The Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens, Autograph Collection

Nice cozy hotel. If you are arriving late drive slow as the streets are completely dark leading up to the hotel. Most of their onsite restaurants close early except the ironwood lounge which is hit or miss. The check in process was simple but the person doing the check in got confused. The gift shop was lacking. The employee told us the hotel was just bought back by the gardens from the Marriott so they were waiting for inventory… And she was waiting for change for her cash register. The property is beautiful. The location itself is secluded. It’s about a 30min drive to any of the three close cities. A nice getaway.

Summary: You can spend the same amount of money at better place.
Staffs are very nice and greeting, but the buildings are old (they could at least paint the wood) and it seems like they dont invest or update any furnitures and decorations. Things are scratched and chipped off. Aesthetically its terrible. Also, I dont understand the spa reservation system. My reservation was set at one pm, but someone else went in my spot as the staff didnt fully checked the name. They asked me to wait for another two hours which was the wrong person’s schedule. I wouldnt come here ever again.

This is our getaway spot. It’s totally beautiful, that’s just the lobby, the rooms are gorgeous and forever spotless. It’s very quiet at night, so sleep is never a problem. The front desk staff is somewhat snotty, but I didn’t mind, because the place is awesome. If you are looking for a nightlife, sorry, the streets roll up around 10 o’clock. Oh try dining at the Oyster House Restaurant while visiting, the food is great.

Not up to the Autograph standard you find on other Marriott properties. Staff were polite and helpful. The room was nice, and the bathrooms looked VERY nice, but the towels provided were stained and torn. We had dinner and breakfast buffet at the Piedmont Grill, which is in dire need of an overhaul. The tables were battered and scratched, the chairs worn and uncomfortable and the décor very dated. The dinner OK (well-​cooked steak and good pimento cheese fritters), but the server gave us a blank look and couldn’t respond when we asked a question about the wine list. We had planned to listen to the live band in the bar next door for a little while — they sounded good, but one section of the bar was blocked off and there were no other tables or seats at the bar, so we just went back to our room. The breakfast buffet was horrible. There was a 15 minute wait, despite the fact that there were numerous empty tables, and we had to flag down servers to get drinks and refills. The food was served on hot tables that looked ancient and stained. The food itself had been on the tables too long… the meats were greasy and the breads soggy. The omelet and waffle station had just one person working for the entire room, and the line was so long we didn’t even bother.

I was staying here this past weekend for a conference. I’m not a fan of the location (I don’t particularly care much for woods and plants like that), but the hotel itself is nice and magical. The grounds are well kept but due to the time of the year, the flowers were not in full bloom yet.
My room was very clean and tidy. The refrigerator is located in one of the cabinets. The TV’s are flat screen with cable. The bathroom is amazing; it consists of a tub and a stand-​up shower. Plenty of towels and washcloths on deck as well. I travel quite a bit and this is one of the best rooms that I’ve had in recent memory.
The hotel itself has a little station where you can use the computer and printer. There are also small rooms for meetings and other functions. This hotel is OK for smaller conferences but not for larger ones. The rooms are a little small and are in limited numbers. But for this particular conference it was sufficient.
Most of the hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The clerks at the front desk could use some customer service training though. I especially appreciate the servers during our buffet meals. They were very attentive to our requests. The food itself was a mixed bag but good overall. If I was to use a Unilocal rating system for the food, then I would put it at three stars (A-​OK).
I did do a little walking outdoors in the garden during the midst of our busy conference. It is largely woods consisting mainly of pine trees. I don’t care much for woods; however, there is an accessible beach and a few picnic areas. The hotel itself has a pool but it was closed. In addition, there is also a resort and spa complete with a sauna, fitness center, massage tables, etc.
To reiterate, the location for me wasn’t impressive but the hotel itself was. I’m not sure of the prices since my stay was comped by the school, but from what I read and hear the prices are on the higher end. If you like being in the secluded woods with a tranquil and serene environment, then check this place out.

