Pisgah View Ranch, Candler

I recently stayed at the Pisgah View Ranch (to attend a wedding) which proved to be a most disappointing and unsatisfactory experience. We crammed four (4) people into one cabin based on the recommendation of the Pisgah View staff, a ratio of people to space that was less than desirable. The cabins themselves can be described, at best, as antiquated. There were two double beds in a smaller than hotel - sized room. The mattresses were more than firm and supported by nothing more than a rolling metal frame. Only one of the three windows in the cabin could be opened. The bathroom was furnished with three (3) towels despite our having made a reservation (and paid for) four people per cabin. Additional towels were requested at arrival, but never delivered at any point during the duration of our two-night stay. The bathroom ceiling paint was cracked and peeling; there was no electrical outlet in the bathroom. Upon arrival, a member of our party found a number of live bugs in the cabin including spiders in the closet. The grounds were not in much better shape. The grass was nearly a foot tall (which made the wedding rehearsal perilous) . Only after several requests by the betrothed did the staff mow the lawn, and then only in the area upon which the wedding was to take place. The areas surrounding the cabins and the main barn were not mowed until 8:00am on the day of our departure (Sunday) which we took as a not-so-subtle hint from the staff that it was time to depart. The volleyball net was in poor shape and loosely hanging from the support poles. The volleyball was spotted behind the barn-- deflated! There were no “baked goodies”, “snacks”, nor “fresh lemonade” provided between meals. Apparently, "snacks" for our weekend consisted of store-bought granola bars. The rehearsal dinner for approximately 30 people was provided by Pisgah View. Although Pisgah View indicated that the separate meeting room would accommodate the number of dinner guests, the room was actually very small and comfortably seated only half of this number. Rather than moving our party to the main dining hall, we were crammed together in the smaller space to make way for the 8 to 10 non-wedding-party diners eating in the main dining room. The staff (which consisted of 3 people) was obviously overstretched. Pricing for the ranch is $110 per person per night (excluding horse-related activities). That price is ludicrous considering the overwhelmingly poor quality of the accommodations, food, and service. To add insult to pricing injury, the Pisgah View Staff award themselves an automatic (as in non-negotiable) 15% gratuity applied to your $110 a night. I can only assume that this tip is meant to compensate for the staff's provision of meal service , because, as noted several times above, the other staff services we witnesses and or received were...oh, wait, we neither witnessed nor received any other staff services. Pisgah View charged our little out-of-town group of four guests a whopping $1012 (that's the number you come to after the mandatory tip and hotel room taxes. so their "$110 per night, ALL INCLUSIVE" mumbo-jumbo is just that, mumbo jumbo) for two nights in what amounted to a vintage 1950s-era roadside motel room. Furthermore, the amenities and service that were big on promise, but short on delivery. I would venture to guess that the only bloviated claim from brochures, websites and staff that holds up under scrutiny is that they've got some good fried chicken. My experience left me with the feeling that I'd been home-cooked by folks who didn't really care to have me on their property and were into getting as much from me as they could without putting forth any effort because they knew I wouldn't be back. Well, they're right. So folks, if you can level with paying $506 a night for the above-described accommodations, at least you'll get a good piece of fried chicken for your trouble...