“On Gold Pond” | House in Tallassee

Retreat from the social world to the great outdoors in this quaint 2 BR/1 BA cabin on a private pond minutes from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Enjoy catch & release fishing or just watch the sunrise from the dock while drinking coffee on the scenic pond.

Online school or work? No problem.
* Unlimited high speed WiFi

And, since my hubby recently retired, we are providing free campfire wood!

The space
Hosts Ben & Jeanne invite you to their “lake house.” The cabin offers nearby outdoor recreation at Look Rock Tower on Foothills Parkway (4 miles away), Chilhowee Lake, and is located near the entrance to the #1 bike & sports-car destination in the US - the "Tail of the Dragon."

Need a breather from the hectic pace of life? Drop a line in the pond. Sit on the dock and soak in some rays. Read a novel while relaxing in a hammock by the water. Spend some downtime around the fire pit roasting S'Mores under the stars. Challenge each other to a a card game or an old-fashioned evening of board games. Sip hot chocolate or savor a cup of coffee on the deck. Take a leisurely paddle around the pond in our paddle boat. You know...RELAX!

If you’re feeling adventurous, hike some of the area Great Smoky Mountain National Park trails, go float tubing on Abrams Creek or the Little River in Townsend, explore a cave at Tuckaleechee Caverns, go horseback riding in Townsend or Wear’s Valley, drive through Cades Cove or up to Newfound Gap in the National Park. All of this is within an hour drive or less from our cabin. The cabin is located just a couple miles off Foothill Parkway and only moments from the western edge of the Smoky Mountain National Park.

If you want the hustle of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge or get worried if you're not around the corner from a Walmart, this isn't the place for you. But, if you long for peace, quiet, nature, and the outdoors, you're in the right place!

You will have exclusive use of the entire guest cabin as we only rent to one person/group at a time. The cabin sleeps up to 6 people. The master bedroom sleeps 2 in a queen bed. The second bedroom sleeps 2 in a double bed. A queen sleeper sofa in the main room offers a surprisingly comfortable air-filled mattress similar to a Sleep Number bed. A pack-and-play portable crib is available at no charge for guests with babies.

Enjoy cooking dinner in the well-furnished kitchen complete with full size appliances, plenty of nice cookware, dishes, a selection of spices, coffee, teas, sugar, powdered creamer, a Keurig machine and a full size drip coffee maker, cooking utensils. An outdoor charcoal grill is provided, but please pick up your own charcoal or lighter fluid.

The cabin bathroom includes a shower but does not have a tub. The shower is 6’4” high so could be a bit short for a taller person.

We happily welcome well-behaved pets. A nominal one-time $20 pet fee (not per day, just once for the entire stay) for indoor pets may be paid upon your arrival. ***Note that the national park does not permit pets on park trails. We also ask that you not leave a pet locked in a room while you are away as this is a source of great anxiety for a pet. In other properties we host & co-host, we have had one pet shred carpet and gouge the bedroom door, a couple gouge doors and walls trying to get out, and another shred a brand new expensive quilt. If you need to leave your pet while you’re out, a crate may provide a safer environment for them.

We ask that you include children over age 3 in your reservation guest count as we prepare beds, linens and schedule cleaning time at the end of your stay based upon the total number of guests including children. There is no charge for babies sleeping in a crib.

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TECHNOLOGY
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*High speed WiFi
*DirecTV
*No cell service
*Guests with WiFi calling on their cell phone will have cell service at the cabin
*Our internet service is fixed wireless broadband—internet over radio signal. The service is very good and generally quite reliable. However, since the signal is broadcast, if power is out at the broadcast tower or at the cabin, the internet may be down. This is infrequent and typically brief, but we want guests to be aware since there is no standard cell service at the cabin. There is a map inside the cabin that gives directions to the closest cell reception areas.

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RATES:
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$60 cleaning fee
$6 ex person fee per night for over 4 guests (no charge for children under age 2).
**VRBO service fees and state/county sales & lodging taxes (14.75%) are added to your reservation total. We do not receive the VRBO fee.

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CHECK IN & CHECK OUT
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Check-out is 10 am
Check-in is anytime AFTER 4 pm

NO EARLY CHECK IN OR LATE CHECK OUT. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE.
***We’re not trying to be inflexible or rude. Our calendar is booked every day of the month. That means guests check out each morning and new guests check in each afternoon. The 6-hr window between guests simply does not allow us time to offer late check out or early check in. We are pushed to complete all laundry, cleaning & sanitizing needed due to COVID.

We suggest you arrange to arrive in daylight hours as it is much easier to find the cabin in daylight.

