Gruene River Inn

This place didn't meet my expectations. I thought I had booked a hotel room that would have basic amenities such as a reception desk that was open for check in more than 2 hours (3-5 p.m.) a day. Instead it was basically a room that we had to access (with complications) with a code that did not work. I booked the reservation through Expedia and pre-paid for my room. A few days before my arrival I got a weird text from the Inn asking me to give them my credit card information by email and authorize a minimal charge ($1.00). I did not feel comfortable responding with my credit information by text or email and wasn't sure that the message was legitimately from the Inn. On the day of my arrival they sent me a few messages which I just skimmed since I was busy with my travels and didn't have time to check my messages. One of the messages stated that check in was from 3-5 p.m. but I didn't understand that was the only time that someone would be on site to help us check in. We arrived after 8 p.m. and had a very difficult time getting in touch with someone to check us in. We eventually were sent instructions on how to use a code and a keypad to get into our room. The code did not work. So we had to send multiple messages to try to get help getting into our room. The lock finally was opened remotely, presumably by the Inn's off-site staff. However, this didn't solve the problem of the faulty code so we could not both leave our room at the same time since we would not be able to re-enter our room. When we checked out we mentioned this problem and were told that is not an uncommon problem and that they often will give two different codes just in case one of them doesn't work. We only got one. It was also unnerving that the room was unlocked remotely for us. Once inside we discovered there was no secondary deadbolt or chain on the door to prevent someone from entering if the door was opened remotely by someone else. This made us feel less safe. The room itself was nice. It was clean, the bed was comfortable and it had a nice view. However, the experience was not very good otherwise.

Very disappointed - the outdoor bar area is undergoing renovations and is not open. One of the reasons we booked this accommodation was for the outdoor bar. The light in our bathroom does not work - mentioned this to the receptionist and she told me they did not have a maintenance staff. We were only given one room key. The queen bed is extremely uncomfortable and sags to the middle.

We have used Trip Advisor to plan numerous trips, but were steered wrong on this one. Good: Views of the river were lovely and our bed was super comfy. Towels were plush and we were given an ample supply. Not so good: The rooms were very small. The queen size bed took up most of the space. TV had very limited channel offerings. Inn is built high on a river bank. The slant/unleveling in the floors is quite noticeable. We were expecting a quiet stay, since this inn had only 14 rooms. Not the case. The flooring was entirely hardwood, which made it very noisy. Pretty sure there was no insulation between the walls and ceiling. We were awakened throughout the nights we stayed by conversations, bumps, taps, and shutting doors in the rooms above and adjacent to us. In addition, there was no front desk attendant after 5pm…just a phone number to call if you need something. No breakfast, unless you preorder a breakfast taco for 8:30 am delivery. No coffee until 8:30 am … unless you want to use the Keurig. Would not stay here again. We need our sleep.