Aunt Bug’s Cabin Rentals Reviews 

When I made the reservation I told the lady that I needed a cabin with very few steps to get in because I had two senior citizens. She rented me a cabin with a many steps. It is in disrepair mold in the bathrooms. Deck furniture is filthy grill does not work. Dirt under chairs in living room. Screens missing off multiple windows Called them and they are going to come clean it

We booked a cabin from December 29th thru January 5th. We were going to be a day late arriving due to issues in traveling so we called the day before to make sure we wouldn’t lose our reservation due to late check–in. We were assured that we were all set. When we did arrive we were shocked at the condition of the cabin considering they had an entire extra day to get it ready. The outdoor faucet was running all over the rear deck which we shut off. The hot tub was broken and barely worked for the first day. We never made it in the hot tub because it was clearly not operating properly or cleaned prior to our visit. The refrigerator door seal kept falling off every time you opened the door. The toaster was broken. The microwave was broken and smelled of electrical fire. The washer and dryer were filthy and broken which I repaired both of them so that we could you them to wash everything. The floor was no swept or mopped. Socks were filthy within minutes of walking around on it. They were nice enough to leave a broom but we had to mop the floor with paper towels as there was no mop. The shower was dirty and had hair in the drain. The Jacuzzi tub inside the cabin was dirty so we cleaned it to try and salvage part of our trip. Nope the hot water tank was barely big enough to fill 2 inches of water into the Jacuzzi and would have taken close to 3 hours to fill at the rate it took to heat more hot water to add. Several lights didn’t work; globes on ceiling fans were broken or missing and some of the dishes were dirty. The wifi basically didn’t work for the whole week we were there. We also called for three days to try and get someone to remove the trash since all the cans were full and they never came for that so we got stuck keeping a bag of trash inside to smell for the week. I tried to give management the chance to make this right by talking to Rusty in the office. All the issues with this cabin and the best answer he could give me was that they had been really really busy and it was coming close to the end of their busy rental season so the units were going to have some issues with everyone renting them. We were ultimately sent a voucher for ONE free night when we return. What a joke. I will be doing a dispute with my credit card company and filing a complaint with the BBB regarding these companies’ practices. I am posting this review so others don’t make the same mistake we did. Most of their rentals are in the Hidden Springs Resort directly behind Dollywood (which seems to be a secret because they won’t give you an address for anything until you check in). If you do a Google search you will be able to find several larger rental companies in this resort that from outside appearances look like they are in way better condition than the ones Aunt Bugs rents. PLEASE believe the reviews about this place all over Google and don’t make the same mistake we did. This was a 20th anniversary trip and we couldn’t have been more disappointed in this place. I expect to get their standard response to this review that you will find all over Google about how sorry they are but we hope you have a better experience next time. If more people read these bad reviews maybe they will start fixing things or they won’t have to worry about business being busy anymore.

Stay away from AUNT BUGS RENTALS - Horrible experience - Filthy Cabin - Black mold everywhere - Filthy bedding - AUNT BUGS does not care about your experience, just your money. I will write a review on every site I can to warn the public about this horrible rental company. The cabin I'm referring to is called Heavenly Creekside and the address is 3576 Mountain Creek Way, Cosby, Tn 37722, stay away from it. The pics on their website are from many years ago, it does not look like the pics on their website anymore. AUNT BUGS and their rental agents are liars about verifying the cleanliness of the cabin before you get there. We had soiled pillows and bedding, spiders, roaches and black mold everywhere, Dog poop all over the front and back yard, no working fire detectors even though there was a fireplace, rust and dried food in the pots and pans. I think you get the picture. Stay away from AUNT BUGS RENTALS, you will be very disappointed and ripped off!

From the first night we were there the neighbors dogs ruined the experience. Contacted Aunt Bugs and they just want to give me the local sheriffs number to call instead of dealing with the issue. They knew it was the neighbors dog when we spoke. There were 3 different dogs on the porch of our cabin. One was aggressive towards us. We rented the cabin to be able to use the pond on it it but never was able to use it due to the dogs. We could not enjoy the experience at all. Even during the night the one dog barked all night long. We brough our dog and was not even able to take her outside much because of this. We overlooked the cleanliness and all the broken things in the cabin since it was our first time there. We will not use this company again and will tell everyone not to use it. We paid money to be able for certain aspects and was very disappointed in not being able to enjoy our vacation.

Filthy bedding. The comforter had not been changed. There appears to have been bodily fluids all over it. It was simply turned over. When contacted the company said they would rectify immediately. When I returned to the cabin 12 hours later nothing had been done.

