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  1. #1

    Question What is the creepiest hostel/hotel/B&B/odging you have come across along the trail?

    Curious to know if any of you folks came across a really creepy hostel / hotel / B&B / Lodging that you were like.... hell no... I'm not staying there!

    Where was it and what was it called.

    Thanks

  2. #2

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    The Doyle is pretty creepy. Mostly because it's run down and a fire trap. Still, I stay there and take my chances.
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  3. #3
    Registered User jigsaw's Avatar
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    the budget inn in hiawasee. stayed there twice but next time id spend the money on the holiday inn

  4. #4

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    The Relax Inn in Atkins, VA with the burnt out restaurant out front is a classic.

    The bed spread and dresser had cigarette burn holes in them and the mirror looked like it had a bullet hole in it. But it was raining outside, the heat worked, the shower was hot and the TV worked, all for 30 bucks, so I was happy
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  5. #5

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    We stayed in a dank, dirty, overstuffed cabin full of weird stuff at Uncle Johnny's near Erwin, TN, while the good ol boys sat on the porch surfing the web. They might have thought of doing some cleaning? Uncle Johnny was not around. This was about five years ago. I know Johnny has passed on...
    Maybe this place was fun back in the 1980's but I thought everything about it was delapidated and dirty.
    Should have stayed at the Holiday Inn express up the road! Just my opinion... since you asked.

  6. #6
    Registered User Christoph's Avatar
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    I'll 2nd Uncle Johnny's. Been there a few times (stayed once), passed through a few more. Seems to be going downhill and should be one the best places as the AT runs right by it (right across the street). Another was the 4 Pines (I think that's what it was called) right outside of Catawba. Had to sleep in the barn on the hill which was probably a good thing as the "bunkhouse" was way overcrowded from hikers that get caught up staying there night after night, partying. Not entirely their fault, but...
    - Trail name: Thumper

  7. #7
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    The Inn at Afton VA (South entrance to SNP) is now closed, but in its dying days generated some of the most entertainingly horrible on-line reviews.

    https://sometimes-interesting.com/20...-mountain/amp/

  8. #8
    GoldenBear's Avatar
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    Exclamation Update on Inn at Afton

    An update for those interested in this area:
    https://www.schuminweb.com/2017/08/1...fton-mountain/

    When I visited there in 2014, the former Howard Johnson's looked right out of a post-apocalyptic movie.


    If you want a good laugh, check out this URL
    https://www.virginia.org/listings/Pl...ay/InnatAfton/
    where this place -- for which the words "garbage dump" would have been flattering when it closed three years ago -- is listed as having "wedding facilities."
    Last edited by GoldenBear; 02-25-2020 at 12:42.

  9. #9
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    Rusty's...

  10. #10
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    It is interesting to see most every newer hostel on the AT is going upscale...cleaner with more amenities.
    Order your copy of the Appalachian Trail Passport at www.ATPassport.com

    Green Mountain House Hostel
    Manchester Center, VT

    http://www.greenmountainhouse.net

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff View Post
    It is interesting to see most every newer hostel on the AT is going upscale...cleaner with more amenities.
    You started it Jeff
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  12. #12

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    Nevermind....I forgot that if I can't say something nice, stay silent, so .................................

    BUT, I'm with Jeff, and I totally appreciate the "nicer" trend in hostels. I don't expect the world, but clean, friendly, and sober always work for me!
    "Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."

  13. #13
    Registered User ldsailor's Avatar
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    I've stayed at the Relax Inn in Atkins, VA (twice) and spent an afternoon at Uncle Johnny's when he was alive (and on the porch). I've talked to hikers who stayed at the Budget inn in Hiawasee and Jeff, one of the cleanest and my most favorite place is Green Mountain Hostel. There have been many more hostels and motels I have stayed in - probably too many, but none of them will match the Holiday Motor Lodge in Pearisburg, VA.

    It was a cold rainy day. My hiking partner and I left Wapiti shelter early in the morning, so we were in the cold and rain for a good part of the 20 miles to Pearisburg. We both had symptoms of hypothermia when we reached the Holiday Motor Lodge. There were four rooms left and we got two of them. Big mistake! After dropping my backpack at the door, the water dripping off of it left a puddle. I wiped it up with a towel and the towel came away black. I wiped some more of the floor and it all was black with grimy dirt. The bedspread had suspicious stains on it and I swear the sheets were not clean. The outside shower at the 501 shelter was cleaner than this shower. The place was a nightmare and under different circumstances I would have fled, but there wasn't anywhere else to go.

    And to make matters worse, one of the AT guides (I think Guthook) talked about the shady side of the place where drugs were commonplace, raids were frequent and ambulances for overdoses were not unheard of.

    If you are looking for places to avoid, the Holiday Motor Lodge should be at the top of your list.
    Trail Name - Slapshot
    "One step at a time."
    Blog - www.tonysadventure.com

  14. #14
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    You have the Angel's Rest Hiker Heaven hostel Pearisburg (post # 12).

  15. #15
    Registered User ldsailor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stephanD View Post
    You have the Angel's Rest Hiker Heaven hostel Pearisburg (post # 12).
    Yeah, I knew about it, but our plans were to spend a night in a motel. We could never have anticipated what we would encounter after paying for the room. Also, considering the situation (the last rooms sold out soon after we arrived and the motel next door was full - we stopped there first), there were no assurances we could get a spot at the hostel. It was a miserable day, and we were right in the middle of a big bubble of hikers fleeing the trail.
    Trail Name - Slapshot
    "One step at a time."
    Blog - www.tonysadventure.com

  16. #16

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    I don't mind sharing this because the hostel is now out of business. Hiker Paradise, near Devil's Fork NC. Yes, it was just a shack, and the floor was gravel, and the hallway to the bathroom was only two feet wide, and the water trickled out of the shower and didn't drain...

    The creepy part was that there was often an owner/caretaker or two hanging around standing in that two foot hallway most of the time. The owner, a buddy, his son, his mom, and a dog. Just standing up there and gazing at us, not really making any effort to join the hikers chatting at the table. I get that they may not have trusted hikers not to steal from the tiny food closet store, but every time you needed to go in the hallway it was like musical chairs.
    Last edited by Puddlefish; 02-23-2020 at 21:23.

  17. #17
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    anyplace I stay will automatically get the "creepy" vibe

  18. #18

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    There are a few places that have reputations for shady characters and questionable actions present.

    These hostels usually allow alcohol and turn their heads to substance use.

    Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by fastfoxengineering View Post
    There are a few places that have reputations for shady characters and questionable actions present.

    These hostels usually allow alcohol and turn their heads to substance use.

    Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk
    couple of those here in Damascus

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lone Wolf View Post
    couple of those here in Damascus
    Fortunately, there are other great options in Damascus as well.

    The farther north on the trail, the "standards" of hostels increase in my experience.

    I can't really think of anything negative to say of any hostel in VT, NH, or ME along the AT.

    Well.. rutland actually raises some eyebrows.

    Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk

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