RT Lodge - A Lovely Night at a Lovely Lodge

In August, we were finally able to travel again. We had cancelled everything between mid-March and mid-August, and were ready. Almost a year earlier, we had booked several trips to Blackberry Farm, just outside of Walland, TN. Unfortunately, we had to cancel one of those, in May. The wine event, which we were attend was cancelled, and then our flights into Knoxville were also cancelled. At least we were going back for a culinary/wine event in August.

Now, the schedules on United Airlines are a mess, and especially between Phoenix and Knoxville. There are far fewer flights, and there were not that many before COVID. We struggled to coordinate flight, with the booked event, and ended up with overnights in Chicago, plus one in Maryville, TN. We were arriving a day early, and staying a day later, but there was no open accommodation for that earlier arrival, so we looked at our options. Often, we had stayed at the TYS Airport Hilton, but usually this was for an early flight home, after an event - never before one. We pondered the situation for a bit, until my wife remembered a recommendation, that we had received from that resort’s staff, many months before, RT Lodge, in Maryville, TN. At that time, we had never heard of it, and we certainly should have. The “RT” in RT Lodge stands for Ruby Tuesday. Though not officially part of the group, the Beale family (founders of Ruby Tuesday) own both Blackberry Farm, and also RT Lodge, but via different corporate arms. I checked it out, and was impressed, and besides, if staff at BBF recommends something, I pay close attention, and several were very high on RT Lodge - so we were able to book it, for our first night in Tennessee, prior to going to BBF for that event, and I am so very glad that we did.

RT Lodge is located in a heavily wooded area of the Maryville College campus, and because of both the location on-campus, plus the woods, it feels totally separate. The Lodge (the main building of three) is an 1830's home, built by Susan Wiley Cooper Walker, and had served as a private home, residence of the President of the College, an Inn, and now the primary building, housing lodge rooms, a bar and a lovely restaurant, The Restaurant at RT Lodge. From the original home, it has expanded with two additional buildings, the Wiley and the Walker Houses. Our room, No 403, was located in the Wiley House.

We had arrived early, but our room was ready, so we moved the luggage there, and returned for drinks in the bar area of the restaurant. The Wiley House is the farthest from the main Lodge building, but only by steps. It, and the Walker House are two-story structures, with a main room at the entrance, and then two floors of accommodations. Room 403 was has a King bed, separate bathroom, and is on the second floor. Note: while the Lodge does have an elevator to the upper floor, the Wiley House does not. The stairway is in two sections with a small landing in between them, and with suitcases, is a bit narrow. As we were on this trip for 8 days, and in three locations, we did have three pieces of luggage, so negotiating those stairs was a bit of a task. I did not investigate an elevator in the Walker House, so cannot comment on the situation there. Now, there is a ramp up to the first floor of both the Wiley and Walker Houses. In the Main Lodge building, there is an elevator to the main dining room of the Restaurant at RT Lodge.

Before I get into Room 403 in the Wiley House, I want to make some observations on how RT Lodge is handling COVID, but note that some of those procedures might well be subject to change, and at any time. Masks are worn at all times, on-property, by both guests and staff, except when dining/drinking. Tables in both the bar and the restaurant have excellent spacing. There is lots of hand sanitizer everywhere, as well as extra masks in many locations. Breakfast in the Restaurant at RT Lodge is a buffet, but it is served by staff. While RT Lodge was not that crowded, during our brief stay, we did not observe a single person, not strictly adhering to the rules - great, 100% compliance, from staff, as well as guests. Job well-done!

Now, the décor of the entirety of RT Lodge is “elegantly rustic.” Many of the areas, and especially the common areas in the Lodge building, reminded me of a hunting lodge, with hints of an English country/hunting club. Attractive, comfortable, functional, but slightly rustic in design. Room 403 in the Wiley House belies that same interior design, with custom built furniture, made from native trees. The room is one of the king bed rooms (only other options are twin beds, though some rooms do have a balcony, which appears to be shared. Room 403 did not have a balcony, and only a view of the near-by Walker Building), and was not that spacious - adequate, but just not a great deal of floor space. The bathroom is in two parts, with a sink/makeup area, and then the bath and toilet, in a separate room. The lighting in the room was adequate, but a bit dark over the sink. The bath linens were soft, and very nice. There were plenty of drawers for storing our clothing, and ample closet space too. Our room was very quiet, and we heard no noise from either outside, or inside the Wiley House. The king bed was comfortable, but we did need to work with the pillows a bit, to get them comfortable. We had a wall-mounted, flat-screen TV, but oddly, it was not centered over the bed, so was a few degrees from the center. It looked like it was centered over a chest of drawers, where the better location would have been to the right, just a bit.

