Rental FAQs

HOW DO I MAKE A RENTAL RESERVATION?
You can make a reservation online by submitting our Online Reservation Application or you can fax us the required forms to reserve a cabin rental.

A deposit of $150 is required to secure your rental reservation, with the balance of your rental amount due on or shortly before the day of arrival. Once a rental reservation is secured, we will send you a confirmation email.

IS YOUR ONLINE RESERVATION APPLICATION SAFE AND SECURE?
Yes! The link we use to process your online reservation is secure and your information is also safe.

IS THERE AN AGE LIMIT TO BOOK A RENTAL CABIN?
The person booking the rental cabin must be at least 23 years old and must be either the person, or the spouse of the person whose name appears on the credit card.

WHAT'S THE RENTAL DEPOSIT?
To secure your reservation, you will be charged for a deposit of $150 and this deposit will be credited back to you after your stay.

WHAT CREDIT CARDS DO YOU ACCEPT?
We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.

WHAT ARE THE RENTAL CABIN RATES?
Rates for each rental cabin will be listed on the cabin rental rates page and all rental rates are based on 1-4 person occupancy.

WHY ARE THE RENTAL RATES BASED ON A 4 PERSON OCCUPANCY WHEN THE RENTAL CABIN WILL SLEEP MORE?
We feel that it would be fair to all of our guests to base the rental rates on 4 guests and to charge per person rental rate for each additional guest.

If we base the price on the highest occupancy a rental cabin can sleep, this would unfairly over charge guests with less than the maximum number of people. Our rental cabin rates are very affordable and inexpensive for a private and secluded lake view cabin in the Tennessee Blue Ridge Mountains.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER FEES?
There are no administration, registration or booking fees added to your rental amount. The only additional fees we charge are the following.

* $50 Cleaning Fee - Based on a 1-4 person occupancy
* $10 Extra Cleaning Fee - Based on 5 or more person occupancy
* $10 Pet Fee - Based on per pet

CAN WE USE YOUR RENTAL CABINS AS PARTY CABINS?
If this is your intention, please go somewhere else. We expect our guests to treat our cabins and Conference Center Lodge with the respect that they would treat their own homes. The cabins and lodge are beautifully furnished and well kept. We expect them to remain that way!

IS THERE A JACUZZI HOT TUB?
Yes, but if a party is checking out immediately before your check-in, the water temperature may be below 100 degrees when you arrive! It is our policy to drain, clean, treat, sanitize and refill the jacuzzi hot tub after guest usage.

WHAT ARE SOME CABIN AND RETREAT AMENITIES?
Our cabins offer different amenities. Please refer to our Cabin Retreat Amenities for specific cabin and retreat amenities.

CAN I ORDER DIRECTV PAY PER VIEW MOVIES?
No, you can not order pay per view movies. There is a movie rental store in McCaysville, Georgia if you would like to rent and watch some moviesduring your stay at our mountian retreat.

DO I NEED A 4x4 VEHICLE TO GET TO THE RENTAL CABIN LOCATION?
Our rental cabins are located on gravel roads. You should not need a special vehicle or 4x4 vehicle, but we do not suggest you drive a low sitting sports car or motorcycle. Please call the office first if you are planning to drive a low sitting sports car or motorcycle because some cabins will be more difficult to access with these vehicles.

CAN I TOW A TRAILER OR BRING A RV?
If you plan on towing a trailer or bringing a RV, please call the office first so that we can advise if the cabin you will be staying at is accessible for a trailer or RV.

DO YOU OFFER INTERNET SERVICE?
Both our Lake View Log Cabin and Cottage don't offer internet service. However, our Conference Center has satellite internet service.

IS THERE A MAID SERVICE?
No, but we do have a property manager on call that can help with any problems you may come across. Please call Joretta at 423-496-9372 and she will be able to help you out with any problems you may come across.

ARE THE CABIN PHOTOS OF THE ACTUAL CABINS?
The pictures online at our website are recent photos of the actual cabin you're rented, which were taken with our own camera. In this case, what you see is really what you get. Keep in mind that these are photos and photos do not do these rental cabins justice.

WHAT SHOULD WE BRING?
Our rental cabins provide linens, paper products and fully equipped kitchens, so you will only need to bring personal items (body soap, shampoo, hair dryer, etc.) and grocery items.

The Lake View Log Cabin does not have a washer & dryer, The Lake View Cottage Cabin does have washer & dryer, if you would like to use the washer & dryer you will need to bring detergent. Please look at the cabins page for each cabins amenities.

WILL MY CELL PHONE WORK AT THE CABIN?
Cell phone service is somewhat sporadic in the mountains, if at all. We have had success with VERIZON.

WHAT RIVER IS THE CLOSEST AND BEST FOR WHITEWATER RAFTING?
The Ocoee River is the closest and best river for whitewater rafting. The Ocoee River is also known as the Toccoa River. The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are actually a single river that flows northwest through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is called the Toccoa River in Georgia, until it reaches the twin cities of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The 1996 Summer Olympics (The whitewater slalom event) was conducted on the Ocoee River.

IS THERE NOISE OR ANY NUISANCES BY THE RENTAL RETREAT CABINS?
The good news is that our retreat is on over 20 acres and most likely there shouldn't be any noise or nuisances because our retreat is in a very remote and private area. Our rental retreat cabins are located in a small community on a mountain lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee. In this small community there are other cabins, which may or may not have some level of construction underway at any given time. Unfortunately we have no control over this and have no way of knowing if or when construction may begin near our rental retreat cabins.

