This hotel is also a timeshare resort. I purchased on ebay one week in August with not much expectations. It was a late week in August and the hotel was not very busy. It is located on a small road and the first impression on the outside is of a large motel. Once inside the receptionist was quite nice and we were given our 2 bedroom suite key. The hallways are narrow and rather dark but it was ok. We liked the simple suite that was quite comfortable and the kitchenette was great. But we had not come all the way from Chicago to stay in a room. The hotel features a swimming pool and yes the water was warm. The adjacent jacuzzui was great as well. By the lobby there is a very large hall with a pool table, arcade games and large tables with chairs. All set in a country lodge setting. There is a patio that leads to a mini walking bridge in the back where there is a picnic space with an outdoor cooking area. That is surrounded by planted flowers and the surrounding trees of the mountain. There is no food service and only vending machines for beverages and candies. I would recommend that they install one more vending machine with more healthy snacks.
The area is superb. You are just next to Grand Father's mountain that we hiked to the top: my 14 years old son said about that hike that it was the experience of a lifetime. It was not easy as there are ladders and cables that you have to use to climb the whole thing.
All in all the hotel is simple but clean. The rooms while not very big are well set. No, this is not a Marriot or Westin but it is comfortable and quiet. We can't wait to go back next summer. I'm rating this hotel very good within its budget category.

At first glance, the place appears run down and in need of repairs. I think most of that impression, though, would disappear with a simple updating of carpet, furnishings, and doors. The lobby and hallways smelled old and looked cobbled together and did not make a good first impression.

The room itself was clean and smelled much better. All furniture including bed was comfortable and all appliances worked well. Though the lodge was booked, we seldom heard neighbors. The only drawback to the unit is that it is cooled by an in-wall unit in the livingroom/kitchenette area. In order to get the cold air into the bedroom, you had to freeze out the living area. The A/C unit was also noisy and you had to talk loudly to be heard over it. There was only one tiny window up high to look out of at the lovely mountain scenery we had come to enjoy.

The best thing about the lodge is the pool and spa area. Quite nice, very modern and HUGE pools!

If you are traveling on a tight budget, this is a respectable no-frills option. If you have a little more freedom in the budget, I would suggest spending some to upgrade your lodging.

We were not to keen on the idea of giving more business to a person that displayed such terrible customer relations to begin with and we did not plan on paying for 2 rooms so we declined. We opted to resolve this conflict by canceling the reservation. She quickly informed us that would not be possible and that she was going to bill us anyway. We showed up at about 5:00 pm which is early enough to cancel at almost every other reputable hotel company. Again, we are well traveled and are very familiar with most travel policies.

We were forced to take the room anyway and as we were leaving the foyer the lady at the front desk threatened that if we all even entered the room she would have security come. Again, this is not a way to treat a customer even if we are upset.

When we got to the room it smelled like mildew and cigarette smoke. As I said before, we have babies, and that is not a good environment for them, so we had to go back down and confront the very same people that we very combative with us.

When we went down to the desk we asked for another room and she said that she did not have one for us. This perplexed us because at the very beginning of our encounter she told us that we would have to purchase another room. Now, they did not have another room. While we were there another manager came by and finally let us cancel our reservation.

We were perplexed as to why we could not cancel. I would think from Smoketree’s perspective, you would not want a pissed customer staying in your room. I hear stories all the time of customers destroying hotel rooms. We of course, would not do that, but it is a poor business decision to force someone to take the reservation anyway. Another thing that is funny to us is that all we have to do is call our credit card and put a hold on it anyway. Why cause all this distress when it was 5:00 pm and there is plenty of time to take rent the room?

We were there to celebrate my son’s 2 year old birthday and this was a terrible way to start it. We were forced to leave and find another place to stay.

This hotel is well worn, but served it's cause. We stayed a couple of nights, rooms were quite and interesting. If I were staying longer I would look elsewere.