Swamp Rabbit Inn Travelers Rest

This was the worst experience have ever had at a hotel. The check-in time that was provided was incorrect as was the email provided to the hotel (apparently by the "third party booking agent" was incorrect. The owner/manager was incredibly rude and put out that I wanted to confirm if we were staying there as I had not received the email from the hotel. She was so rude, in fact, that we found another hotel and were happy to pay the one night NOT to be there. DO NOT RECOMMEND Could not comment on cleanliness as we never went to room.

This was our 2nd experience at a Swamp Rabbit Inn property. The first time, we stayed at the Greenville location. I followed their page for years afterwards, which is how I learned about the Travelers Rest location. Otherwise, I would have never known that TR even existed! We opted for The Cottage, instead of the main inn. We wanted to have the whole place to ourselves for a true getaway. The Cottage definitely has that charming, cozy, atmosphere about it. There was plenty of room for six people, even though we ended up with four. The 2 bedrooms are huge, and you get 2 full bathrooms, which is a rare find. The beds were comfortable. The towels were big and fluffy. The only complaint my husband had was the TV’s are super small, and we couldn’t figure out how to work the TV in the master bedroom. To be fair, you don’t book a retreat at the base of the mountains to sit and watch TV all day:-) The Swamp Rabbit Inn is a viable option for accommodations in TR. As for bike rental, I recommend Freehub on Main St. in TR. We rented cruiser bikes from Freehub to ride the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The reason I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because the exterior and grounds of the property is in need of TLC. Also, they desperately need a bike shed at the TR location. If I was running this property, I would turn the studio into a bike shed instead of a 3rd guest room. It would add an extra incentive to keep this place “hopping!”

We stayed in the Camelia room- it was spacious, and had a comfortable bed. We enjoyed hanging out in the living room and kitchen.

The picture is not at all what this place looks like! It’s not white with black, but a peeling, faded blue with yellow trim. You drive past because it’s hidden behind trees and the sign is laying on the ground. The self check-in is nice and the main floor seems updated, that’s where it ends. The main floor bathroom is literally in the kitchen which is weird and unsanitary, all the windows have giant spiderwebs. As I sat at the community table a spider fell from somewhere onto my arm, we stayed in the Camellia room. The room was awful, stains and a hole on the window seat cushion, bedspread had a huge yellow stain, 2 arm chairs have been through it! The shower was horrific, the mold and dried soap on the pumps in the shower, painted toilet seat and overall unclean floor was disturbing. You cannot mange the temperature, it was extremely hot. We had the ceiling fan on which then rustled the tin foil on the window, yes foil on the window. We had sent a text like the checkin reservation had stated to reserve bikes 2 days after booking, but there were no bikes available when we got there. There is also a stink bug issue, I killed multiple in our 1 night of staying. The beds were like sleeping on a wood plank and the metal bed frames creak with the slightest movement. We stayed 1 of 2 nights, what an utter waste of money, I get shabby chic, but this is not! This could be such a great place to stay, but it has not been maintained and from other reviews it seems this was my mistake to stay here, please don’t do the same.

I'm so glad we only had to talk with the manager once. When we pulled in, there was no signage and the place looked half abandoned. I called the number on the reservation to confirm I was in the right place and to ask how to get in. She accused me of not seeing the sign. After the phone call, I walked out front to the road and found a sign - on the ground. The wind must have blown it off, which is fine, but it wasn't fine the way she talked to me about it. She then accused me of not checking the email that they "always" send the morning of. When I said I did not think I had received this email (which I had not), she discovered that I had reserved through a credit card that does not provide my personal information to her. Okay, not a problem, but she blamed me for not reading the email and then did not apologize. After maybe two minutes on the phone and several more curt responses, my wife and I looked at each other. What was that all about? I later sent a gentle response saying that it was unsettling to be accused of things I had no power over. The manager did not reply. In case it matters, there was cereal but no milk (until the last day), and dishes to wash but no clean towels in the kitchen. This place has so much potential to be great.

The shared bathroom doesn’t lock, there were two towels and one wash cloth for all the rooms to share. I have 4 people here.