Om Sanctuary put the O-M in "O-M-G, I can't believe this place is open for business." It was a particularly disappointing stay, during which we were as forgiving as possible after having paid over $200 for a night stay. Things to note about this place:
It was clean.
I only stayed in one of the cottages and didn't see rooms in the main hotel.
The bathroom in the cottage was newly remodeled.
The air conditioning worked well and there was plenty of hot water.
We were greeted by a frozen-faced young lady. She told us that we could pick our breakfast...meat or vegetarian. Those are the choices. Breakfast is the only meal to be served there. There is no restaurant--anywhere, smoothie stand-not a chance, bottled water-if you find it let me know, snack machine (I don't think). If you still like the sound of this you have two choices: Use your cell phone to have food delivered or leave the sanctuary to eat (restaurants are about a 5-10 minute drive).
I was stoked to have no TV, cell phone or wifi. This proved to not be great later in the stay...I was there one night. There is no phone, no alarm clock, or docking station in the cottages. If you want to wake up for breakfast, you'll need to bring your own clock.
I wanted to take a couple yoga classes, sit in the sauna, maybe get a massage. There are not classes to take aside from what shows up on their class schedule, which is usually one class a day. I took a class this morning and it was nice. I really enjoyed it and would have LOVED more of that. People from outside the hotel can take the classes as well...it runs about $15. I would definitely stay somewhere else, but come there to take a class.
The sauna is a glass enclosed shower with a steam function. You can get a massage if you book it 2 days in advance. The manager did tell me she could call someone the morning we were leaving...I passed on it.
There was no education, no speeches, no literature, nothing about sustainability, nothing about the benefits of locally sourced things. It would have been great if this non-profit education center took the reins and decided to actually educate.
After 10:30 pm no one is at the front desk, which doesn't matter because you won't call down from your room since there's no phone.
When the sun sets, so does the whole place. There weren't any lit trails, the garden was completely blacked out, the water fountain (waterfall) was off...which I never saw it on so maybe it didn't work.
The amount of poison ivy along tranquility trail would rot your extremities if you crossed it in anything other than safari gear.
Outside my cabin was supposed to be a view of the mountains and the green. The "green" was actually an unkempt piece of dirt that was trying to grow grass and maybe would if anyone bothered to take care of the grounds. The manager told me that she couldn't control the color of the grass, but I thought to myself that somehow the science of botany teaches us those things and landscapers across the country can produce green lawns.
The grounds were beyond disappointing. I could have dealt with the lack of other amenities but the fact that the grounds were so bad bothered me. It is spring in the mountain of North Carolina, fauna happens by accident here.
The pictures are real, but the scale is completely off and things look A LOT nicer and impressive on the photos...not so much in real life.
I didn't write this review to bust the place up, and I took my concerns to the manager who basically said she had never heard these things before. If she hadn't heard them, I wanted to give them a voice. The other 7 reviews on here all say the same thing, but really nicely. Ethan H. hit it on the head, you're at grandma's house but at least grandma's place felt nice and she didn't reach in and snatch a couple Benjamins from your bag. Mark B. said that he bought an air conditioner for the place and STILL gave it 5 stars?!?!?! Laureen A. liked the place and didn't see any fireplaces, which she felt might have been a nice touch. I had one in my cabin, it was flipped up and the wires were exposed and it didn't light, thankfully. She said the coffee was disappointing and I thought if that was her only hangup then I didn't stand a chance.
If you're looking to disconnect so that you can connect, go somewhere else. This isn't it. The idea and potential to be something good is there, but it isn't. Grab a tent, cooler, flashlight, and head to a campground. If you don't heed my advice you'll still need the items above in addition to cups, spoons, food, cell phone and a Bible--you'll really need the last one. Best wishes. read more