, we were told they no longer accepted cats. We were able to take our cat to stay with our daughter. We also had to wait for someone to bring a key. The check in process was no contact which was good. But this misleading information was frustrating as it was late and cold, raining and we had not yet had dinner. We had stayed here many years ago and had a nice stay. There was also no breakfast due to COVID -19.

Save Your Money Look Elsewhere I regret not having read the reviews. This is a rip-off. It purports to be a lodge or similar. It is a motel and a bit run down at that. I felt fleeced. The website does a nice job of misleading. My room was so dated, the bed uncomfortable, and honestly we had wanted a comfortable weekend away. For the price we should have had so much more.

TRAVELER BEWARE - HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE - NEVER AGAIN After seeing the recent reviews titled "Worst Hotel Ever" and "Disappointed", I feel compelled to VALIDATE/SUPPORT these reviews as our experience was eerily similar and equally disappointing. To say the property is in disrepair is putting it mildly and kindly. I never write reviews as I believe that people are human and mistakes happen and you should give business owners the opportunity to correct issues to show they care about their property, guests, and their reputation. However, after staying here in October 2020, all potential travelers should HEED THE WARNINGS you see posted. To begin: In light of COVID, and the fact that no one was in the onsite office for the entire length of our stay and the "cleaning" staff was only on property from 8 AM - 12 PM, we were asked to request supplies for the suite in that specific time window. Therefore, we requested that our SUITE be stocked up for our four night stay prior to our arrival during a six minute phone call prior to check-in on the day of arrival to ensure we had linens, coffee supplies, and trash bags as to respect the staffing levels etc. THIS WAS NOT DONE SO WE HAD TO CALL BACK AND RE-REQUEST SUPPLIES AGAIN upon arrival. Next: The outside of the building in which the SUITE is located is just disgraceful. There are roof shingles lying about (see photo), cigarette butts, random rubbish items, a massive rusty chain lying in the pet relief area, extremely tall unmaintained grass, a pet waste bin that was not emptied during our entire stay as far as we could tell, and SPIDER WEBS EVERYWHERE (in the doorway/entrance to the suite as well as covering the balcony of the suite for starters). For a pet friendly marketed place, the property couldn't be more PET UNFRIENDLY/UNSAFE. Also, there were rocking chairs on the balcony with massive webs by the back of each rocker (see photo). Who wants to put their head or foot by that? No one. And not the little webs that can be spun overnight, but rather massive ones that have been around for a long time and clearly ignored by whomever is supposed to sort that detail. This prompted our next call to the office to mention these issues and express our concern over the general poor appearance, disrepair of the property, entrance, balcony, and pet hazards in the yard . NO OFFER WAS MADE TO CORRECT ANYTHING AT THIS TIME. Then: Our dog - who is extremely well behaved and caused no issues, found a bottle cap under the couch and bottle of something (see photo) under the bed along with yep - you guessed it - more spider webs and massive bugs (see photo) that he killed. Not sure what the cleaning crew is doing, but cleaning they certainly are not. Nor are they wearing masks as the welcome letter indicated. Or at least not when we braved the balcony to clear the spider webs ourselves (see photo) finally on the last day and observed the happenings of the parking lot which it faced. We also called (because remember there was no one in the onsite office for the entire stay) to share these issues in which there was NO OFFER WAS MADE TO CORRECT ANYTHING AT THIS TIME. On top of this, I was charged a pet fee. I can certainly agree with a pet fee if the place is cleaned properly and my dog isn't finding choking hazards and killing bugs, but come on folks - that was clearly NOT our reality. The final straw: After already calling and expressing concerns previously, and specifically regarding spider webs with nothing being done, the next day we literally had to duck down under a web to enter the suite. So ONCE AGAIN, we had to take time from our family vacation. However, rather than call, I took photos (see below) and drove around until I found one of their properties with an actual human in the office. I shared all of my grievances and mentioned that for our wasted time and all of the unresolved issues, I would like a one night refund as well as the pet fee refunded. What is the pet fee for if not the maintenance of the ‘pet friendly area’ which, to reiterate, was not maintained i.e. cutting of grass or removal of waste, etc., as well as the choking hazards inside the room and on the property. I wanted to see that someone in management/ownership cared about the property enough to call me and discuss the issues rather than the receptionists that unfortunately are forced to deal with the brunt of undoubtedly MANY ISSUES shared by guests. That did not happen. Although someone FINALLY removed the massive spider webs by the front door, the ones on the balcony remained and the property was never cleaned, rubbish wasn't removed from the yard, pet waste bin was not emptied, etc. AND no calls were made to me to discuss anything. I spoke with multiple receptionists on the phone and one in person to clearly define the issues with the property, suite, etc. to be sure to reiterate that my motivation was to see the property want to improve rather than force my hand in writing a deservedly negative review. I even waited two weeks to see if any initiative would be taken because again, I want the best possible outcome for everyone here. As you can see, no initiative was taken, but after seeing the state of the property, I can't say that I am surprised. I was also told that because they took care of the massive spider web (after being told about it twice and having to physically show them photos) at the front entrance that we had to duck through, that in their opinion, they resolved the issues and no credit would be given. LAUGHABLE AND PATHETIC. Thus the review, which pains me to write because I love Blowing Rock. I love supporting small businesses. I chose to stay there instead of a brand name establishment to support them during COVID. I travel to the area often and know it well. The lack of customer service and care taken on this property puts them in a class all their own. It was the WORST lodging experience I have had in the high country in my 25 years of traveling there. Most importantly, I do not want others to waste hard earned money saved for special vacations. Lastly but worth mentioning, the online photos must be quite dated as the photo of the building in which the Davidson Suite is located shows nicely trimmed shrubs in front of the building rather than the reality of rubbish and shingles, no shrubs. One of the shutters has rotted as well to the left of the front door. That clearly isn't represented accurately online. Nor is the bathroom which has many CRACKS (see photo) in the jetted tub and obvious ceiling damage (see photo). Both of these are conveniently omitted as well. **ONLY SELECTING ONE STAR BECAUSE IT IS A REQUIRED FIELD, NOT BECAUSE IT IS DESERVED**