Questions

What’s your Pet Policy?

• We encourage you to bring your furry faced friends. We have no size or weight limits. We do ask that you tell us that you’re bringing your pet(s), since we want to make sure that they are as comfortable as you. As their pet guardian, we do expect you to know your pet. Meaning that if you need to crate them or leash them, please do so. Since your pets will not be bringing their credit cards, any damages will be charged to yours. Also, please remember cleaning up after your pet is your responsibility. Of course, if you decide not to clean up after your pets, we’ll reluctantly do it and charge your card accordingly. If you do not “register” your pet with us when we take your reservation and we discover that you have brought your pet with you, you will be asked to leave the premises, thus forfeiting the rest of your stay and your rental fees.

What time is check-in? May we check-in early? Since we’re in the neighborhood why can’t we just sit in the cabin or on the porch until check in?

• Check-in is anytime after 3:00 PM, absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS! As you may have surmised, check-in is no earlier than O3:00 PM. Since our housekeepers must clean and prepare multiple cabins within a four hour window, so that all guests receive a nice clean cabin, we do not allow early check-ins. If you’ve arrived early to the area and since your key will not be available until after 2:30 PM and the cabin will be not be ready until after 3:00 PM, we’d suggest visiting Ellijay and/or Blue Ridge. That way you can acclimate yourself to the local area and our cleaning crew can ensure that your cabin is in great shape for your arrival after 03:00 PM.

What time is check-out? May we check-out late?

• Check-out is anytime before 11:00 AM, NO EXCEPTIONS! Again, our housekeepers must clean and prepare multiple cabins and it would be unfair to them and to our other guests to allow a later check-out. As a result, check-out is anytime prior to 11:00 AM. For every one-half hour after 11:00 AM, we charge an additional one-half nights rent.

Why don’t you have a map to the cabins on your website? We’d like to view it prior to renting, why can’t we?

• We believe that our guests come to us for seclusion and relaxation. If we allow non-customers to drive up to our cabins just to have a look, then we’ve betrayed the trust of our guests. We’d love to be able to show every room, closet, and bath of every cabin, but unfortunately due to website limitations, we can not. We do try to describe and accurately photograph each cabin.

What is your smoking policy? Even though you say no smoking on your website and in your brochures and your advertisements and your Cabin Rental Agreement/Policies and your Frequently Asked Questions and when we chat on the phone, but does that really, really mean no-smoking?

• We do not allow smoking at our cabins. ABSOLUTELY NO SMOKING! We have nothing against smokers, but if you need to smoke then please try one of the cabin rental companies that allow smoking. Since we’ve decided to be a non-smoking cabin rental company, we charge a minimum of $350 if you decide to smoke at our cabins.

What if, while at one of your cabins, I have car trouble like a dead battery, locked my keys in the car or I get stuck, will you come out and help me?

• Contrary to what most folks think, we are not mechanics nor have a wrecker. That job is best left to the pros. The phone book at your cabin has listings for several good wrecker services and mechanics in the area that would be happy to come out and assist you. But make sure that you give them good directions, like the ones we provided for you. So, to answer your question, no, we do not offer roadside assistance.

Will my child or pet be safe in your rivers, streams or ponds?

• You as a parent must answer this question. The rivers and streams are sometimes moving pretty fast, sometimes deep and sometimes shallow. Does your child or pet know how to swim, wear a life vest, will you be monitoring them at all times, would you feel comfortable leaving them in a swimming pool un-supervised? A very special note: Backwoods Rental Cabins assumes no responsibility for the safety of your child or pet.

Why can’t we bring our ATV or dirt bikes? Shoot our firearms, BB/Pellet guns, fireworks, etc?

• Noise! Again, we’re in the relaxation business and what may be fun for one may be a nuisance to others, hence absolutely no ATVs, dirt bikes, discharging of firearms (unless it’s a life threatening situation) including BB/Pellet guns, and fireworks.

Can we bring our boat or jet skis?

• Sure, but please plan accordingly with the appropriate towing vehicle as the roads leading to most rental properties are dirt and gravel and mountainous and sometimes bumpy. Backwoods Rental Cabins is not responsible for the condition of the roads nor your inability to arrive at your cabin. If you decide to tow your boat or jet skis with a Volkswagon or something similar, you have been duly warned and no refunds or rebate will be offered.

Do you accept one night rentals?

• Sorry, but we do not accept one night rentals at any time. No Exceptions.

What is the minimum age for reserving a cabin?

• Twenty-one (21) years of age. Anyone under twenty-one years of age must be accompanied by an adult and the renting adult must occupy the cabin during the entire rental period.

What do you consider a weekly rental? Do weekly rentals start on a particular day, i.e. Sunday to Sunday, etc?

• We consider a weekly rental to be six (6) nights. If you reserve for a full week (six nights), we charge you for five nights, the sixth night is free. The start date is up to you and of course availability at our cabins.

What type of vehicle would be appropriate for the mountain roads?

• Just about any vehicle should be able to conquer our gravel/dirt mountain roads. All of us travel the roads daily in Camry’s, Mini-vans, pick-ups, and SUVs with no problems. If it has snowed, we strongly recommend a four-wheel drive. If you’re concerned with a few bumps or if you’re afraid of dust or mud or if heights scare you, or you’re still in the honeymoon stage with your vehicle, we’d suggest a different automobile or rethink coming to the mountains.

Are your cabins isolated? We don’t like the dark and wouldn’t think of driving at night on a bumpy road. What should we do?

• We don’t consider our cabins isolated, but we do believe that they are secluded and/or private. You will not find an all night grocery store close to your cabin, nor a place to dance until the early dawn. There are no street lights in the mountains (yippee) and it does get very dark. We’d suggest that if you need nightly entertainment, fear the dark or driving on the dark and bumpy roads, the mountains are not for you.