My sister in law booked us 3 rooms (two kings, one with a connecting double room) at this resort as an extension to our wonderful family vacation in a mountain cabin. She thought seeing the lights and visiting the spa at Callaway would be a wonderful slow return to reality after a week away. Sadly she was mistaken. On our way to the hotel I was reading the recent reviews and getting very worried. But I also read the managers responses and was hopeful that our experience would not be the same. Whatever issues they had, not enough staff/​rude staff, had been handled by the Mgmt. We arrived around 3pm and were informed by a pleasant woman at the front desk that only 2 of our 3 rooms were ready, which was fine as we knew we were very early. She said she was happy to allow us to check into the two open rooms and they would call us when the 3^rd came open. Whew, we are already off to a better start. As we made our way up to the rooms that were ready as soon as the elevator doors opened we were smacked in the face with an odor I can only describe as cat urine. As we walked down the hall it got worse! Every 2 feet we could see a Glade Plug in in the wall, letting us know they were aware of this smell and this was their solution?! I literally continued to gag on this smell as we walked to the end of the hall (thanks to the two day continued assault of this overpowering chemical on my sinuses I had to see my Dr when we returned home today due to an enlarged tonsil directly caused by the fumes agitating my throat!) We had another snafu when one of the two king rooms was not actually a king room as requested and told upon check in. We made our way back to the front desk and she was happy to resolve the king room issue and mentioned that someone had let a bathtub overflow and the cat urine smell was the result of that. Ok, again I was still trying to keep an open mind; I was still on vacation after all! We then went into the hotel bar to grab a drink and discuss dinner plans. Malcom and the gentleman behind the bar were wonderful, pleasant and accommodating — again we felt we had escaped the problems of those before us. But then my sister in law (a Marriott Platinum member) and I decided to walk down to the spa and see what appointments they might have open. After waiting a few minutes to be acknowledged, we began to inquire if they had any massage appointments for the next day — before we even completed our sentence the woman cut us off with a slight chuckle and a smirk and said, «We are totally booked for the next two days.» We said, «Oh well it was worth a shot, thanks anyway» and she replied, «Oh, it was my pleasure» On the surface that seems like a pleasant exchange but her tone was such that my sister in law and I both looked at each other and were like, «Is it? Is it really her pleasure?» I was still were not turned off as we both understood the holidays are a very busy time for spas. We were disappointed as when she booked the rooms she mentioned her desire to enjoy the spa to the person booking the rooms and you would think that they would have told her how far in advance the spa books and transferred her down to them, especially as a platinum member. But again, we understood and that transgression could be assumed to be ours alone. We returned to our rooms for the night around 9pm and were exhausted, we made our way past the assult of floral urine (as the plug in’s only served to make you choke on the smell) and realized they had not filled the ice bucket as we requested — so my husband grabbed it and went into the hall in just his socks — BIG mistake. Apparently the carpets were never dried (no wonder the smell was still there!) and he ended up with a pair of soaked socks that were black and downright disgusting! He immediately threw them away when he returned to the room. We had just laid down to sleep and that’s when the sound of rats in the wall started! It was a loud gurgling, scratching sound that literally woke me from my sleep. I realized after about 5 minutes that it was the AC pump in the wall that was making the sound. I was unable to sleep through it and had a fitful nights rest. We called the front desk asking for ear plugs and were informed they didn’t have any. I forgot to stop at the local store the next day to purchase some so upon our return that evening I asked the gentleman at the front desk if he knew of any place nearby to get ear plugs and after a strange look from him I explained the sound, I actually had him listen to the video of the sound and he just said — «yeah that’s bad, too bad.» Seriously?! WOW! I just shook my head and walked away before I said something unkind in front of my children. It was still early and the pool was open until 11 so we thought, let’s head down there and maybe I can wear myself out and sleep through the sound. We arrived at the pool — after a dark walk down the garden path to find a DARK pool, not a single light was on at 8pm. My sister in law found some li

Had reservations for over three months for a special occasion. We got there and they had allowed the prior guest to extend their stay and bumped us. They offered us a hotel room outside the resort at the standard hotel rate. Had to get in a heat discussion with the Manager to get a deposit refund and money back for the fantasy in lights. Stay away!!!