We could not gain access to the cabin we rented at 1300.00. The driveway was so steep we slid back down. As well as other guests who could not make it up the driveway. After multiple attempts and kids crying we called and they gave us a new cabin that was not as steep. The cabin they gave us was a big downgrade, it smelled of wet dog, food, and hair everywhere. No bed linens, no towels, not even a roll of toilet paper. Beds had yellow stains and a sticky red substance on rails and we left within 30 minutes of arriving! We tried calling and they closed. We refused to stay in those conditions and drove another 3 hours on top of the 9 it took to get there, they refused to refund us any money we spent for the cabin. We had to pay for other hotels on top of the 1300.00 we spent for the cabin. They said they DO NOT REFUND FOR ANY REASON. They could careless about health and safety of their customers please do not become a victim!!!

We stayed at the bear foot lodge. The pros- paved roads to the cabin, ample parking, spacious bedrooms, nice sized pool, it accommodated 7 people with plenty of room to play, check in and out was super easy, communication was good, the bigger beds were comfortable, gorgeous Mountain View, close to town.
Cons- dirty, I mean really dirty, half eaten pizza, empty food and drink containers in each room, the toilets and jacuzzis were filthy. Even the outside was filled with liter. We had to buy a broom as there was no broom and 2 non-working vacuums. My husband had to repair the oven handle, freezer ice maker, dishwasher and 1 vacuum cleaner. 1 jacuzzi the plug didn’t seal, in the same room the toilet only flushes if you plung it The other upstairs bathroom the floor tile is broken and lifts every time you step on it, broken faucet on that jacuzzi, both upstairs shower curtains were 2 small. The hot tub wasn’t adequately filled so the jets blew water all over. Top bunk bed was not safe as the mattress isn’t on anything but 2 small bars. 2 of the bathrooms had the toilet paper holders without bars to actually put the rolls on.
Could be great with some TLC. I was disappointed because this was a huge splurge for us, we worked a lot of OT to rent this house, the kids had a blast so that made it worth it, but we had to spend the first 2 days cleaning and repairing things.

Broken light bulb glass in the couch and on the carpet, hair all over the inside of the hot tub cover and a bunch of brown sediment in the bottom. We were in "A Grand View Lodge 540 on 240 Morning breeze and it seemed like it was not really set up for the 12 people they claim it would serve. We had nine and there was a large outdoor patio with only two chairs. A huge row of oversized rockers which you could not sit up to the table with. No side tables to put anything on so family members were putting their drinks down on the deck and some got knocked over. We could not figure out why we were being bombarded by wasps only to find out that the exterior lights were not secured so the wasps were nesting behind the lights that all the chairs were in front of. My son cut himself on the broken bulb glass in the couch so I called the office and had them send the cleaning staff over to vacuum.....they did a very poor job and I ended up with a shard in my foot. The outdoor landscape was covered with construction trash....bits of sawn wood, hundreds of nails and screws, a rusty bucket, broken picnic table and a bunch of cups and misc trash. There were screws in the driveway that we fortunately did not puncture tires on. The TV in the living room had hundreds of dead bugs and a bunch of misc board game pieces mixed in with all the dirt. I called to let them know and was told a service manager would call. Never heard anything.....not the $2200. Weekend getaway I expected. A sidenote there was a Momma Black bear that visited several times. Hopefully she and her cubs won't step on any of the screws or nails that are.all over. Reactive instead of proactive and never reached out just gave a lame response here that doesn't address the core issues. Blaming the builders....classic deflection.....did the deck builders leave broken glass in the couch and on the floor after we called to have it cleaned up?

Booked cabin for three days. Nice cabin but:
King bed with Queen size bedding. Pillow cases were not even Queen size.
Floor of tub was so slick that showering was an adventure or an accident waiting to happen.

Nice 6 burner Viking stove that did not light when burner was turned on. On Thursday am we cooked scrambled eggs on the outdoor grill. Repair man came Friday and left us with a hand held igniter for the top burners but still could not use oven and we had frozen pizzas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