IS THERE WILDLIFE AROUND THE RENTAL CABINS?
All of the rental cabins are located in the Tennessee mountain wilderness. You are likely to encounter wildlife such as Deer, Wild Turkeys, Ducks, Geese, Squirrels, Hummingbirds, Blue Jays, Cardinals and other wildlife. Please keep in mind that the retreat property is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, so you may encounter wild animals such as Coyotes, Black Bears, Raccoons, Snakes, Scorpions, Yellow Jacket Wasps, etc.

HOW BAD ARE THE BUGS AT THE MOUNTAIN RETREAT?
Our rental cabins receive pest control, however, the rental cabins are located in the woods, so you will most likely still see pests of different kinds around the property.

IS THERE A GROCERY STORE NEAR THE RENTAL CABINS?
There are several grocery stores nearby, but the closest grocery store near our rental cabins is the Piggly Wiggly in Ducktown, Tennessee or the IGA grocery store in McCaysville, Georgia. There is also a Ingles and Food Lion located in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

WHERE CAN I PURCHASE ALCOHOL?
You can purchase package beer and wine in Blue Ridge, Georgia or Copperhill, Tennessee. The restaurants of Blue Ridge, Georgia do not serve beer or wine by the drink and you cannot bring your drinks into the restaurants in the city limits. Copperhill, Tennessee has beer by the drink in the restaurants.

You can purchase liquor either in Ellijay, Georgia or Murphy, North Carolina. Ellijay, Georgia and Murphy, North Carolina are between 30 to 45 minutes from the mountain retreat rental cabins.

DO I NEED TO BRING FIREWOOD?
The Conference Center Lodge and Lake View Cottage Cabin have wood burning fireplaces and firewood is provided from October 1 to March 31.

These fireplaces do not have a gas starter, so if you are not proficient at starting a fire without one, you might want to bring small Duraflame type logs or fire starters logs.

ABSOLUTELY NO LIQUID ACCELERANT IS ALLOWED!!! These are very dangerous to you and our retreat property. Your Full Deposit Will Be Kept If One Is Used!!!

CAN WE USE MAPQUEST, GOOGLE MAPS OR A GPS UNIT TO FIND THE RETREAT PROPERTY?
Please don't! They don't seem to know how to find us in the Tennessee Mountains! If you want to use MapQuest, Google Maps or other GPS software for the basic highway directions, you should have no problem.

However, please use the directions we provide for the exact location of The Retreat at Ducks' Nest Lake.

ARE PETS PERMITTED?
You can only bring pets to our Lake View Log Cabin! We do charge a $10 fee per pet and an extra $100 will be added to the deposit ($250) for bringing your pet.

CAN I SMOKE INSIDE THE RENTAL CABIN?
We have a strict no smoking policy in our rental cabins and Conference Center Lodge!

Smoking is allowed outside on the porches and decks. Please, do not dispose of cigarette butts in the yard or surrounding areas, there are ashtrays and ash cans provided on the decks. If discarded butts are found, additional cleaning fees will apply. PLEASE DO NOT DISREGARD THIS POLICY, AS IT WILL RESULT IN THE LOSS OF YOUR DEPOSIT.

DOES THE MOUNTAIN RETREAT HAVE A LOST AND FOUND?
When you leave the rental cabin at 11:00 AM it is very likely that another party will be checking in at 3:00 PM. If you leave something at the rental cabin, please call the office immediately and we will try to locate it for you. If it is not found by us or the cleaning staff prior to the next guests arrival, it may not be there when they leave. We can not be responsible for your lost items.

If an item is found, we ask that you set up a pickup time with the shipping company of your choice and provide us with a pickup date. We will happily box it up for shipping and have it ready to go.

HOW ARE CANCELLATIONS DONE AND IS THERE A CANCELLATION FEE?
All cancellations must be made in writing, email, fax or certified mail.

* Canceled Reservation: Less than 30 days notice - $50 cancellation fee

* Canceled Reservation: Less than 10 days notice - $200 cancellation fee

* Canceled Reservation: Less than 72 hours notice - Full reservation amount

WHAT DO I DO IF I HAVE A CHANGE IN MY RENTING BOOKING DATES?
Should you need to change your dates, we can reschedule your reservation with no penalty provided the change is processed at least 30 days prior to arrival.

Changes to an existing booking are very time consuming, as they require updates to multiple systems and schedules. We will gladly make one change to a date or cabin, to your booking, free of charge. However, any additional changes will result in a $25 fee.

This policy does not include additions or subtractions to the number of guests. There will be no penalty for a change in guest count. All other normal rates still apply.

WHEN IS CHECK-IN?
Check in is at 3:00 PM. Please do not attempt to check in early unless previous arrangements have been made with us. Early check-ins are rare, but we will make every effort if a request is made at time of booking. Please call 24-48 hours prior to arrival to verify availability.

WHEN IS CHECK-OUT?
11:00 Noon Sharp! It is our mission to provide the cleanest renal cabins possible so that our guests will come back to us in the future! This 4 hour window allows just enough time for the cabin to be cleaned and for the hot tub to be drained, sanitized and refilled between guests.

Please help our housekeeping staff meet their schedule without inconveniencing the next guest by checking out on time and following the check out procedures provided to you at check-in.