Village Inn - Blowing Rock

I am writing this as the wife of the guest involved because my husband, our two young children and I were all travelling together and experienced this situation. We booked The Village Inn online from India for July 2. This was a normal online reservation: we saw an available room, selected it and booked it. When we arrived at the property, we were told that our reservation had been cancelled and that we did not have a room. My husband immediately explained that if there was an issue with the credit card, there must have been some error. We were physically standing at the hotel and he offered to provide the card and pay for the room then and there. The hotel still told us that we did not have a room. Most importantly, we were specifically told that we would not be charged. So we left. What else were we supposed to do? Then, only a few hours after the hotel denied us the room, our card was charged approximately $234. My husband started contacting the property about this from July 7. He sent emails and made international telephone calls, which is hardly convenient when calling the United States from India. For almost two months we received no meaningful resolution. Then something remarkable happened: my husband posted a negative review, and suddenly in September the General Manager, Kelly Pahl, responded. Unfortunately, her explanation raises even more questions. She says the reservation was “cancelled end of day” because they did not have valid payment. But then how did the hotel successfully charge that same card only a few hours after refusing to give us the room? If the card could be charged, why were we denied our accommodation when we were physically at the property offering to pay? And if the reservation had already been cancelled and we were told we would not be charged, on what basis was the card subsequently charged? She also says that we had taken a “specialty room off the market.” This characterization is baffling. We were sitting in India and booked an available room through the hotel’s normal online booking system. We didn’t telephone the hotel asking them to reserve some unique room for us or request that inventory be specially blocked. We were simply customers making an online reservation. Management also claims they attempted to telephone us several times. We received no such calls. They had an international number and apparently had difficulty calling it. But they also had our email address. If our reservation was genuinely about to be cancelled, why not send an email? What concerns me most, however, is the General Manager’s response after my husband finally posted his review. She wrote that because he had already left a poor review, she could “no longer entertain” his request. Think about that: we had been trying to resolve the matter privately since July 7. After nearly two months, a public review finally generated a substantive response — and then the review itself was cited as a reason not to resolve the complaint. As someone who has been on the receiving end of this, I find that approach to customer service and business ethics very concerning. We have previously been residents of North Carolina, my husband studied at Duke University, and we have travelled extensively around the state. This is not the sort of experience we expected in Blowing Rock. We remain completely willing to resolve this amicably. We are not looking for anything extraordinary. Refund the charge for the accommodation that we were denied after being told we would not be charged, acknowledge what happened, and let everyone move on. Unfortunately, after nearly two months of trying privately, it appears that reviews are the only channel through which management will actually engage with us. Given the circumstances, we are also considering legal and other formal avenues to dispute the charge and address the matter. Until this is resolved, I cannot recommend this property.

On July 2, 2026, we arrived at Village Inn for our confirmed reservation after 8 PM and were told that our card had failed and our reservation was no longer available. We had received no call, email or other communication warning us of any issue. We therefore had to find alternative accommodation and did not stay at the hotel at all. Despite this, my card was subsequently charged approximately $234. It has now been two months. I have written to the hotel multiple times and have also repeatedly made the effort to call internationally. I have received no useful response or resolution. When I have managed to speak to someone, the response has essentially been: “The best I can do is inform management.” Yet management has still not responded or taken responsibility. Mistakes and billing disputes can happen. What is unacceptable is charging a guest who did not stay at the property and then effectively ignoring them for two months while they repeatedly try to resolve it. At this point, this is no longer simply about $234. It is about a complete lack of accountability and customer service. I would strongly caution prospective guests based on this experience. I will update this review if Village Inn management finally responds and resolves the charge.

Definitely go elsewhere. It is off a main road with no parking. We got back to the place around 11pm to find no parking with cars parked in areas that weren’t even spots. With no street parking we had to drive 2 hours home in the middle of night so my car didn’t get towed by the city overnight.