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WINTER WEATHER POLICY:
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If it happens to snow while you’re here, you are in for a beautiful treat! There’s just one itsy-bitsy problem...in snow, the cabin is accessible only in 4WD to an experienced mountain driver. January & February are the months most likely to have snow. If you book a stay for January or February, please message us and we’ll discuss the roads and your vehicle to help you decide whether you are comfortable planning a trip then. We DO NOT provide a refund for winter weather. Please don’t worry needlessly, though, because we have several 4WD and AWD vehicles and could shuttle you from the valley up to the cabin. We won’t let you get stranded on the mountain :)

ARE WE ALREADY BOOKED FOR YOUR VACATION DATES?
Not to worry--We own two other cabins in the area and co-host another cabin located in Townsend. “Away from It All in the Smokies” is atop a nearby mountain. It offers an extraordinary view of the Smoky Mountains and Chilhowee Lake. “Happy Bear Hideaway” is a 100 year old cabin located in Happy Valley near the Abrams Creek Campground entrance to the national park. We rescued and renovated this historic cabin. It’s ideal for bikers and sports car enthusiasts as it is on a paved road with easy access to US Hwy 129 (the world-famous “Tail of the Dragon”) and Foothills Pkwy. We co-host a very nice 2 BR/2 Bath cabin in Townsend. It’s also on a paved road and is convenient to several restaurants, a grocery store and to Cades Cove. Click on the picture of our Profile to see all of the properties we host and co-host.

Guest access
Amenities include a pond for catch & release fishing, swimming, and paddle boating, Great Smoky Mountain hiking trails at Abrams Creek Campground, and an outdoor firepit complete with marshmallow roasting sticks.

We stock the cabin with many cooking essentials such as seasonings, oil, sugar, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, coffee creamer, and a selection of condiments such as mayo and ketchup.

The nearest grocery stores are over Chilhowee Mountain in Maryville (13 miles). The nearest store of any kind is a Dollar General (about 8 miles). Unless you plan to spend time in Maryville, pick up groceries before you arrive.

Maryville has two Superwalmarts, a huge Kroger Marketplace, numerous other large grocery stores, and numerous restaurants. Townsend (25 min) has one IGA grocery market, a Dollar General, and 8-10 restaurants.

You are the ONLY guests in the cabin. No other residences are visible when the leaves are out. You may hear other residents of the community or neighbor’s pets, but we haven’t found it to be troublesome at all. Community quiet hours are 10 pm - 7 am. We ask that guests be respectful of these times.

Check in after 4 pm
Check out by 10 am
NO EARLY CHECK IN OR LATE CHECK OUT

Other things to note
CALENDAR:
Our calendar is always 100% current so you can be assured that if a date is open, it IS available.

We believe in honest pricing so we offer reasonable rates year round, even at premium times. In fairness to all guests, we do not offer discounts to specific groups (such as AAA, AARP, military, etc).

If you have a specific date in mind, we encourage you to book as soon as you finalize your plans. The other three cabins we manage are booked 75% - 90% of nights. Virtually all weekends get booked. We suggest you reserve weekends and holidays well in advance. With the VRBO reservation system, an "inquiry" does NOT hold the requested dates.

Guests are welcome to check in anytime after 4 pm at your convenience. We strongly suggest you try to arrive during daylight hours as it is easier to find the cabin in daylight.
Guests may check out anytime before 10 am.
NO EARLY CHECK IN OR LATE CHECK OUT

We will provide a door code shortly before your stay so you’re free to come and go at your convenience.

*Security Cameras
There are no interior security cameras.
A couple outdoor cameras are installed and could be in use for security.


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POLICIES
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Some of these policies outline how we enforce the VRBO Guest Standards. Policies may be mediated or enforced by VRBO or law enforcement. When reasonably possible, we will seek to address policy concerns with you directly before asking VRBO or law enforcement to intervene.

1. EXCESSIVE NOISE
• The Top of the World community enforces quiet hours from 10 pm to 7 am.
• Sound travels unusually well over the pond, particularly at night. Please limit noise to conversation-levels in the evening or early morning hours
• If Top of the World security receives a noise complaint, guests must immediately reduce noise or may be asked to vacate with no refund.

2. MAJOR CLEANLINESS CONCERNS
• Typically, preparing the cabin for the next guest requires 2-4 hrs
• Guests who leave the cabin in particularly unacceptable condition may be charged an additional cleaning fee of $50/hr plus cleaner’s mileage
• Whether we can identify the smell or not, strong odors will incur the additional cleaning fees noted above
• Guests are responsible for the cost of any rental or purchase of cleaning equipment & supplies required to remedy major cleanliness concerns.
• Guests are responsible for replacement/cleaning costs of damaged items
• Should guests leave such a mess or damage that we are unable to accommodate our next booking, other fees (beyond cleaning fee noted above) include reimbursement for any cancellation or rebooking fees we might incur due to being unable to accommodate the next guest(s), the cost to place the next guest(s) in another location, reimbursement for other costs we might incur for the closure, plus up to $200/day per 24 hrs of closure. Any insurance payment/reimbursement we receive related to the mess/damage will not reduce the amount owed.