This has absolutely been the worst rental company I have ever dealt with while staying in the Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge area in all of my 30+ years of traveling and renting cabins in the area. The property management is condescending and downright rude! (I will share text conversation with anyone who wishes to see for themselves. Byronc975 at gmail). If you have a certified ESA animal, they will still charge you for a pet. The management happily texts you a link about them not being covered under any ADA laws. (Which I already knew) They do charge you for pet fees and deny you to stay in any rental not pet friendly even if you have an ESA. While they are completely correct about not being protected yet, companies still have the option to waive the fee as AirBNB did for me on my previous stay (Shows good customer service skills). Sometimes it is not what you say, but how you say it, and Aunt Bugs has a lot to learn there! They are clearly out to nickel and dime their customers in every way they can, and provide rude service instead of being compassionate human beings. Maybe if they can collect enough of these fees, they can take Hospitality courses that they desperately need! I strongly suggest anyone who would be staying in the area to explore your options with other rental companies (there are plenty) as they would undoubtedly be much more personable! Hopefully my review will help others not make the mistake we made by renting from this horribly managed company. I have no doubt you will see some rebuttal comment from the management company to this review (as they like to argue with their customers). But again, reach out to me and I will send the screen shots of the entire conversation as I have nothing to hide!

Most horrible experience! Zen cabin had musty odor, blind on entry door was broke. Burrowing bugs in walls and ceiling. Could watch the dust and bug feces fall on kitchen sink and counter. Vacuum cleaner and broom were propped on top of extra blankets and pillows inside the closet. Stove hadn't been cleaned for a long time! Half the lights were burnt out. So called management was very rude and liars!!!! We actually left and did not spend one night. This place should be shut down!!!
RUN, stay somewhere else!!!!

The tub was very nasty the fridge raider was very dirty The toilet seat was broke they didn’t come to the next day.
Ceiling fan sound like it was about to fall out the ceiling. And they also told me they was gonna give me a discount ,have not received anything .also the vents was dirty the Patio’s not clean I have a Lot of pictures of everything.

My wife and I spent our fourth wedding anniversary at the fishing hole cabin. It was all that!! We enjoyed it immensely. Slept so well. Quite and soo peaceful. We had a great stay. Not too crazy about the narrow roads. My wife was a nervous wreck as I drove along those roads. Mountain on one side and deep deep drop offs on the other side. If you got your vehicle too close to the drop off...well..you can just imagine!
Other than this, enjoyed our stay. The cabin was comfortable and cozy. Loved it!

Disappointing stay; dirty at check-in; management couldn't care less. Phone call with management afterward clearly indicates they couldn't give a rip...no offer to make up for the overwhelming disappointment...not even an offer for "free night next stay" (which we would've never taken)

We stayed at “A River Adventure #4237” Dec 27, 2021 - Jan 1, 2022. Be aware of "check-in starts at 4pm". We were told on Sat 12/24 that it should not be a problem to arrive at 4pm (or even earlier with 2pm possible) based on the fact that the unit was not booked for the nights prior to our arrival. As we got into Gatlinburg and still had not received confirmation of an estimated check-in time (this was approaching 3:45EST) we received a call from an Aunt Bugs employee saying that housekeeping had said they were starting to work on our cabin but the previous guests had left it a mess and they did not know when it would be ready but they would definitely let us know something by 8pm as that is the time the office closed.

Fast forward to our arrival at the cabin, it’s a major understatement to say this cabin needs some MAJOR TLC. When we arrived, the codes given for the lockboxes and door codes were all mixed up. There was still food crumbs and even Monopoly money left on the floor in both the den and kitchen and candy was found in the outdoor fire pit. It appeared the cabin had been very quickly cleaned, just doing the bare minimum in obvious common areas and (hopefully) sheets being swapped and towels left. The Ice Maker in the first cabin did not work. The kitchens are VERY poorly stocked in regard to cooking pots/pans. The Keurig coffee maker sounded like a jackhammer, so quiet morning coffee while others still slept was impossible. We did not have forks/knives in either cabin and those had to be brought to us the day after check-in. Both dishwashers in each cabin were full of dirty dishes and smelled horrible. There was melted cheese left in the microwave. The bottom floor shower in the cabin with a loft area leaked out onto the bathroom floor. It was seeping out of the bottom of the shower thru the tile/grout. When we called about this, first the guy tried to brush my sister in law off and condescendingly tell her “that’s normal”, but when her husband got on the phone, he went into more detail about that being a known leak/problem and told us to pile towels around the base of the shower to stop the water (we were never given extra towels to make up for what was needed here). Both hot tubs were full of dirt and leaves upon arrival and were not clean. The walls, floors and fans are all caked with dust and cobwebs.

When paying a premium amount of money per night to stay in a place you expect a much cleaner and kept place than what we encountered upon our arrival and during our stay. To be fair, layout between the two cabins being inter-connected with the outdoor firepit/common area was very nice, but the rental unfortunately was more of an overall disappointment for the price and definitely not worth the price we paid for 5 nights.

