Green River Lodge

Big improvement to an old favorite, ''Early Blue Motel'' has location / view / afternoon sun / quiet surroundings; and now some modern rooms to boot? We stayed on the 'old' side and loved it anyway - afternoons on sunny side .. we hung out kayak gear and had a beer with the neighbors on the grassy slope. I love the single-floor, side by side layout. I love the view off the back deck.. but also the sunny side slope being so open to the sunset. I enjoy the steep hill you climb in your car on the way there before it opens to the parking lot. I love having coffee on the rail looking out over clouds drifting up the Green River Gorge in the AM. If you came to NC to see the mountains, this Motel lets you do that right out the back door.

Your classic ‘roadside motel’ on a private knoll with a Blue-Ridge Parkway level view of the Green River Gorge: Once you climb the steep knoll, the parking area is OPEN and spacious and friendly. I chatted with other guests while unpacking and came back out to enjoy sunset with them. My room was big, open and clean. Out the back is the show-stopper view, I enjoyed coffee on the rail watching clouds drift down the valley below. I felt safe enough to leave front door open when waiting on friends, hung kayak gear outside to dry in the morning. I found a great burger / bar / music spot right down the road and incredible breakfast in Saluda. You feel like you’ve gone back to a safer, simpler time before high-rise hotels and strip malls. It’s an open, airy, quiet place to spend a weekend, or even a week.

Such a wonderful and relaxing experience. Views of the mountains absolutely stunning!! Rooms were clean and quiet and owners are very accommodating. Close to trails and the very quaint town of Saluda. Plan on returning.

The motel rooms do not look like the picture, but they are adequate and clean, nothing quaint or special like the picture shows. It is however located on top of a hill that has an exceptional view! It definitely can boast a breathtaking mountain view, which is why we chose it. The rooms have a back door where you can go outside and sit in a well-manicured area that is very cute with a gas fire pit while you stare at the mountains behind it. I felt like I was cabin camping and not staying in a "lodge". The young woman who was running the motel was exceptionally nice and efficient! She said that the owners are in the process of renovating it, so we gave them leeway on the extreme need of repairs. First, they need to put blinds or better curtains on the front windows because the ones that are there did not give you any privacy or prevent the sun from blasting through early in the morning. The thermostat was also inadequate. The room was either incredibly hot or cold. It was a very outdated heater where you turn the nob to turn on the fan. Hopefully this is one of the upcoming changes to this property. The rooms are huge, but the furniture is sparce. Just a plain bed with very few blankets or comforters. There is a fridge, microwave, and tiny TV but we did not mind because we were not there to watch TV. And I loved the Keurig! She said there were outlets on both sides of the bed, but the outlet was too far for me to use while in bed. I recommend this place if you are looking for just a basic place to sleep and be near the mountains. If you can accept that there is nothing fancy about these accommodations, then you are in for a treat to just to sit and stare at the mountains behind it. Hopefully when it is fully renovated, the rooms will be comfortable and cute as well as a lodge with a view.

This hotel is a work in progress. It is under new ownership and is being worked on to revitalize it. True, it does have an amazing view in back of the hotel, where there is also a fire pit. We enjoyed that. But the place itself is old and dated. No breakfast provided, zip, zero. Coffee in your room is available. It is located just outside of the small town of Saluda. I-26 is nearby and you can get gas and a Subway sandwich and that is about it. The town itself has a few shops and a couple of restaurants. The sink in our room held water and wouldn't drain properly. The plunger to open and close the drain was not connected. So, again, a work in progress. The driveway is very steep and has potholes. The drive down just as steep on the other side. Nice owners, very helpful and pleasant. But a Mountain Lodge, sorry it is an old single level motel.

My SIL lives in Saluda and we were in town for a wedding. We wanted to stay close to her and the festivities, so we spent a night here. Such nice people! The room are nothing fancy and the feeling of a mountain cabin, but very clean and the beds were incredibly comfortable. We had an issue with the tv once we got inside and the gentleman came down immediately and got it going for us. Great place to stay a night or two if you're visiting the area and I can only imagine how beautiful the view would be in the Spring or Fall!