Upon entering, you'll see a rustic, lodge-like lobby area with dozens of autographed photos of famous guests. A small common area is on the 2nd floor overlooking the 1st floor lobby. Both looked inviting and comfortable. There was a smell in the lobby similar to what you would find in a tropical fish store..not musty, really..sort of humid, I guess. I think the air conditioning system was not being used to full advantage here.

“Double bed” rooms actually have two queen size beds, not doubles. Beds are not particularly comfortable and I was glad to get home to my own bed.

The A/C unit in the room has a fully controllable keypad with digital temperature display, but was not turned on when we first entered the room. It took a some time to begin to cool the room. At first, I wasn't sure if it was working, but it started to cool after about 10-15 minutes. After that, it kept the room comfortable when it was 90+ degrees outside.

All the rooms have private balconies or patios. The ones on right rear of the lodge face east and provide the best view of Lake Chatuge. I got some fantastic sunrise photos from my balcony. The front of the lodge gets sunset views and overlooks the parking lot, US 76 and mountains.

Nicely supplied bathroom with coffeemaker, blow dryer, plenty of cups, shampoo, conditioner, and a half-empty bottle of lotion. Good lighting over the sink and the heat lamp in bathroom is nice during the winter, but there was no light over the toilet making it difficult to read while on the throne. An ironing board and iron are also supplied.

There is a 27” CRT TV with HBO and typical SD picture quality and basic cable channels with locals out of Atlanta. Free wireless internet on our 3rd floor room was approx 1.3mb/s download and the connection was solid. Ground level rooms have a patio with a key-card entrance door.

The cabinet drawers had an odor that transferred to our clothes. Again, this smell may have been due to the fact that the room air conditioner was off when we arrived. The smell disappeared after a few hours of airing (wearing) the clothing.

Breakfast consisted of six varieties of cold cereal, milk, bagels, english muffins, wheat bread, donuts, fruit danishes, juices, bananas, and, of course, coffee (which was quite good). The only hot item offered looked like grits..or oatmeal..or gruel; I couldn't tell which, but it was stiff, dry and unappealing.

There is a restaurant (Hiawasee Chop House) at the drive entrance to the lodge. We didn't have a chance to visit, though.

As noted by other Trip Advisors, contrary to the Ramada corporate website, there is no gym of fitness center, although there is a public beach and playground directly across US 76. But who cares? I'm not here for a workout!

Would I stay again? Probably not. I'm not an outdoorsman, so the hiking-boating-jetskiing-fishing-rafting thing does not appeal to me. If you want a base location for exploring the North Georgia Mountains and Western North Carolina, I think the Ramada, Lodge at Lake Chatuge is a good choice.