3. NUMBER OF GUESTS/UNAUTHORIZED GUESTS
• Anyone not counted/included on a reservation is an Unauthorized Guest. Make sure to include children in the reservation.
• Guests who make a reservation must provide VRBO a government ID and be one of the guests staying (no third-party bookings). We may request to see your ID.
• Request changes to the number of guests up until the day before your stay. Fees will be adjusted up or down at our standard extra person rates.
• If you bring more people than our stated maximum occupancy, you and your entire group will be asked to immediately vacate the property. Each additional person beyond our stated occupancy will incur a fee of $100 per person, per night, for the entire length of the booking, regardless of how long the person remains on our property. These guests remain Unauthorized Guests. VRBO terms of service allow us to charge you for these guests even if you don’t agree to the charges.

If you bring Unauthorized Guests, everyone may be asked to vacate the property immediately, or at any time during a reservation, with no refunds for any remaining nights. We may also bring security or law enforcement officers with us to ensure you and everyone else present vacates the property immediately.

(Should you wish to have daytime guests, please discuss that with us.)

4. PARKING
• Do not park between the cabin and the mini cabin as this is where an underground propane tank, the septic tank, and other utilities are located

5. SMOKING/SUBSTANCE USAGE
• No smoking or vaping indoors
• If you smoke or vape outdoors, close nearby doors and windows to avoid smoke smells inside the cabin.
• Extinguish and dispose of butts properly
• No marijuana usage (illegal in TN)
• Many guests are sensitive to smoke. Take care to avoid bringing in smoky smells on clothing or personal items
• Smoky or inhaled substance smells will incur a minimum $250 fee, in addition to cleaning or closure fees
• No alcohol may be consumed on our dock or on any HOA-owned properties (all lakes, shorelines, docks, community pavilion, etc). This is an HOA policy. Security WILL escort you out of the entire Top of the World community and issue fines.

6. LATE CHECK OUTS
• Check out is 10 am SHARP!
• Our cleaners live as much as an hour away. We cannot call last minute to tell them a guest is running late. They have already left home, arranged for childcare and are awaiting your prompt departure. We have 6 hours to clean multiple cabins scattered over 30 miles. A guest who checks out late is a huge problem for us. We compensate our cleaners when they are sitting waiting on your departure.

7. EARLY OR LATE CHECK IN
• Check in is anytime after 4 pm
• Later is no problem, just let us know so we won’t worry too much
• NO early check in. Guests who arrive prior to 4 pm will be asked to wait until we are finished cleaning.

8. PETS
• We are pet-friendly
• Pet fee is $20 (one time fee)
• No specific limits on size or breeds, but pet owners are responsible for the actions of their pets and for any damage that their pet may cause
• Pets may not be enclosed in a bedroom or behind a door
• Crate pets if you are away
• Remember that the Great Smoky Mountain National Park does not permit pets on trails

9. PARTIES/EVENTS
• No unruly parties
• Guests asked to vacate immediately
• No refund for remaining stay
• Cleaning/closure fees apply
• Legal/police intervention may occur
• Our insurance does not permit us to host events

10. ILLEGAL SUBSTANCE USAGE/EXCESS ALCOHOL USAGE
• No underage drinking (under 21)
• No excess usage of alcohol by guests of any age. Examples might include exhibiting disorderly drunken behavior dangerous to yourself or others, drinking games, or forcing others to consume alcohol they do not wish to consume.
• No use of any substance prohibited by law in TN (marijuana is illegal here). This includes use on our property, on adjacent/nearby public or private properties, on HOA-owned properties, or on shared areas such as the road leading to our property.
• Guests will be asked to leave immediately with no refund, even if we have not personally observed usage.
• Reports of usage by neighbors, security team members, or law enforcement will incur the same action and penalties as if we had personally observed usage. Law enforcement will be called and we ain’t bailing you out if you’re arrested!

“On Gold Pond” is located in Maryville. “On Gold Pond” provides accommodation, featuring Pet Friendly, among other amenities. This House features Pet Friendly, to make your stay a comfortable one.

“On Gold Pond” has 2 Bedrooms , 1 Bathroom, and max occupancy of 6 people. The minimum rental for this property is 1 nights, but this can change depending on the season you plan on staying. Previous guests have given good rated it, and VRBO labeled it a top-rated House because of the excellent services rendered by the owner or manager of this House, and has consistently provided great experiences for their guests. Most families or guests that use it recommend it to their friends and some of them are repeat guests. House has a friendly neighborhood, and the Maryville has interesting places to visit. If you want to learn more about the House in Maryville, such as places to visit and things to do nearby, you can check below to learn more.