Thank you, intertubes

Every February for the past seven or eight years, The Girl and I truck down to Gatlinburg, TN with Calen and her The Boy for a relaxing three-day weekend.  Some years there are other couples with us; some years there aren't.

For the past couple of years, we've stayed at this nice little cabin called Beyond Expectations.  Kinda cool - complete with a nine-hole miniature golf course in the basement.  If it'd had a ping-pong table, it would've pretty much been heaven.

This year, however, that chalet was booked so Calen's The Boy went searching the intertubes for a few other options.  Admittedly, hitting a website for cabin/chalet rentals in the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge-Sevierville area is a little like hitting water when you fall out of a boat, so he presented us with a couple dozen workable options, took feedback, narrowed the choices, and held a little poll in honor of Election Day (he is a social studies guy, after all).

The winner - and this year's clear choice for vacation destination: Puttin' on the Ritz.

Awesome looking little place with a basement game room (including darts), nice kitchen area, big windows, all the required trimmings for a fun-filled three days of kicking it G'burg style.

Apparently, however, Calen's The Boy (there has to be a better appellation for him) went searching those wacky intertubes to see if anyone out there had anything to say about Puttin' on the Ritz before he made the final booking.

A couple of people did...

From TravelGuideAdvice.com...

I have spent 23 years in the army and have transported tanks in Iraq; hauled fuel down mountains and would not suggest the average driver take this trip. Because of the ruts and wet gravel it caused the tires to spin on the lead vehicle and that vehicle had to be unloaded and those individuals had to walk the last two to three miles to the cabin. 

There are three separate areas where the gravel roads have deep ruts. The first is a short steep hill with a blind curve in it, and probably the most dangerous. The second is long and not as steep but just as dangerous. The third area is after you past the paved portion of the road and you can see the cabin. You have to go down a gravel road and then back up one to reach the cabin. On all three roads there is nothing to protect you from going off the right side of the road and taking a very steep tumble down the side of a mountain.

From TripAdvisor.com...

I will never ever visit those cabins again unless I have proof the roads have either been paved or had gravel put on them. The roads are simply not safe! My husband's SUV back wheel was of the edge of the cliff and the men in my party literally had to lift the suv up and set it back on the road. There was wet mud and ice that prevented you from getting traction to travel up it. If they had simply put gravel down we would not have had any problems. With several attempts we finally made all 6 SUVS, my guests in the cars simply had to go back down and park. Several of my guest including my husband almost lost theirs lives, it is simply not worth it. There are too many cabins in Tenessee with paved safe roads.

First off, thanks to the folks who stayed at Puttin' on the Ritz and took the time to review their stay.

Second, thanks to Calen's The Boy for being smart enough to do a little intertubes searching before booking the place.

Third, thanks to Tim Berners-Lee and Al Gore for soldering together the intertubes.