This is a quaint resort outside of Atlanta. The grounds are gorgeous and so is the spa! Outside of that I don’t think I have anything else nice to say… the food for the seafood buffet was awful just awful. They didn’t even replace the lettuce, soup and other items that are considered staples. The food shuts down at this place at 9pm. 9pm? I understand this is a resort but, your restaurant should stay open til at least 10pm. It’s virtually impossible to check in early and or get a late check out. Meeting space and sleeping rooms and restaurant need to be updated based on the cost of the room… its a cozy place I really enjoyed the spa and a special weekend with my fiancé.

I was there for three days to attend a department meeting. The rooms are beautiful and the gardens outstanding. Service was very good l

We stayed here last weekend for our 22^nd Anniversary and it was the worse experience EVER! From the time we checked in and had to wait until 4:30 to get into our room, to overbooking and having another couple walk into our room as we were getting out of the shower to the wait staff moving our belongings to another table without telling us, and charging our credit card twice for the room, this was definitely an anniversary I will not forget. I live 30 minutes from there and must say that I have never been more upset over not only the incompetence of the staff but the general rudeness of everyone there. It is a good thing I love my husband because he made my weekend great!

We are stuck here now because of points. Our family travels across the US and always stays at Marriott for points and quality. This Lodge is no quality. Many little things are adding up… no gluten free menus, no cups in lobby for water, no lighting on paths to beach, so dangerous at night, locks on safe don’t work, no towel service, no room at pool for us to sit or eat… that is day 1. I want to go home but I have to consider points! Not a happy 20 year Marriott member.

We have stayed before and it was enjoyable however this stay was not the case. Our room key was not working even after the fourth time they were reprogrammed. So management let us in and said an engineer would be up to «work on it». So we basically were stranded in our room unless we found someone in management to escort us to our room and let us in. That issue was resolved eventually and nothing was ever offered to compensate us for our time that it took to solve the problem. And with a 3 and 1 year old in tow it was pretty exhausting to deal with. Will we back, not sure but this was extremely disappointing from a resort like this. If I wanted to go somewhere that was broke down it seems there would be cheaper options.

I had made a reservation for three nights that was confirmed by e-​mail for an arrival on June 4 and departure on June 7 with a checkout time of 11:00 AM.
In order to catch an early flight from Atlanta, I checked out at the front desk at 3:24 AM on Sunday, June 7. The clerk was confused an gave me a bill for the night of June 4 and June 5 but not for June 6. He said he was new and the day shift would send me an updated bill. On June 10 I had still not received an updated bill but checked my American Express account and found that I had been billed for the night of June 6 but also for room and taxes for the night of Sunday, June 7. This was after I had left. I called and talked to the front desk and they were responsive and transferred me to accounting. I spoke to them on two occasions and explained the problem. First I was told that «you probably checked out a day before you were supposed to.» I explained that I had an e-​mail from the hotel confirming my three night reservation. I was then told you probably checked out late after checkout time and was billed for an additional day. I said that the copy of the bill that I received at the desk shows my checkout time was 3:24 AM that was almost eight hours before the required 11:00 AM checkout time. I also said that my American Express account has a $ 82 pending charge that was in addition to the bill that had already been paid for by American Express. I sent the hotel an e-​mail with their reservation confirmation, the bill that I received at the desk and the bill that was submitted to American Express that billed me for a night after I had left. Accounting ensured me that they had to research the complaint and would get back to me. They have made absolutely no effort and have not done anything to respond. I have launched a formal complaint with American Express and providing them with all the details. I am a Marriott Gold member and an American Express Platinum member and this is the worse non responsive example I have ever received from a hotel stay.

This is a nice play for a family vacation.
I loved the serenity of the location, where it’s far from big cities, but only a couple hours from Atlanta.
However, the only thing I was not to fond of was the Hotel food. I would understand paying cheap for poor quality, but I did not pay cheap here.
We have the thanksgiving buffet and it was not very good. The turkey was salty, the green bean casserole was made out of big green beans and the sauce was bland. There weren’t many options besides that, although the sweet potato was pretty good.
I did see the butterfly gardens and birds of prey show which are awesome to go with little kids.
The fantasy in lights show was nice as well, I recommend taking the trolley instead of driving yourself, because you’ll be wasting gas just waiting in line.