We rented a cabin called the clubb house #331 paid $3500 for the week arrived on a Sunday night the cabin had a bad smell so we went into town to get air fresheners to set throughout the cabin the next day was spent at Dollywood. We came back to the cabin Monday night for some relaxing and tv my son and new daughter in law cuddled up on the couch with a blanket they got out of the closet that was folded neatly on the shelf after sitting there for a few minutes my sons wife said this blanket stinks then discovered after unfolding it completely it had poop 💩 on the blanket it literally looked like somebody wiped their butt with it we immediately called after hours number and explained what we’d found they said sorry we’ll send someone out in the morning to get it. 11:30 the next morning now and nobody has showed up. We didn’t feel comfortable staying so we asked for a refund Bob the person in charge told us they would not give us a refund they would only refund the cleaning cost And send someone to get the soiled blanket also found a bath towel that had the same thing on it so both towel and blanket are still on the porch. This is beyond unacceptable I personally own a cabin in Alabama and I can assure you that if this had happened to a customer of mine a cleaning crew would be there within minutes and a full refund and free stay would be without question or I personally would find the guest another place to stay. I also contacted the owner a very sweet widow lady from Ohio who offered to send me her part of the money as a refund although I didn’t feel it was her place to do so sense she has this company who is supposed to be taking care of her cabin. It’s a disgrace that Aunt Bugs rental company doesn’t have the owners interested at heart and because of this I would highly discouraged anyone from renting from them.

Terrible customer service. Company is more concerned about profit than the safety of their guests. Staff dangerously provided inaccurate information regarding the COVID pandemic, rebooked dates of service they refused to cancel for us and provided us with no refund for those dates that they collected money from another party for after telling us we could not cancel. Also provided us with a credit to use until 12/6/21 and went back on that promise, telling us that if we didn’t come for our September reservation we were “out of luck”.

This is going to be a long one you’ll want to read so buckle your seatbelts. :)

First of all, I don’t believe I have EVER left a bad review on any place but this was ridiculous.

We started our morning off great, we arrived in town early. I called Aunt Bugs to see when the “info” email would come for our check in. I was then advised that as soon as I received it, I could go to the cabin and check in. So we arrived to our cabin “Secluded Bearadise” around 12:50pm. As soon as we opened the door a strong odor of propane gas slaps us in the face. We immediately opened all windows and doors and contacted Aunt Bugs customer service. I then spoke with a man about the issue, he then stated a maintenance man would be on the way to open all windows (which we already had). I was pleased with the speedy response and action. The maintenance man arrives approx 30 minutes later his name was Jeff. Jeff was so kind!!! As soon as Jeff walked into the patio he noticed the strong odor of propane, he inspected the fireplace (apparently new logs had been placed the day prior) where he found that propane was leaking. Jeff then turned off the gas and contacted Aunt Bugs and spoke with Heather about the issue. He called beside us. He told Heather that the propane smell was strong, he wouldn’t close the windows in fear it would explode, and that he didn’t feel safe staying there. Their conversation ended. Jeff then told us that Heather was looking for a new cabin to place us in, and that the company who installed the logs would be coming out. 5-10minutes later, Jeff calls back to Aunt Bugs for an update where he is told Heather is still looking for us a new cabin to be placed in. After this conversation Jeff left our cabin, he was very busy. 10 minutes later Heather calls me to say: Jeff cut off the gas so the smell should go away. We let you check in early, if you go out and enjoy the town by the time you get back the smell should be gone. Heather then says Jeff felt confident the smell would go away. I then informed heather that Jeff called her while standing by us, so I knew he said it was unsafe. I then asked her why we were not being relocated and she stated because all the cabins were sold out. Heather repeatedly stated “the smell should be going away” I then told her, the smell is still very strong and it’s very unhealthy to be breathing this is. I asked for a refund, at this time heather huffed and puffed and placed me on hold. She then picked up the phone and stated “your refunds done, it’ll be 7-10 business days”. So Heather knew it was not safe but because they were “sold” out in all other cabins she insisted we stay there because the smell would “go away”. With that being the major complaint there are several small ones such as the balcony railing being loose and one place actually falling out, Jeff also picked that up on his way out. Also the windows being caked with caulk, which I guess usually wouldn’t matter but you know, we had a gas leak so we had to open them.
2:56pm we are finally leaving this place with no clue where we are going. All hotels are booked. We are literally trying to find any vacancy. At 3:50 I received this text “This is Heather at Aunt Bugs. We do apologize that this happened while you are here. I called over to The Inn On The River, best hotel ever. They do have a room for tonight only if you need somewhere to land while you look for something this weekend. Their rates are 149.99 for parking side, or 189.99 for riverside. plus tax 2 queens. Ask for Sarah and tell her Heather sent you.”

