As we transition from Spring to Summer here in Haywood County, we are preparing for the busy tourism season and the Inn and property are in great shape. Our team has been working hard every day, we passed our NC Health Department inspection with flying colors (100%!!) and we continue to get positive reviews for our cleanliness and attention to detail. On Tripadvisor, we can’t help but be proud that the second sentence of the “AI Summary” highlights the spectacular behind-the-scenes work of our team:
“The establishment’s cleanliness receives high marks, with spotless rooms and pristine common areas.” – From Tripadvisor.com AI Summary June 2025
Of course, this is a summary of our reviews, which means that guests have consistently commented on the cleanliness and attention to detail of our staff, so much so that an AI robot felt compelled to call it out. With all this in mind, we wanted to dedicate a blog post this month to highlighting the behind-the-scenes work of our housekeeping and hospitality all-stars: Shelly and Sharon. Read more about them and the rest of our team on our “Meet the Team” page. The work they do every day is crucial to creating a great experience for our visiting guests and keeping this wonderful historic home in pristine shape for everyone still to come in the future.
While much of their work is indeed “behind-the-scenes”, our team deserves to know that they are “seen” and that all the little things they do matter. When a guest walks into a room upon check-in and says “Wow, this is perfect”, it’s as much about the clean smell, the crisp, tucked sheets, and the shining hardwood floors, as it is about the room layout, the furniture, amenities, or design. While housekeeping can feel a bit like “Groundhog Day” to our team, the impact of their efforts is varied and memorable for each of our guests as they reflect on their stays and start planning their return visits.
For Shelly and Sharon, we want to outline just a few of the little things we notice each day, such as:
- All the trips up and down the stairs from the laundry room to the guest rooms – an elevator sure would be nice!
- Going back and forth to Carriage House in the rain, to get that space ready for despite the weather!
- Chasing Rosie around the porch with a vacuum cleaner keeping all the chairs and cushions fresh and clean!
- The kitchen that is always so inviting first thing in the morning before Peter starts throwing pots and pans around!
- Our bathrooms are all unique and large; getting to all those nooks and crannies of the tubs and walls is no joke. These are not standard hotel bathrooms!
- The birdfeeder is always full, and our guests love watching all the different kinds of birds (and squirrels!) we have here in the mountains.
- Fun shapes on the end of the toilet paper are always a delight for our guests!
- Refreshing guests’ rooms fully during their stay is time-consuming but helps make the Inn feel like home.
- The neverending battle against intruding leaves in the guest lounge in the fall.
- And so much more … we couldn’t possibly create an exhaustive list of all the little things that housekeepers do to make this house feel like a home away from home.
Whenever you visit the Inn, if Shelly or Sharon are around, make sure to stop and say “hi” or leave a note or a gratuity to thank them for all the ways they go above and beyond for our guests. When we show folks around the Inn and our team is around, we always make a point to introduce Shelly and Sharon so our guests know all the people who help make the Andon-Reid experience top-notch and worthy of our inclusion in Select Registry. Our housekeeping staff may be “behind-the-scenes”, but their contributions are immense.
–Your Innkeepers, Brenda and Peter