During our brief stay, we spent time in the restaurant bar (and outside on their patio by the koi pond), had dinner upstairs in the restaurant, and then the served buffet for breakfast, and all meals were excellent, with very good service.

We spent time walking the property, and noted that there are quite a few paths, which crisscross it. Some are paved with asphalt, some with flagstone and some with pea gravel. They each seem to lead to some interesting spot, hidden away, and well-worth exploring. There is probably an even more extensive trail/road network, as the Lodge has bicycles, but with fairly frequent rain showers, we did not explore everywhere - except for the wine list! On the property, there are some spots well-worth exploring: the Front Fireplace, and its little pond, the Koi Pond, behind the Main Lodge, the Ceremony Lawn, behind Wiley & Walker Houses and the Fire Pit, also behind the Main Lodge. There is also a large tent, which seems ideal for a wedding reception, or a business dinner semi-al fresco. Two groups, to which RT Lodge caters are wedding parties and corporate retreats, and it seems very well-suited for both.

While we did not interact with that many of the staff, all, with whom we did, were great, and both friendly, and helpful. Two examples: my wife needed transportation to church in Maryville, and the front desk agent found her a taxi (not the easiest thing to do, right now), who also brought her back to RT Lodge. Then, we had stopped into the bar, knowing that they would not officially open for a few hours. The young lady setting up the bar heard us, opened the Dutch door to the room, and asked if she could help us. We explained that we just wanted to know when to come back, for a few glasses of wine. She smiled (with her eyes, as she was wearing her mask), and said, “you want wine now. I am here now. No need to come back, as I am declaring that I am officially ‘open’ early today.” So we contemplated the koi pond, with early wine in our hands. All of the staff was just that way.

While we had more than enough to occupy our time, there are many things to do, in, or near Maryville, and though we have been through it, and dined there several times, I want to explore it more, in detail, on another trip, and we will definitely book RT Lodge, and maybe ask for a King Room with a balcony, to see what that is like.

Where do you even start with listing the great things about the RT Lodge... from the minute you drive onto the grounds, you immediately feel like you entered another world. Even though it’s so close to Maryville, the airport and the mountains, you feel secluded and peaceful in the wooded setting. The king rooms were incredibly clean and so comfortable. I loved how the lobby areas had such unique decor and some of the history of the lodge was posted in different places. The antique ski coat rack was my favorite! Check in was easy, it’s really nice to have actual keys with the carved wooden key chains. Every area felt historic and rustic while still feeling so clean and modern. The wooden tree bark style vanities and mirror was such a nice touch to the room. Again, the rooms were so clean! Bed was comfortable, could use a couple extra pillows and a little brighter lighting for the vanity/bath area. Didn’t get to eat here this trip but already making plans to go back for dinner! I would highly recommend this place for a weekend getaway, work trip or just a way to take a break from the everyday crazy everyone has had to deal with the last few months from the virus, quarantine and stress. Had minimal interaction with the staff but each person that I did see or speak to was very friendly and helpful. Can’t wait to go back- that fireplace and rocking chair area near the front entrance to the lobby is calling my name :)

After driving through 5 states to get here, we found paradise. What a great place to rest and relax and be treated like royalty. This lodge is warm, rustic, clean and welcoming. The staff are sweet and charming. We brought our Black Lab with us and staff treated her like family. The grounds are meticulously manicured, the restaurant 5 star in my humble opinion and the food is fresh, perfectly prepared with locally grown products. We enjoyed our 3 day stay here while visiting the greater Knoxville area. Thank you to all the wonderful people who took such great care of us.