House rules and policies

Who may stay

The cabin sleeps ten in beds and is permitted for a maximum of twelve, including children and infants. Guests eleven and twelve sleep on the living room sofas and carry a $50 per guest, per night charge. Whatever your number, it must be agreed at booking — the Shagbark gate issues passes from the list we register, so an unannounced extra guest is a problem at the entrance, not just with us.

The person who books must be at least 25 years old and must be staying at the property for the whole reservation. Everyone staying must be listed on the reservation.

No events or parties

Acorn Ridge is in a residential, gated community. Parties, events and gatherings that bring people beyond the registered guests to the property are not permitted. Violating this ends the stay without refund.

Quiet hours

Quiet hours are 11:00pm to 8:00am. Sound carries a long way in the mountains, so please keep music, televisions and outdoor conversation at a level your neighbors would not notice — at the hot tub especially, since it is outside and late evening is when it gets used.

Smoking

Smoking and vaping are not permitted inside the cabin, and not on any of the decks. If you smoke, please do it on the driveway — that is the one place it is allowed.

Put cigarettes out completely and take the ends with you. Do not discard smoking materials anywhere on the property. This is a wooded mountain community, the decks are timber, and a live end in dry leaf litter is a real fire risk rather than a theoretical one.

Smoking indoors means the cabin has to be professionally deodorised before the next guests arrive, and the cost of that is charged to the reservation.

Pets

No dogs or other animals at Acorn Ridge — not in the house, and not on the decks or grounds. We would rather you read it here than discover it on arrival.

Hot tub

The hot tub is cleaned and chemically balanced between every stay, and it holds six people at a time. It sits on the covered lower deck, so it works in any weather. These are the same rules posted at the tub, and they form part of your rental agreement.

• Use the hot tub at your own risk
• Shower before entering
• Children under 13 must be supervised by an adult at all times
• No glass, food, smoking or vaping in or around the tub
• No bubble bath, dish soap or anything else that foams — it destroys the pump
• No diving, jumping, running or rough play
• Keep music and conversation at a respectful volume
• Limit each soak to 15 minutes
• Do not use the tub if you are ill or have an open wound
• Pregnant guests, and anyone with a medical condition, should speak to their doctor first
• Do not use the tub while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Replace and secure the cover after every use
• Leave the area clean, and tell us promptly if anything is wrong with it

Grill and fire table

The gas grill and the gas fire table are for guest use. Never move either one, never use them under a closed roof section, and turn the gas off when you are done.

Propane is on us, and you will not run out on the grill. It is plumbed into the large tank that serves the house. The fire table on the front lower deck runs off portable tanks — if one empties during your stay, call or email Joe or Kathryn — our numbers are in your arrival email and on the fridge, or write to joe@acorn-ridge.com — and we will have a full one brought out the same day where we can. Do not buy your own.

The gas fireplace

The gas fireplace in the great room is switched off from 1 April through 31 October. It is a winter feature, and running it through a Tennessee summer is neither wanted nor safe.

Fire safety

There is a fire extinguisher on every floor, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors throughout. An escape route map is posted on each floor — worth thirty seconds of your attention when you arrive, because the time to learn the way out is not while you are looking for it.

The cabin is inspected and permitted annually by the Sevier County Fire Marshal's Office. If you find an extinguisher missing, discharged or out of date, tell us straight away.

Stairs, decks and children

This is a three-story house with stairs between every floor and a loft that is open to the floor below. Children must be supervised on the stairs, the decks and in the loft.

The games

Air hockey, shuffleboard, foosball and an electronic dartboard downstairs, a multicade in the loft. They are there to be used hard — that is the point of them — but they are heavy, levelled, and none of them are furniture.

• No drinks on any of the tables. A spill on a shuffleboard bed or into the air holes of an air hockey table is not a wipe-up, it is a repair. Coasters are on the shelf; the side tables are for glasses.
• Do not sit, stand, lean or climb on the tables. They are not built to carry weight, and a child pulling one over is the injury we actually worry about here.
• Children playing must have an adult in the room — particularly at the dartboard.
• Soft-tip darts only. A steel tip destroys the electronic board and puts holes in the wall behind it. Only the darts we provide, only at the board, and pick them up off the floor when you are done — the next person through is likely barefoot.
• Nobody stands in the throwing lane while someone is throwing.
• Come in dry. The game room is a few steps from the deck and the hot tub. Wet hands and wet feet do not belong on the dartboard, the multicade or the shuffleboard.
• Nothing goes outside. Pucks, paddles, weights, darts and controllers stay with their table.
• Leave the shuffleboard alone otherwise. Use the powder that is with it, do not add anything else, and never wash or wet the surface.
• Do not move the tables. They are levelled where they are.

If something breaks, tell us while you are still here. Honest accidents are what the damage waiver is for, and a game we can fix on Monday is worth far more to us than one we find out about in November.

Damage

Two things apply. A $400 hold is placed on your card two days before arrival and released up to five days after your stay — a hold, not a charge. Separately, the quote includes a $27 accidental damage waiver covering up to $1,500 of accidental damage. Tell us about accidental damage rather than hiding it; we are reasonable about honest accidents and much less so about the other kind.

Check-out

Check-in is from 4pm and check-out is by 11am. Four things before you go:

1. Start the dishwasher
2. Bag the trash and put it in the bear-proof bin outside, latch shut
3. Turn off the gas fireplace and the grill
4. Lock the doors

That is the whole list. Strip the beds if you like, but you do not have to.

Trash

Shagbark has no curbside collection. Bagged trash goes in the bear-proof bin on the outside of the cabin, with the latch closed. We cover up to five bags per stay. Please do not leave bags beside the bin or anywhere outside it.

Bears

Shagbark is home to a lot of black bears and you have a good chance of seeing one. That is part of staying here, and it stays enjoyable as long as nobody leaves food out. Three rules:

• No coolers outside. Not on the decks, not by the door, not in an open truck bed. A cooler is the single most reliable way to bring a bear onto the property.
• Nothing edible left out. Food, drinks, grill drippings and scented trash all come indoors or into the bin when you are done.
• Never feed or approach a bear. Watch from the deck or a window, keep children with you, and give it room to leave.

A bear that finds a meal at a cabin comes back, brings others, and eventually becomes a problem the whole community has to solve. Guests who ignore this may be asked to leave without refund.

Community rules

Shagbark is a private, gated community run by a property owners association, and a few of its rules apply to you rather than to us:

• Every guest must be registered with the association before arrival. We do that for you — it is why we ask for names and car count when you book. Your pass is issued at the gate when you arrive.
• The gate is staffed around the clock and nobody enters without a reason to be there. Give your name; you will be expected. Do not pass gate or door codes to anyone outside your party.
• The pool and courts are for registered guests only, and the association charges a common-area fee for that use. It is already in your quote — nothing is collected at the gate. Pool hours are 9am to 9pm, Memorial Day to Labor Day.
• The roads are shared, narrow and steep in places. Drive slowly. There are walkers, children and wildlife on them, and the sight lines are short.
• There is no curbside collection in Shagbark. Trash goes in the bear-proof cage at the cabin, latched. Do not leave bags out for a collection that is not coming.

The association's full covenants are published for owners rather than guests. If anything above matters to your plans, ask us and we will check with the office.