Chetola Resort at Blowing Rock (Lodge)

Restaurant closed for lunch and dinner, breakfast was a weak continental not up to any resort standard. The kids who seated us and retrieved coffee supplied a small pitcher of cream after ten minutes of asking and yet the next day it was individually portioned cream. Never saw any Food and Beverage Management, no Housekeeping Manager, no General Manager, were they hiding? Arrived Sunday, getting a cold snap, check-in person says, oh I was just informed we will be closed for dinner!!! Room dirty/dusty, mismatched towels, room cleaned only when we demanded it and whoever cleaned it forgot their gratuity. The night auditor was making conversation, front desk people were not very personable, especially dark haired man in the evening. Waitress kids in winter coats, one with a hat, two space heaters heating the Continental Breakfast area. The good news, the grounds crew works hard and cares, the one fishing guide we talked to was very nice. It is a beautiful property but the management needs to get it's act together. Food and Beverage was a disgrace, Housekeeping showed zero management, complacency and ignorance are not resort expectations. If the restaurant is closed, there is also zero room service, so with wind chills below zero we were forced to find our own dining experiences on treacherous roads. I am hoping that the right people see this and immediately correct the issues and get the hedge fund managers or whoever controls the capital to provide services and a memorable guest experience, not a forgettable one.

Very nice place in a great location. It has the potential to be in the upper tier of great resorts, but appears to be sorely mismanaged in every way that make higher and resorts where is going to ( hospitality training for all staff members, attention to detail and overall resort appearance). The staff is in dire need of leadership and training. The only positive encounter we had with any of the staff was with Mike the in-house restaurant front man and a young man working overnight security because we had a functionality issue that needed to be dealt with in our room which with evasive calls resulting in excuses. Everyone else seemed like they could not care less about anyone, they were less than engaging and genuinely seemed ticked off/disgruntled having no problem displaying their poor attitude. I consider it a sad situation for the resort as I believe they are missing out on a lot of opportunities to be a truly great experience that guests will happily pass on.

The grounds and overall aesthetics are generally lovely. Unfortunately, they’ve added a big event tent in the middle which spoils the view. Maybe it’s temporary and we were unlucky on timing. They have fire pit by the lake and the night was in the 50’s, but they didn’t have a fire going (maybe we could have asked but had it been going people would have gathered). We pre-purchased the breakfast since the Timberlake restaurant looked charming and assumed at a “resort” that it would be a full, hot breakfast. It was basically a continental breakfast set out buffet style. We got a refund. Our room was a king with lake view balcony and the main living space was nice and the tv had a Roku so you could stream most services. Neither of us slept well, as the sheets were soft but hot, so maybe a poly blend vs 100% cotton. I didn’t request a feather pillow and not sure if they offer, but not in the room (ask before booking if important to you). The bathroom was dated and the ceiling tiles had a significant amount of black mold. The shower controls are also not reachable unless you’re in the shower due to the way the glass enclosure is built, so you just have to climb in and turn it in on a wait for the water to warm up (a full 1-2 minutes of waiting). Hot water to the sink is 5+ minutes if you do t use the shower first. Water heater must be a long way off. The lake is lovely with swans and available for fishing, and the front desk staff was pleasant. It’s convenient and has a range of services like spa and outdoor guide opportunities. For another trip to Blowing Rock, we would look at one of the little hotel/motel/B&B places next time around. They are old but several look charming.

Dirty rooms, poor service, thin walls, phone inoperable, and to top it off, food poisoning. Overly expensive for something well out of date.

We traded our timeshare for the first week in October. We had a lovely 2 bedroom unit which was close to the lake and restaurant. We enjoyed the beautiful grounds and ability to walk to Main St in Blowing Rock to shop and eat. So many places to visit that are close by too. We went to Grandfather Vineyards for live music and wine, Hiked to the swinging bridge at Grandfather Mountain. Had dinner in Banner Elk. Enjoyed Octoberfest at a local brewery. Picniced on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We just did a family girl's weekend in Blowing Rock and stayed 3 nights at Chetola. On the positive side, the rooms were nice - beds extremely comfortable and view of lake great, bathrooms a bit outdated for the price. Spa was also nice - had facials and massages, all were happy with the services. Recommend going Mon-Sat, no pedicures available on Sunday. Pricing a bit high for the facility. Restaurant dinner on Saturday - food was very good and Abi was a great server. Ambience very poor - cold feeling, fire place not on, tile floors, no table cloths, nothing to muffle sound. wine list was a little challenging to navigate as the selection were all from wineries we'd never heard of - that said all our selections were great! A sommelier would be great to help patrons navigate better, especially at the meal prices. Sunday breakfast and brunch were really bad, everything from the food quality to the selections (or lack thereof), and layout were really poorly done. There is SO much room for improvement here. Not sure if its a staffing issue or what. The regular menu isn't available for lunch (not sure about dinner) so that was a huge disappointment.