So 10/10 do not recommend. Thank you aunt bugs for being so very accommodating :(

It is now Nov 4th and I have yet to receive my full refund. I am given the run around each time that I call, or I’m told “it’s not on our end” I am still missing right at $600 🥲 these people are very unhelpful, and this has been nothing but a night mare.

Stayed at Magnolia Bearadise. While the cabin was clean enough, the bed had bed bugs and my sheets were bloody when I woke up the first morning after itching all night. The hot tub was a cold tub. The beds were horrible. Worst of all....Aunt Bugs charged the MOST RIDICULOUS charges of ALL cabins out there. They are TRULY criminals in the way they over charge you. DO NOT RENT FROM AUNT BUGS. THEY ARE CRIMINALS AND CHEATS.

We rented Suite Spot 242 for the Jeep Jamboree. We stay in Gatlinburg area 1 or 2 times per year and rent cabins every time. This cabin Suite Spot 242 was THE WORST BY FAR!

The pictures are great but wish we had looked closed. This cabin is 4-1 bedroom bunk rooms. When we walked on the deck one of the 2 chairs/rockers were broken and unsafe to sit in. When we walked in, the second thing we noticed was the pool table, the felt was worn, cut and bare in places, down to the wood underneath. There were 2 pool sticks, one was bent and the other one was missing the tip, rendering it useless. The air hockey score board was broken and the table was so worn, well, seen better days.
We looked past this, knowing we were not going to be spending much time in the cabin.

Bunk room #1 The bathroom has a jet tub and the jets don’t work. The tub knob is broken and there is hardly any hot water to be accessed. Not good for washing the mud off after hitting the Jeep trails.

Bunk room #2 the one my husband and I stayed in was okay, until again taking a shower/bath. The Jets in the tub did not work and the hot water did not last. I have medium length hair and barely had my hair rinsed when it started going cold.

Bunk room #3 again with the hot water....but the jets worked. All is well as long as you like a cold bath.

Bunk room #4 had the stove and fridge in it. The stove does not heat to temperature. It took forever for our food to get done. When unpacking our food, there is no place to put it. There is one hutch cabinet in the corner with no shelving, they had all been broken out. The coffee pot was useless, the silverware was cheap and bent, all 4 forks of it! The TVs cable system kept going out and when it was working, the channel selection is poor.

But hey, we had the camp fire area, which looked inviting. Well, if you wanted to sit on the ground. We didn’t pack chairs on our 6 hour trip from home, d/t only so much packing space. 2 of the 4 seats by the fire were broken, we didn’t try the other 2, afraid they might break also. Looking forward to a camp fire? We were too. This area also did not get used.

Oh and if you do rent this white elephant bring your own grill! We went and bought a cheap one from Wal Mart. The one at the cabin is a small, rusted, hardly standing, caked on mess!

We wasted 2k to stay here 3 nights! We did post on their text message board about some of the issues, They offered to send maintenance out the next day. We had a busy day planned and did not want to spend a full day with maintenance going over what all was wrong with the cabin. We did have a roof over our head and a secluded cabin, so not all was lost.

P.S. if you like arctic temperatures, choose Bunk Room #2. You sleep with Jack Frost nipping at your nose, while the other rooms are baking on the beaches of Florida!

Or better yet, DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY!

DO NOT RENT ABOVE THE FALLS UNLESS YOU HAVE AN ALL WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE!
Although we loved the cabin, location and privacy, the driveway is horrible!!! Half a dozen deep potholes added to a very steep driveway with loose gravel, caused our suv tires to spin in the ruts made by all the prior vehicles. One night it was raining and we could not get up the driveway after several attempts. We ended up going back into town to wait out the storm. Even then, on the wet driveway we barely made it over the top. When we contacted Aunt Bugs, Holly and Heather were very kind and tried to help, but they were at the mercy of the cabin owners. Even if they sent their maintenance person to look at the driveway, we’re sure there would be nothing he could do to correct the problem, as it would take big equipment and new blacktop or concrete to remedy the issue. We never heard back from Aunt Bugs after that first contact.
We have been renting cabins (for 2-12) people for the past 13 years. We have never been afraid to use a driveway for fear it would damage our tires or car until this one.
If you have all wheel drive, by all means rent this cabin.