Riverbend Motel & Cabins

My wife and I went to Helen, a Bavarian themed town in the Georgia Mountains, during Oktoberfest and spent our 25th anniversary at the Riverbend Motel. We had a very enjoyable 4 night stay. Besides the usual amenities, management saw that we received roses, a sparkilng beverage, congratulatory card, pastries, etc. Nice touch. We asked to be housed on the first floor and were. The room was clean, had a Walk-in shower and bathroom with generous counter, a smart TV, a comfortable king mattress, two chairs, a desk, and a picture window with a view of the river. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They made coffee and gave recommendations on everything from where to eat to where to park to where to find a grocery store. We needed their help to use the smart TV. By the third day we had it figured out (well, my wife did). After a few days we felt like family. Riverbend has a central location which is really important during Oktoberfest because automobile traffic is very heavy and slow; some stops involve a pay lot. We walked to many places in town. There are lawn swings down at the river and we went there every day. The sound of the rapids was soothing. My only caution is that the location might be challenging for some handicapped guests. There is no elevator. There is a handicap ramp but it is fairly steep and everything else involves stairs. If that is a concern ask for a room on the first level. You are in the mountains, and the motel is on a hillside, so walking from the parking lot or river to the room does require some climbing. But if you are reasonably fit that should not deter you from staying there. I'm 85 and managed it.

This place must be desperate for money as they overcharged me contrary to their policy about cancelling a reservation. I was charged for a night ($99) and then even after I gave them plenty of notice that I could not use the room on the rescheduled night they charged me additional money. The customer service is terrible and apparently they do not check business emails. The manager never contacted me despite emails and several phone calls. The fact that they used my credit card on file without my authorization is fraud. Beware!

The location is great and the lady who checked me in was really friendly. I was excited about my room since it's toward the end near the river, so a good view when I walk out, but I was extremely disappointed with the condition of the bathroom - a lot of buildup in all corners, not just the ones in the one photo, the door jamb is coming off, the toilet seat is loose, and the paint in the shower pan is coming off and it was more slippery. When I closed the drapes, I had the suspicion that this place needs room-darkening blinds, and when I turned off the light, I saw how bright it is. The bed is a little too firm for my taste and the pillows are flat (I know that's all about personal preference). The walls are a bit thin, too, since I could hear other people coming and going and talking outside.

Very clean and updated large room, but tiny bathroom. The outside needs a little TLC to brighten it up some. Parking is a little tight. However, the owner owns the parking lot across the street, just a short walk. Everyone was super nice, including the owner. We saw him a couple of times at the charge parking lot. A beautiful and convenient location. They have a lovely beach area with several swings. It is the end of the road, so there is no traffic coming by. It is a very short walk, about a block and a half to Main St. Excellent for coming in and out. The river view can only be seen from outside your door or standing at the window. The river really cannot be seen otherwise. There is not a balcony or deck in the motel rooms. It is your traditional motel room with one door. The cabins seem to have a much better view. They are sitting next to the river. The motel is L shaped. There is a parking lot or two between you and the river, depending on which section you are staying. We stayed on the first floor for health reasons. There is no ground level. If you have real issues with walking or in a wheel chair, I'm not sure I would recommend you stay here. The handicap ramp is very steep. It is a set of cement covered steps. My only negative thing is it is loud, and there are lots of dogs. If you don't like dogs, this is not the place for you. It was quiet at night when we went to bed. It was only when folks started getting up that it got loud. The dogs didn't seem to bark until morning either. The folks over top of us were probably not unusually loud. The floors are not carpeted, which I love. However, that makes for more noise. When they were up we knew it. We could hear every step they made. I don't think they were stomping, but it sure sounded like it. There was no sleeping after they got up. We did not hear anyone on either side of us. We did not see anyone staying in the rooms next to us so that might be why we didn't hear anything. We have a sleep machine. I highly recommend one to block out some of the noise unless you are early to rise. My recommendation is to stay on the top floor if you can walk up a couple of flights of stairs because there would be no overhead noise. They have a well stocked continental breakfast available until 10:00 am. As good or not better than I have ever seen. They have a few varieties of Otis Spunkmeyer muffins, breakfast bars, apples, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, milk, and coffee (no decaf, got to make it in your room.) They even have warm sausage and egg breakfast sandwiches. You have to ask for those. You can get you something tasty to eat for breakfast and eat a nice lunch and dinner out. I enjoyed my stay. However, if I go back I will check into different locations. I may end up staying here again. I recommend staying downtown where you can just walk out of your room to wherever you want to shop or eat. The location is better than most.

We stayed in a cabin and our friends stayed in the cabin next to us. We shared the stairs leading up to the front balcony entrances. Our cabin was relatively clean. I was glad I brought vinegar to clean out the coffee pots though. There were some basic things there: roll of paper towels, enough toilet paper, dish soap, dishes, a few cooking utensils, a fridge. I wished I would have brought a dish sponge or cloth to wash dishes. You're supposed to do that and take out garbage when you leave. I found it a reasonable practice. Since the bathroom with the shower (kind of gross) was in the downstairs part, we didn't bother to lug our suitcases up to the loft bedroom, where we slept. It's a pretty cool property. There's a main house where you check in and you can ask for more supplies like sheets, tp,... They also put "food" out in the morning., but if you want breakfast, plan to go somewhere in town (after 11). The grounds literally are on a bend of the Chattahoochee River. There were grills and a set up for a fire pit. The people who worked there were nice. If you plan to visit Helen, this spot was a great location. It was pretty quiet as it was away from the main street, but a very convenient walk to town.

Is this the newest kid on the block? No. But does it rank up there as having a great location and staff? It certainly does! Right on the Chattahoochee and a short walk to Main St. Also pet friendly :) Our room was huge and clean. The mattress was comfortable and we'd love to have the same at home. I was pleasantly surprised at the tray ceiling in our room along with the recessed lights. The front desk ladies I met are friendly and helpful. I'd stay here again.

We were passing through Helen and wanted to spend the night to be able to hang out in town the following day. We have 2 small dogs; a Yorkie (7lbs) and Maltese (10lbs). We purposely sought out and booked a pet friendly hotel/motel online before getting there. We got there about 11pm at night. We were prepaid so one of us got out to check in and get keys. We had a room without a properly working toilet. And the only thing maintenance did was use a plunger. The plumbing or toilet is obviously bad because it just wouldn’t flush. We checked out the following morning and everything seemed fine. We left to explore. We later received our credit card statement with a startling $250 extra charge. We called and spoke with extremely rude staff who literally said that we “lied” about having dogs and that they have the dogs on camera causing some type of “destruction”… yes, that’s right our 2 very small dogs who were being carried most of the time apparently caused destruction. What destruction?!! Please show us!! And by the way, we never “lied” about the dogs. We prepaid online and assumed that it was already included since we specifically sought out pets welcome rooms. Now, we are fighting to get our money back from these thieving rude people. This is really funny because we thought that going to a small run business motel would be nicer, but apparently it’s much better to stick with the big names because you won’t get treated like garbage. Please stay away from this place. They are incredibly mean and they are crooks. We did nothing wrong but they are blaming us for something we didn’t even do.

Cabin 2 was beautiful sitting right on the riverfront. Absolutely beautiful and the office serves great breakfast in the morning. Joyce went above and beyond to make sure our stay was great! Thanks ❤️

Good place to stay. Accommodations were average, nothing fancy. Very clean. Swings down by the river were nice to sit, relax and watch the tubers float by. Centrally located to everything in town. Ample parking. Staff was very friendly. Would definitely stay again.