Overall I enjoyed staying at the Helendorf. It is an older motel and not fancy but for staying on the river it was perfect. The thing that ticked me off was I feel like I was cheated. I called the Monday before we were to go that weekend and asked for a standard room at $84 per night. When we checked in, it was late and we were tired so we really didn't pay attention. We found out that we were charged $109 per night plus an extra $10 for our teenaged kids. We had friends staying at the same time and they had riverfront rooms and only paid $109 per night. When I called back to see why we were charged this amount, I was told that it was because we only stayed for two nights. When I pointed out that our friends only stayed two nights and that they were not penalized she said that it was because we didn't make our reservations early enough. I've never heard of such crapola in my whole life! If you operate a motel, don't you want to rent all of the available rooms? Why would they penalize someone for filling their motel? Of course it doesn't explain this on their website. They proclaim that they're owned and operated by retired military. From where? Cuba? That really left a bad taste in my mouth. I always thought that Panama City Beach, Fl was a rip off. But I'll never think that again. At least they dont' do this bait and switch crap.

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I am a return visitor to the Helendorf . It is not for the high maintenance type, so if you are used to the Ritz, then this is not the place for you. However, if you like just a nice, quiet, comfortable, clean hotel in a great location, this is your place.
As mentioned above, the location cannot be beat. We walked everywhere in town and didn't move our car, which is good, because parking is at a premium at this place.
The rooms are a bit dark and the furniture is dated. But I don't think I have stayed at a cleaner place. We had plenty of towels and washcloths.... more than enough.
The office ladies were very friendly and more than helpful. Our room didn't smell of smoke at all, and honestly I don't remember smelling it in the office lobby either.
We didn't hear any conversations through the walls or outside the doors. The view of the River is very NICE!
This is just a great little place for a quick get-away. I would recommend it and will go back myself.

Old, run down and depressing place. Rooms had a musty smell, one of the boxspring mattresses had a large disgusting stain and the elveator smelled like someone had urinated in it. I would advise everyone to avoid this place. The pictures on the website look nice but the reality is quite different.
I felt totally ripped off.

Bad experience which almost ruined our unplanned stop in Helen. I called the Helendorf IN ADVANCE from Commerce, Ga (about two hours away) and asked if they had rooms available that allowed dogs. They did, so I asked if there would be a problem with us getting there about 1:00 - check-in is 3:00pm.
"Probably not" was the reply.
So, my 75-year old Mom and two dogs made the trek to Helen. A room would NOT be ready until 3:00. I asked if I could check in around 2:00. The girl said it probably wouldn't be ready, but we could try. All this was said with a smile.
We walked around for an hour - but the dogs and my Mom were getting HOT and tired. I checked back and no - the carpet wasn't dry.
I asked if she'd CHECK the room.
With the same smile, she advised that we go shopping, or wait in the lobby (no pets allowed there, however) or go swimming in their pool. All not feasible with dogs.
I told her that since I called in advance - if I had KNOWN that a room wouldn't be available, I would have gone to a different hotel.
She then pointed out to me that my credit card was NON-REFUNDABLE and that the check-in time is 3:00pm.
I gave up and was in tears. I was the one who insisted we go to Helen, since we had been frequent customers of the Helendorf and love Helen.
At 2:45, my Mom went in. The room would not be ready until 3:00pm, she said.
By the time we got our luggage in the room and had spent two hours in the heat, we were too tired to do any kind of shopping - and the stores close early.
There has to be exceptions to rules and some humanity or even an apology would have been in order. I was between a rock and a hard place - having paid over $100.00 for the room.
We left the next morning to avoid the storm. The television NEVER works there - and yes, the grounds are NOT kept up like they could be. Nonetheless, I've stayed because of the location.
Now that there are a million and one other places opening up, we won't stay there again. Mainly due to the "smile" on the face of the unbending girl at the desk and her unreasonableness. If a room will be ready at 3:00 - the rugs should be dry by 2:45. Bad way to conduct business towards repeat customers.