This hostel still haunts my dreams. Beware that this is not your conventional hostel. Now, I didn't think this hostel located in Great Smoky Mountains National Park was going to be as nice as a standard, modern hostel. However, this ended up being almost as basic as staying at a campsite. I would say this was worse than a normal developed campsite, as there were no bathrooms! It never crossed my mind that a hostel would not have plumbing. Instead, there were nasty porta-potties. The cabin didn't have heating, so it was freezing. It very much felt like I was just camping.
At $25 per night, this was a CRAZY price for their woeful lack of basic facilities. I have stayed in plenty of hostels at the same price that were clean and had air conditioning/heating, full bathrooms, and all the normal amenities. Also, they could definitely have bathrooms because the owner's family lives in a nice house right next to the shared cabin, and they have indoor plumbing.
I grabbed sheets and pillowcases from an old cabinet, and they were slightly damp and smelled moldy! It looked like there was literally only one cabin. There were, however, two amenities that I really enjoyed, so I cannot rate this only one star. One was the fast wifi. I did not expect a cabin without plumbing to have good wifi. I could load my TikToks out in the middle of the woods, which made me feel significantly better about being there as I could distract myself. Another was the fully-equipped kichen. I was so grateful for the microwave.
I am sad to say their cat was really scary. I think they may have multiple cats. One of them jumped on me while I was sleeping in the middle of the night. I think it slipped in through the door. Actual nightmare fuel. read more