Blowing Rock Inn

The room was clean, quaint, and well kept, and we felt safe there with our two small children. The stay was comfortable in those ways, and the kids had fun during the weekend. But the hot water lasted only about five minutes in each shower on both nights. I tried to wash my one-year-old and five-year-old quickly before the water turned cold, but it went icy before I could finish. My husband skipped showering because of it. At more than $200 a night, I feel there should be enough hot or warm water for everyone to bathe. I walked to Meadowbrook Inn, where this inn checks guests in, to report it. The first woman gave me a dirty look and said nobody else had complained, then asked if I’d tried showering in the morning and didn’t know what to tell me. Another woman, who seemed more trained in customer service, stepped in and said she’d send maintenance. I thanked her and let it go. But after the man “checked on it,” we tried again the second night and the water was still freezing cold within five minutes. I understand it’s an older place and each unit may have a small water heater. Maybe low-flow showerheads would help the hot water last longer. At the very least, I wish they’d shown some care when I raised the issue while managing two little kids. It was a good weekend otherwise, and maybe I’d stay again in summer, when a cold shower might feel refreshing. 🙃

The rooms and inn were cozy and nice, easy to find, and in a great location. But the front desk receptionist had an attitude when we arrived and was rude. There were plenty of open rooms next to ours, yet she wouldn’t honor our simple request to have our rooms close together. I was very disappointed in her.

Both nights we stayed at the Blowing Rock Inn, the water was icy. The motel has reportedly had hot-water problems for months, and staff know about them and say corporate has been informed. I wish they’d warned guests. While we were reporting the cold water, a guest from the Azalea Inn, the sister motel across the street, was in the office complaining about the same problem there. The Azalea Inn clerk said we couldn’t get a refund if we checked out early rather than stay the second night, even without hot water. The clerk also hung up on an Expedia customer asking about an early checkout or partial refund. I’d avoid the sister properties Meadowbrook, Azalea, and The Blowing Rock Inn. The room was clean for an old motel, and the maintenance man was very nice, though he couldn’t fix the problem. Those are the two stars.

The whole stay was amazing. There was a decent amount of parking at the villas where we stayed, though tourists filled up the lot by midday Saturday. That was only a minor annoyance.