Fire Mountain

I loved the experience at Fire Mountain. These were my favorite things: - peace and quiet - spacious- it felt like my own retreat in the mountains - great sunsets from the restaurant and fire pit - caring staff - nice rooms I will definitely be going back! Thanks to Phillippa Mead and the owners for a great stay!

My wife and I recently traveled to western North Carolina looking forward to our stay at Fire Mountain Resort & Spa. The summary of this review is that is a place with potential but has a long way to go. My wife and I left after a one night into our two-night reservation. I would like to note that on site the host was responsive and helpful. General issues: - Website – The website is a bit disjointed and there are dead links in places as well as to things like the guest guide that comes in an email before you check in. - Communication – Prior to coming we sent an email with a question and we never received a response. The email communication was sent after calling the toll-free number. The toll-free gave another number to call if no one answered, but no one answered that number either. - Accessing the site – The website gives information about a private paved road. Please note that this is not the direction that Google maps gives which is fully on a gravel road. The paved entrance will get you closer to the site on a paved road, but the last legs will still be unpaved. Google maps will take you to an entrance where there is road construction underway, so it will sneak up on you fast and you might wonder if you are turning into the right place. - Accommodations: o We stayed in the Manor House Bungalows, specifically, the Spruce room. It is advertised as having a Mountain View. This is a generous description. It is true that through a small opening in the trees you can see a mountain, but it is not the kind of mountain view you are expecting like the views on other parts of the property. o The website says that there are refrigerators in every room. This was not the case. The only thing in the room to keep things cool was a small travel cooler for which you needed to get ice yourself from another building. o The website in one sentence talks about the bed and a sitting area. However, please note that there is no seating in the room. The only seating is on the porch, so you can only sit on the bed in the room. o The is an iron, but the ironing board is a small dorm-style ironing board and there is not table to set it on in the room to use it. o The website communicates a private deck for each room, but this would be more properly described as semi-private, since the space is open to those staying in the other rooms. o While the website doesn’t advertise there is air conditioning, it is important to know that there is no air conditioning. Even though the elevation is at 4,000 ft, the average temperature in the middle of the summer is nearly 80 degrees. The rooms in the Manor House are miserable to stay in. We even bought an additional fan to supplement the ceiling fan and got all about 30 minutes of sleep due to how uncomfortable the temperature was in the room. I am sure there are many times of the year that the temperature is not an issue, but the summer without air conditioning makes the rooms in the Manor House unbearable. o In addition to the temperature, the situation with the bugs is important to note. At night, as soon as you open the door bugs are flying into your room. We spent the first part of the night when trying to sleep killing bugs. As stated earlier, we left after our first night. The resort did refund us for the second night that we did not stay. When a place uses a term like “resort” in their title, there is a shared understanding of the level of service, amenities, and quality especially when located in the Highlands area of North Carolina. However, that is not the standard that you should have in your mind. Weeks after our stay at Fire Mountain, we have received automated emails from them about things like Fire Mountain getting ready to charge our credit card for a date two months ago.

This place has potential but there is no air conditioning anywhere on the property and that is not listed on any website! As well as: no televisions , tennis court, no equestrian center and no water features. It was 93 degrees on July 4th when we arrived and learned of no air conditioning. Assured a refund by the manager Phillippa, we made other accommodation arrangements. No refund issued. No communication from the owners or anyone other than the management company who said “its out of their hands”. A voucher was offered but this does not account for false advertising and lack of communication. Overpriced for what is advertised.

We had a great time at the Fire Mountain Cabins! It is close enough to Highlands to go to town for the day and also is surrounded by trails and waterfalls. We loved that we were able to bring our dog. The staff was super friendly and accomodating.

We booked a 7 day stay, hoping for a peaceful mountain retreat at a resort. We left after only 2 days, choosing to incur the additional costs of another accommodation because we were so uncomfortable. We stayed in a cabin that was infested with spiders. While a spider here or there might be typical for a mountain cabin, we killed over 2 dozen large spiders in just one bathroom alone. They kept reappearing. We left three messages over a 24 hour period before anyone responded to help. We were told that spiders were to be expected, but someone was sent over to kill “the spider”. We explained again that we had dealt with dozens of large spiders and that while we were killing them more would appear. We reached out again and were told that they would spray the cabin. The spiders continued. We reached out again, and they offered to move us to smaller accommodations in the non-conditioned main lodge. We asked to see the lodge room to make a decision, but didn’t hear back so we made other arrangements and left. We had already had 2 sleepless nights. There is no air conditioning in the cabins. We were told that the mountain stays cool, especially in the evening. This was not true and I do not recommend a summer stay. The 80 degree evening temperatures, windows with broken screens allowing in bugs, and no privacy if your curtains are open make staying cool very difficult. The bathrooms in the cabins are very small, especially the showers, more like a cruise ship bathroom. It was advertised that there is a spa on site and a pool. The pool is a decorative feature, not a usable pool. The “spa” is simply some chairs outside. It is labeled an “air spa”. We were told this was a remote and quiet location. This was also not true. We picked the biggest cabin because it had a jacuzzi and we were told it was very private. In reality our bedroom window looked out into a parking area where someone in a truck actually waved at me as I was walking across my bedroom. There is digging for a tennis court going on in the back yard of the cabin. We were also not told that our private, secluded cabin was also the maintenance shed and that the maintenance worker would be coming and going through a garage door underneath our bedroom. With our windows opened for the heat we felt quite crowded instead of peacefully alone. If you are looking for an experience slightly better than camping then this is for you. For over $400 a night at a place that self describes as a resort we were very disappointed.

We had such a wonderful time at Fire Mountain! We are an early customer of the newest owners and managers of Fire Mountain. They did a great job, and we are excited to see all the ways they grow their offerings and services. Fire Mountain was the perfect peaceful getaway for our Honeymoon. We spent the first three nights of our honeymoon in a cozy cabin. The cabin was beautifully decorated and outfitted with everything we could possibly have needed—nice bathroom, charming kitchen area, toasty fireplace, relaxing bathtub, and comfy bed. Both to start and end our days, we enjoyed spectacular views from Fire Mountain. Every morning, we savored a lovely breakfast on the restaurant’s porch. Our corner table overlooked flame azaleas and mountaintops. In the evening, we set up beautiful sunset bonfires in the fire pit. The fireflies at dusk also took our breath away! Phillippa was an absolutely amazing hostess! She went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed for bonfires, breakfast, and even recommendations for local activities. Thank you, Phillippa for everything you did to welcome us and make our stay at Fire Mountain so special! Thank you, Fire Mountain, for the fabulous start to our marriage! Cheers! Amy and Matthew

Breakfast was excellent.

No tv in room. But, learned to live without one.

Breakfast was fantastic. Hiram gave a wonderful history of the mountain when we arrived. Can only imagine how beautiful it would be during peak leaf change.

Everything was great but the outside looks like it needs a new paint job especially at the inn.

Breakfast was excellent

Beautiful property with quiet, clean, and cozy cabin! We loved our stay at Fire Mountain and didn't want to leave!