Sautee Mountain Retreat - Clarkesville, Georgia

SMFinest

We arrived at "The Get Away" cabin on the evening of August 31st. As we were almost to our cabin driving along the gravel drive, we were greeted by a large group of occupants just standing in the middle of the drive that all but refused to move out of the way. I did not count but would venture to say there were at least 30 people around an area of 3 to 4 cabins right beside ours. Not the cozy atmosphere we expected.

Our biggest reason for choosing "The Getaway" was the seclusion (none) and the hot tub. First thing we noticed once at the cabin was the non-working hot tub that was partially heated with a cattle trough warmer (pics attached). The warmer was literally zip tied to a MOLDY broom stick, plugged into a drop cord, and laid into the water. There was obviously no chlorine in the tub either considering the mold on the broom stick and floating on top of the water.

The cabin is heated/cooled with a single wall unit. When we first entered the cabin, it was noticeably humid and warm. I turned the thermostat as low as it would go and we still sweated through the night. There is also no fan in the bedroom.

Fast forward to the next morning. We wake up hoping for coffee. Open up the water reservoir on the coffee maker and it is absolutely disgusting on the inside. At this point we packed our things and left a day early into a 2 night stay.

The owners refused to refund us the 1 night and only offered a complimentary 2 night stay in a cabin that we had an awful experience at.

Ward E.

I have organized a retreat at Sautee for several years, and it's a highlight of the year for my group. The cabins are clean, comfortable, and spacious enough to provide plenty of room for people to spread out. The event center/lodge is large enough to allow my group to have meals and large meetings. It is close to numerous hikes and points of interest that my group can go enjoy. And the owners are very kind and happy to help however they can. I would highly recommend using Sautee for your retreat.

Dwayne R.

Nope.
Don't "just show up"
They treat you as if you're trying to unalive them.

The manager did all he could to get us a cabin. Even talked the booking agent into giving is a good discount.
However, she didn't realize she was on speaker and chose to insult us for showing up without a reservation. Ummmm
It was a SURPRISE TRIP for our 28th anniversary and I wanted a secluded place to hide from the madness of Helen.
Truly disappointing because the cabins are the definition of top notch and reasonable for the area and amenities.

The first employee we met, acted as if I were trying to harm him simply by asking where the office was and trying to explain the situation. We were never closer than twenty feet but every time I stepped closer to hear him, he stepped back. At one point, pointing his rake at me and at the end of our conversation, holding it in both hands like it was a weapon.
Simply because I stepped closer to hear what he was saying.
He did say he would send someone to meet at the office and i was indeed met and showed both floors of the Georgia Peach cabin. Absolutely beautiful on both floors.

You not only lost my business, you lost my suggestion and consideration in the future because we will be returning to Helen but we will not be staying with you.

Perhaps, if your team conducted themselves as your manager did-
You'd be more welcoming to folks who want to keep their trip a surprise to the recipient.

Very disappointed since two of the three felt the need to handle us tersely.

If you choose to stay here
Booking ahead is the best option.
They are, in general, absolutely unprepared for and unpleasant to anyone who "just shows up"

B B.

I had great hopes for this place. My family visited for a small family reunion during Thanksgiving. Our family rented more than 3 cabins. My cabin had 4 bedrooms. One of the bedrooms had an outside entrance, that was really weird and unsafe if you have children. The bedrooms on the lower level were very cold. The furnace was not pushing any heat to the lower (3) bedrooms. We called onsite maintenance to report the problem. He came out a few hours later with one space heater, and indicated he would bring another… He never came back. We stayed for 4 cold nights!! My bathroom had a wall socket that was literally out of the wall with all the wiring visible (safety hazard to say the least). We decided to wash some clothes before heading home. When we got ready to remove our clothes from the washer to the dryer we noticed a weird smell. It smelled like a natural gas leak in the laundry room. We called onsite maintenance again. He indicated that the cabins didn’t have natural gas. That was reassuring, but I soon realized the smell was the water from the washing machine. In addition, our clothes were soaked in this water because the spin rinse cycle wasn’t working. Now get ready for the grand finale! Finally it was time to leave. We loaded up the car and got ready to place the key in the lock box. Guess what? The lockbox was open with another key to get into our cabin that we and our kids had been sleeping in all night. I clearly had reset the lockbox when I arrived the first day but someone had come by and put another key in and left it open. Needless to say, I am very disappointed. By the way, my family and I camp and have rented many cabins in other areas. Sautee Mountain Retreat, do better!!