We hand breakfast at the Piedmont restaurant and it was pretty good. It was I have come to expect from hotel breakfast buffets. Made to order omelets, an assortment of meats, and breads etc. Our server was nice and the overall place is nice.
Good place for breakfast.

I think that this hotel would be ok if it were not an Autograph Collection Hotel. This is a designation for a group of hotels that are boutique hotels that are associated with the Marriott Brand. Generally speaking these hotels not only are boutique hotels, but more often than not represent impeccable service, character, identify, and elegance. .. even in if the theme is one that is more of the rustic persuasion. Having stayed at over 15 different Autograph Collections hotels in North America, I can say in all honest that this hotel fell short in so many areas.
The service was subpar. Despite communicating with the hotel weeks in advance and confirming the night before arrival that all was taken care of, the front desk never followed through with Anniversary plans or welcomes to myself and my wife when we arrived. Only later after noting some other issues did they notice the note and the requests. The desk also did not charge the appropriate rate, which was quoted and agreed upon. Only after speaking with the national Marriott line was this fixed. The initial desk clerk also was quite rude and inhospitable. If you are working in the hospitality business you might think this would be one thing they could get correct.
Upon arriving at my room, I found it to be poorly kept. The shower had black mold and the tile grout was dirty beyond measure. In addition to this the lamp shades were cracked and split. For a premium hotel, these seem a bit our of place. There were cobwebs in corners of the room, and the floor had not been vacuumed. A toenail stepped onto when entering the bed is something I would expect at a motor in, not a hotel of this one’s supposed caliber.
We did check in during the evening, and found the day staff to e a bit more competent, but aside from the staff, the room was just unacceptable. This sort of unkempt theme also was true of the hallway. The side tables and decorations outside the elevator were covered in dust, and yes more cobwebs. I did hope to find some relaxation in their pool, which boasted a poolside bar. .. however the fact that debris was heavily collected in the pool and a bandaid was floating at the top to greet people as they entered via the stairs was enough to make me turn and leave to go back to my room.
Would I stay here again? No, definitely not. .. and it is a shame as Callaway Gardens itself is rather lovely, but this seems to be the only reasonable accommodations around the area. It is my hope they get their act together in the future. They certainly will note receive my business again. It is also my thought that they should check with other Autograph Collection Hotels to learn how they run their business.

It’s a really nice lodge in a remote location at a reasonable price. They have a decent restaurant — I would rate it on the upper end of hotel restaurants.
I was here for a company function. The staff was very accomodating and made certain that all my needs were met. Rooms are a decent size. Very nice beds, comforters, etc. There is a nice jym, pool, a great spa.
It’s a toss up as to a 3 or 4 star rating, but I went with 4 since the staff has been quite nice to me. Especially for a company function where you want to get away from the city.
My only complaint, the AT&T cell phone reception is really bad.