Will the directions to our cabin be with the keys at check-in?

• HUH??.....WHAT??? Boy, there’s a new one.... Here’s your sign!!

We have a group that is coming to the cabin in three separate vehicles and arriving at different times of the evening. Can you send the directions to the cabin to the ones arriving later?

• Sorry, but our contract with our cabin owners forbids us to release the keys or the directions to anyone prior to check-in. It is your responsibility ensure that the late arriving members of your party get to the cabin.

What if I get lost?

• If you get lost, then you get to be on our FAQ page! Seriously, if you follow our directions to your cabin exactly, you should not get lost. If you do, you will be the first guest to get lost going to your cabin. If the directions say to go 2/10ths mile and turn RIGHT, that’s what we really mean. Don’t go 25 miles and then call me. So guys, no pressure.

Will we encounter bugs, bears, snakes, and other creatures in the mountains?

• Yes, remember that you’re in the mountains and it’s nature and you’ll probably see or hear lots of mother nature. Also, remember most of the creatures are just as afraid of you as you are of them, so please try to leave them alone. Enjoy what you’ve been missing and maybe snap a few photos for your memories.

What’s your favorite cabin? We can’t decide which cabin to choose, which one would you recommend?

• We believe that you’ll enjoy any and all of our cabins. We manage our cabins so ethically it would be inappropriate for us to steer you to one or the other. We will take your needs, i.e., number of guests, type of views requested, secluded or private, etc., and help match them with the best cabin.

Do you provide firewood? We like to burn 50 to 60 logs per night, will there be enough? What if the firewood goes bad and we can’t get it started, will you bring good wood out or help us get it started?

• We provide firewood seasonally (between September 30th and March 31, all other times fireplaces are inoperable) for the cabins with wood-burning fireplaces and the outdoor fire-pits. We provide approximately 6 to 8 logs per night since the fireplaces and fire-pits are used for ambiance and not to keep warm (the HVAC units do that job). So if you require more than 6 to 8 logs per night please feel free to bring as much hardwood (absolutely no pine) as you’d like. Usually, firewood does not go bad, you should however, check the expiration date on it to make sure. Seriously, sometimes folks that have not built fires have a bit of trouble getting the flame started and assume that it’s the firewood’s fault. Even wet wood will light with the proper preparations. So our best suggestion is to read up on how to start a fire. That is, be prepared or better yet bring some starter logs. We do not provide starter logs nor will we come to your cabin to start your fire for you.

Why don’t you provide firewood year round?

• Expense. It’s harder to get the suppliers to deliver firewood during the summer, thus it cost more. And we have found that some people like to turn the A/C down really low, open all the windows, build a fire and then go outside. So, seasonal it is.

Why is your Cabin Rental Agreement, i.e. Policies so long?

• Well, believe it or not, the Cabin Rental Agreement started out quite simple a few years ago, just a few lines of things to abide by. Unfortunately, due to a few folks that left their common sense at home or those even fewer folks that decided to take advantage of us, we’ve had to expand the Agreement to its current state. We hope that we’ve made the last revision to the Agreement, but who knows?

Why don’t you have on-line reservations?

• Actually, we do offer online reservations. Just click on the “Book Online” link and follow the instructions.

Why do you only accept MasterCard and Visa, and not Discover or American Express? Why do you not accept cash, money orders, or checks?

• Costs. MasterCard and Visa have much better rates (yes, it does cost for the luxury of accepting credit cards). We’ve found that if we accept the promise of cash or checks, sometimes people do not live up to their promise. Since we’ve lost rentals due to a few “promises” broken, we’ve decided no checks and no cash.

What happens if the electricity goes out?<

• The lights don’t work!

Why can’t we call after hours to check on an available cabin?

• Because it’s “AFTER HOURS”. Our office is in our home and we too must get our beauty sleep. Each cabins’ listing has a link to its availablility calendar and it is updated regularly. If you insist on calling “after hours”, be forewarned...we have your number and you know what they say about paybacks!!!

Do you manage cabins for others? What is the criteria for managing a cabin?

• Yes, in fact all of our cabins are managed properties. We only accept cabins that will be pet friendly and non-smoking. The cabin will have to be very clean and non-cluttered, i.e. leftover furniture from college and hundreds of nick-knacks on the wall will not qualify. A hot tub is also required. We will also work with cabin owners that do not feel comfortable decorating.

When do you expect the leaves to change? Do you expect snow for Thanksgiving, first week in December, Christmas, January, etc?

• Since we’re not very good at predicting the best time to view the changes of the leaves we suggest going to the following website, Fall Color Update. Again we can not predict the weather. The best website to check is The Weather Channel. They’ve been pretty accurate on their long range forecasts.

A fifty percent (50%) deposit is required when making reservations. The balance will be charged to your credit card on file twenty one (21) days prior to your arrival date. If you prefer to pay the entire amount up front, we will gladly accept it. If you wish to pay just the 50% deposit up front, you must advise us at the time you reserve your cabin. Deposits will be returned for cancellations made prior to twenty one (21) days to your arrival date, minus a $30 cancellation fee. No refund offered for cancellations made within twenty one (21) days or less to your arrival date. No reason excuses you from this policy.

Our office hours Monday through Friday are 10:00 am until 6:00 pm and Saturdays, 10:00 am until 1:00 pm EST. To check on availability, each cabin listed on the website has it’s own availability calendar. For more information please call us during office hours at (888) 858-2783 toll free or (706) 632-2706 or email us anytime at info@backwoodsrentalcabins.com . We attempt to respond to all email inquiries within 48 hours.