Sherri D.

This was the 3rd year we have held our retreat here. We love this place! The cabins are beautiful. Everyone is so impressed with how comfortable and nice they are. The grounds are lovely. We particularly love the fire pit and that they prep the fire for us. The lodge is comfortable and cozy. The support we get for whatever we need during our stay is stellar. We will be back!

Denise P.

Sautee Mtn Retreat offers unique large group accomodations. We held a family reunion for 30+ people over 4 nights. We rented Apple Dumpling Villa plus the TOP and BOTTOM of the Owl's Nest House. The house is only a few minutes drive from the Villas. When renting the entire Owl's Nest House your group has a private pool and your own large fishing/kayaking pond on property! This was a huge hit with our multi generational group We brought our own fishing equipment, kayaks, life jackets and even a small canopy for shade. The private pool was wonderful. Common areas and bedrooms were comfortable and nice looking with out being fussy or overly decorated. The 5 bedrooms up and 4 bedrooms down each have their own bathroom. Plus the game room can have multiple beds with access to a full bathroom. Quality linens were provided. We brought extra towels for the pond & pool. The larger kitchen upstairs provided ample space to prepare large group meals with plenty of utensils and dishes but minimum pots and serving bowls. Plus, there are additional appliances located in the smaller full kitchen downstairs. Staff was potlite and quick to respond, before and during our stay. There is lots to do in the area, but, with a large group and summer crowds getting around can be extremely difficult and expensive. Everything you need is on sight at the Owl's Nest. Plenty of space for games, conversation and even a nap. Most of our group never left the property. A house this large will always have minor maintenance issues. But nothing stopped us from having a fantastic weekend. The gorgeous view of the pond and mountains from the deck was a fantastic bonus.

Ken K.

I only giving this place two stars. There were several issues that did not get resolved and the host contact didn't seem to be very concerned about resolving these issues. For example, he offered to show me how to use the hot tub. Since I own one, I really don't need to be told how to work it. Then I lift back the cover to find the all the control buttons are missing their covers, thus you didn't know which button did what. I didn't need directions, they need to repair their hot tub.

Next the television. Thank goodness we were NOT there to watch TV. The Roku worked, and since I had accounts for my channels, we had some entertainment after dark, but the remote control for the cable/satellite box didn't work. And yes, I replaced the batteries myself. It did NOTHING. We had to go to the TV anytime we wanted to adjust the volume. We never got any satellite service.

The lights above the stove and the sink didn't work. The ice tray in the refrigerator was not the correct one, so the ice would just overflow into the rest of the freezer.

The heating system was mediocre at best. The only time that I really got the cabin comfortable was the might that I built a fire. My feet stayed cold the whole time.

The couch was to small. There was no way to get two people comfortable. If you tried to lay down on it, your neck would be in an awkward position. It was not comfortable.

No broom, or mop, do when we had a spill, we had to use the bath towels to clean up.

I rent places like this all the time, and I understand that EVERYTHING is not going to work perfectly, but based on this experience, I will not be staying with Sauteed Retreat or Evolve ever again.

Gavin K.

We stayed at the High Line cabin. We had the downstairs master bedroom, which was outside the regular cabin, which necessitated us having the key so that we could lock the door into the cabin at night. The room was very small, with barely enough room for the bed, no chairs, and very tight. Also, when someone was upstairs walking, the sound was very loud in our room. Finally, the room was very cold, but the little bitty heater in the room worked well. It seemed to me that one of the other queen or double rooms would have been better suited for the king bed than the room it is in. Other than that, we had a wonderful time with the campfire, the community room, and the upstairs, even though they only had a table that had four chairs for a cabin that could hold up to 10 people. The pool table was a nice feature.