I wish I would’ve consulted Unilocal before allowing my bf to book a couple of nights for us here. We should’ve went to Château Élan. Anyway… I agree that this place is outdated and there’s a lot of wasted space. The staff are miserable (worst customer service I’ve ever received at ANY hotel/​inn/​lodge/​etc… including cheap hotels).
Upon check in we were told that the pool and hot tub were too far away from the hotel and that’s why it was gated and locked up after dark. It’s a safety issue. Oooookay… So what’s the point of having either?
Then when we asked about the tub in our room (whether it was a jacuzzi tub, etc…), the front desk lady scoffed and rolled her eyes. She told the other girl that she didn’t know and it was a regular tub. By the time we got to go to the hot tub it was raining and the hot tub looked like the hot tub at your gym or at an apartment complex. Basically a tiny swimming pool with the option of turning on the jets. Disappointing. Don’t buy into the photos they have on their website. At least they spent the money to hire a good photographer. They needed to put that money into the lodge itself.
They kept asking us if the card that we gave them was a credit card or a debit card because they can’t accept debit cards. It was clearly a credit card. I’m not sure why this had to turn into a five minute back and forth.
Room service stops at 9pm. Even on the weekends. Yes, that’s right. They stop drinks at 11pm and they close up the lodge/​bar area at midnight. Although you wouldn’t want to stay there any way because the server is so miserable and awkward that you question how much you need that drink… I felt like we were intruding and she had beef with us for whatever reason.
Oh, and did I mention she was eating in plain view while we were waiting for our check? Not even sneaking little bites. Just chomping into this burger and talking to her server friend while we were both growing beards. This was the next day when our not so horrible server went on lunch and the worst server in the world took over. We just couldn’t win.
The bathtub in your room will not make up for it since it’s as small as the tub at your place, if not smaller. The room is nothing special. They have a dinky mini fridge tucked away in a cabinet but it doesn’t work that well and it’s pretty loud. The tv is fuzzy and oh, bring your own hair dryer because I may as well have had someone blowing out their breath onto my hair… that’s how weak this dryer felt (and I have too much hair to be messing around).
The only thing I can say about this place that’s decent is that the bed was pretty comfortable. It took house keeping an entire day to get around to giving us fresh towels and making the bed, but at least they finally got around to it, I guess? The small porch has wicker furniture (gasp) but the view is nice. That is unless your neighbor (s) are on their porch too. It’s a tad too close for comfort.
The shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are in these pumps that are attached to the shower wall and one of the pumps fell off. Yeah. The body wash doesn’t lather which confuses me so maybe bring your own too. They have packaged cotton balls and generic q-​tips (bring your own if you are going to stick them in your ears).
The walls are fairly thin as I could hear my neighbor yawning, coughing, etc…
Thank God I didn’t hear adult noises.
Bottom line is don’t waste your money staying here. Just come for the butterfly tent or the horticultural center and drive home. It’s too bad because we really wanted this experience to be what you should expect when you pay as much as we did. We both work very long shifts and we could’ve used a better weekend getaway.

Rundown and dated. If I had come here on vacation and not for a convention I would have been sorely disappointed. It is not worth it.
I was here for a conference.
Staff:
We showed up around 2:00 p.m. The lady at the front desk was not very warm. We were told they didn’t have any rooms available until 3:30 p.m. No I’m sorry from the woman at the front desk. I can’t imagine this is the usual check-​in. The doormen were very friendly as were the maid staff.
Hotel:
This place is very dated and in disrepair. There was a big bleach spot in front of our door. The lounge chair was threadbare and had strings hanging from it. The leather desk chair was all scratched up. The toilet didn’t flush you had to hold it a long time to get it to flush.
I’m allergic to down. The bed was all down. Duvet and pillows. The towels were not luxury. They were scratchy — not plush at all.
I wore my white socks on the carpet. By the end of the weekend they were black. Ewww.
Food:
The breakfast buffet is awesome! They had the usual bacon, grits, scrambled eggs, muffins, bagels, omelet station. The also had waffles, smoothies and a delicious frittata. The orange juice was not very good.
We had food included as part of our conference. First night the buffet was an awesome make your own salad and soup or chili. That was delicious! Second night there was an awesome make your own Cesar salad. There was also chicken alfredo and a kind of Portobello mushroom parmesan. The mushroom dish was really tasty. They also had grilled chicken breasts both night. It was undercooked both nights.
They had deserts both nights. Nothing great. First night red velvet cake it was dry. Second night Tiramisu dry as well.

This is a really cozy and comfortable hotel. The price of the hotel includes admission into Calloway Gardens. Parking is self service and free.
Our king room had a balcony overlooking the trees. The room was clean and well decorated. There was a small refrigerator, but no coffee maker. I got a little frustrated because I couldn’t find a convenient outlet. I couldn’t believe there were no outlets on the lamps or the desk. As we were getting ready to leave, I noticed that the outlets were on the end of the desk and they were very well hidden. The bathroom was nice and had a separate tub and shower.
We ordered dinner from the Ironwood Grill. It was reasonably priced and good. It wasn’t great, but it was very good.
This is most likely the nicest place to stay in Pine Mountain.