Callaway Gardens Resort, Pine Mountain

We just spent 3 days at Callaway Cottages including Thanksgiving Day, dining at the Thanksgiving Buffet in the Mountain Lodge Ballroom. This was our first visit to Callaway Gardens. While the grounds there are beautiful and the service at the Cottages was very nice, the buffet is among the most mismanaged and disappointing affairs we have had the misfortune to experience. We chose the Mountain Lodge Ballroom for our Thanksgiving meal because the menu included a shrimp and grits bar. We don't usually spend nearly $40 per person plus mandatory tip when we eat out, but your website made it appear quite elegant, so we splurged on what we expected would be excellent food and service. The tip was demanded up front, which wouldn't be a big issue if we had actually had service. The table we were taken to had a filthy table cloth as did all of the open tables around us. The family that came in after us demanded that they be given a clean tablecloth. They went to fill their plates and came back to the same dirty tablecloth. They put their plates down and walked out. We wish we had followed suit. Next, we were given 4 sets of silverware for 5 people. It took 10 minutes to get our drinks ordered, and refills seemed to be out of the question. It wasn't that there were too many people and too few servers. The room was only half full and there were many servers, but they spent most of their time running back and forth across the room, empty handed, asking over their shoulders if anyone needed anything and then speeding off before anyone could answer. The girl carving the turkey did not know what she was doing, was excruciatingly slow, and placed little scraps of turkey on the plates. A woman in front of me, after waiting for more turkey and being ignored, finally grabbed some wings out of the scraps bin and walked off. After this long wait in line to get to the shrimp and grits bar/carving station, we were informed that they were out of shrimp. No surprise that the containers of the meager side dishes on the buffet table were not refilled and very few desserts were replaced. We guessed that a large number of locals were temporarily hired for the event, but were given little to no training on handling their responsibilities. In summary, we paid quite a fair price plus mandatory tip ahead of time and expected excellent food and service in return. Your facility did not deliver on what we paid for. The food was often cold, unimpressive, and the item causing us to select this venue (shrimp & grits) was missing altogether. We heard many other diners express great displeasure. We sent a similar message to Callaway management to see if they would take any responsibility but never heard back from them.

Dirty rooms, poor service, abusive staff. The dishwasher didn't work and flooded the kitchen. The phones were dead most of the trip. The staff were clueless. We had prepaid for a golf trip and when we arrived there was no record of it. The golf shop wouldn't call the front desk to confirm so we were charged twice. We were never given a wrist band to get to the beach so when we went to pick up the kids from camp were were assaulted at the gate and not allowed to get the kids. We had to travel back to the office, wait in line and return to the gate to get in to pick up our children. I have never seen such a poorly run operation.

Please do not be fooled by the pictures, this hotel is not a hotel you and your family would want to reside in for a vacation. Firstly, this hotel is practically in the middle of Callaway Gardens, but it provides absolutely no transportation to any of the attractions. Although it is in the middle of Callaway Gardens, it is still a few miles away from the main attractions. Secondly, this hotel provides NO amenities what so ever. For example I had a severe headache, and went to the front desk to purchase some type of pain reliever. The girl at the front desk replied, "We don't carry any of that here, but there is a gas station about 4 miles up the road." Also some of the outlets in the rooms are obviously shorted out. I had to plug the iron into four different outlets within the room before the iron would work. Also they offer free internet connection, but neglect to give you any passwords when you check in or explain how it is to be used. When I called the front desk for assistance, the girl quickly cut me off and gave me the password and then hung up. Also make sure that you put something over the drain of the tub at night because bugs will come through. Thirdly, the restaurant located in the hotel has wonderful food, but it takes FOREVER to be seated and get your food. There was no line and we stood at the entrance for about 5 minutes before anyone acknowledged our presence, and then it took literally (no exaggeration) 1 hour before we received our food. I do not blame this on the servers, I blame management. Fourthly, although this hotel has attractive flowers and greenery, overall it is a very old hotel. It also feels a bit unsafe with the doors being outside and there being no hallways. If you are unfortunate and receive a bottom floor room, each time someone climbs the steps to go to the second floor, you can hear it through the roof. Fifthly, make sure you check out before or right at check out time because you are charged every 15 minutes if you check out late. If you read this and still decide to stay at Mountain Creek Inn, just know that you have been warned. Callaway Gardens is a beautiful place, but try looking at a few resorts or a different hotel.

had a supr of the moment sisters road trip...no destination in mind and somehow ended up in callaway, stayed at the inn...Motel style room beds comfortable..all day at the beach and then a nice dinner at crickets and back to the inns bar for a few coctails before bed....very relaxing if you looking for a place to just kick back and relax ...can't wait for next road trip!

My family and I just came back from a weekend stay at MOUNTAIN CREEK INN at Callaway Gardens boy was we in for a shark after reading all of these reviews I expected fun at the gardens but not such a good room boy was those reviews wrong and those employees went out of there way to keep our smiles on our happy faces I could not wait to write this review for others to see those are my pros now my only con is wishing that we could have gotten into our rooms when we arrived instead of waiting til 4 pm to put our bags and things up before heading out to the gardens I can not wait to go back again Thanks to the Staff any anyone with questions feel free to email me if I could be of any extra help imhome4u@gmail.com

The innn is old and smelly and if you have allergies of any kind, you will be miserable. If you have little ones, I would not want them on that old carpeting. If you do make reservations request, no demand, one of the few renovated rooms. The gardens are beautiful maybe one of the other accomodations would be better.

We initially stayed at the Inn and it was old,smelly and the a/c was loud and I would not recommend it but we went over to the Lodge at Callaway and it was heaven. Brand new, beautiful, large rooms, everything you could ask for. Callaway overall was a great family vacation. The kids had activities to do everyday. The lodge ended up costing us $60 more $ a night but it was well worth it.

the room was dirty and smelled horrible. the place was bad. there were bugs everywhere you looked. the room wasn't cleaned. there was no housekeeping. the food wasn't great either. i wouldn't stay here again.

Callaway Gardens has by far the worst customer service that I have ever experienced w/ any business. We are having our wedding there and after paying, we were hit with many hidden fees and surprising details. Almost everyone we have dealt with was extremely rude! Never would have picked this place if we knew what we were getting into.

Had not stayed overnight at Callaway in a good many years. We stayed at the Mountain Creek Inn, but other accomodations are the lodge, cottages and villas. Though the furnishings were a bit "tired" our room was clean and comfortable and everything worked. No fridge, but did not expect one. Rate includes a full breakfast at the inn or the country store (buffet at the inn) and admission to the gardens each day. The beauty of the gardens is still magnificent. Other attractions in the gardens are the horticultural center, the Day Butterfly Center and, new to me, the Discovery Center. We took in a Birds of Prey show there. We loved our visit and will return sometime.