Great atmosphere. Very convenient with well stocked store. Pizza delivery easy and great porch with my favorite Adirondack chairs! I tented due to virus concerns. Has a twice a day shuttle but took a half day off and used their bicycles to bike 4 miles into beautiful Erwin that loved hikers. Was about perfect rest. My only suggestion is (even though I live talking to smokers),... to put smokers farther from porch. I couldn't get away from the smoke. I and many hikers are very sensitive to smoke. I never get sick but get a chronic cough when just a brief time around smokers. I get immediate sinusitis. Thanks!!!
Read more
Date of stay: June 2020Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Uncle Johnny’s hostel was a great place to use as a base camp while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Charlotte, Drew, Claire and Brandon were super friendly and the shuttle service couldn’t be beat. The private cabin was a treat.
Read more
Date of stay: October 2020Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed there last night and loved it. The staff are very friendly and helpful, prices reasonable with lots of overnight options, and my cabin and bed were cozy and comfortable. Looking forward to heading back soon to explore all to do in that area and meet thru hikers who will start heading up to Katadhin soon.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nice place and friendly people. We enjoyed taking their bikes to town. However, we stayed in the cabin with a kitchen and living room....and it was very hot! There was an old widow AC unit in the bedroom that hardly worked. My son stayed on the living room couch and couldn't sleep bc it was so hot. The ceiling fan didn't work and they had no other portable fans. He drenched their comforter and couch in sweat 😓 I felt bad for him bc as a thru hiker, we were hoping he could get a couple of restful nights of sleep in a cool cabin. He had a great attitude but I was disappointed since we paid $265 for 2 night and expected better.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I spent one night at Johnny,s and I wasn't expecting a lot for $20. But I wasn't ready to find out that a large dog used the couch in the bunk house as his bed.When I and other guests complained the staff removed the dog but the dog smell remained.
Read more
Date of stay: September 2016
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip:Â The water is hooked up in reverse. The position for hot is where you expect the cold to be.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from UNCLEJ2XS, Owner at Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel & Outfitter
Responded Oct 29, 2016
Will Rogers once said "When I die and if I go to heaven, if there are no dogs there, I want to go somewhere else". That's the way Charlotte and I feel about Jerry Garcia, our hostel dog. Last year Jerry met over 3500 guests and 250 hiker dogs that feel the same way. Jerry is a lovable , sometimes clumsy, 95 pound rottweiler and mastiff mix. He is blind in his left eye and has severe arthritis in his hips. The vet says he is about 15 yrs old. That's about 105 in people yrs. Jerry hiked in alone about 3 yrs ago, he took a zero day, liked the place and decided to stay. His medication is terribly expensive but he is worth every penny. Jerry loves cold bathes in the summer, cool bathes in the spring and the fall and hot bathes in the winter. He is bathed once a week in peppermint scented doggy shampoo. Jerry has the run of the property and can open and close the hostel door with his giant paws. I'm sorry he was an uninvited guest, and we immediately removed him from the hostel. He complied but his feelings were hurt. As for the lingering aroma, we highly suspect it came from fellow hikers. As for our bare bones $20 hostel, it is equipped with new 5 inch mattresses, WIFI, high speed internet computer, refrigerator, microwave, toaster, electric heat in Spring and Fall, large fans in Summer and cozy wood heat in Winter, Adjoining 14 x 40 ft wooden deck with covered picnic tables, Smart TV, and grills. We offer unlimited showers in our large airy bathhouse with soap, shampoo conditioner and large fluffy towels. We have multiple laundry machines for your convenience. We provide 3 free shuttles a day to town, 8:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 5:30 PM. Charlotte and I were prepared to offer you a complete refund on your hostel stay however after reviewing our records we found that your bed had already been comped. We are sorry that you were unhappy with your visit.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This is my second overnight stay at Uncle Johnny's. I stay here to save money on lodging during my trip to or from Asheville. The first time I stayed here, the cabin was brand new and felt almost like a hotel room. This time, over 5 years later, it has a well used look. The cabin room was dusty, a daddy long leg had taken up residence under the window blind but the bed linens were clean, there was a dresser in the room, along with a small refrigerator, a tv with vcr and tapes, books, a small lamp, a window air conditioner, a portable radiator shaped space heater and an overhead fan with light. The unheated bath house (sinks, toilets, and showers) has separate facilities for men and women. There is hot water. It was 37 degrees F outside when I was there a few days ago. Sitting on a cold toilet seat can send a chill through a body, though. The paths from the cabins to the bath house are well lit. It was quiet, the stars in abundance. Know, too, that a train passes nearby at least a couple of times and the horn is very loud. Can catch one off guard if unaware of it. Otherwise it is quiet with just the refreshing and relaxing sound of the Nolichucky River close by. I like to camp so the roughness and ruggedness of the cabins falls within my expectations. And I loved spending just over $28 for a room. Most importantly, the guys who work here are very helpful and hospitable.
Read more
Date of stay: October 2011
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I reserved a room after finding some good reviews on other websites (but none on TripAdvisor). The rate of $60 a night sounded great, but after seeing the accommodations, we thought twice. The room had not been cleaned or swept in quite a while. The room was very tiny with a double bunk bed on the bottom and twin on the top. There was a TV with a VCR, DVD and some old video tapes. The room also had a mini fridge (which needed cleaning and had some old condiments left by previous occupants) and a microwave. I never opened the microwave so I don't know what condition it was in.
No air conditioning, but only a fan. With the windows closed to keep out any noise, it got a little warm inside at night even though the temperature outside was in the mid to low 60s.
Surprisingly, I didn't hear a lot of noise at night, just an occasional car or person walking along the gravel sidewalk next to our room. I still slept with my ear plugs and face mask.
The shared bathrooms and showers were in a separate building, thankfully only about 15 feet away from our door. We were given two towels to use (a little smelly, but not horrible), but no wash cloths. The showers had some bugs crawling in the bottom, so I had to wash them down the drain before braving a shower. Make sure to bring shower shoes/flip flops! One convenient thing in the bathroom was a bowl filled with toiletries including shampoo, conditioner, lotions, toothpaste, etc.
I was told there was free wifi but only on the porch area. One of the main workers, "Sarge" told us that a shuttle would be leaving for breakfast at 9:00am at JD's Market. My husband and I showed up to give it a try, but what a mistake! While the food is very cheap (I got a huge plate of gravy biscuits for $1.39), it wasn't very good. I wish I had known up front that Sarge wouldn't return until 10:00am. I felt like we wasted our time on this and could have found something much better!
After this experience, my husband and I stayed the next night at the Holiday Inn Express and were told to ask for the Hiker's Rate. With taxes, it came out to be $85/night. Definitely worth the extra $25!!
On the positive side, this place was very affordable, is right beside the Appalachian Trail and the Nolichucky River.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2011
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Let me paint the picture for you... It is 1:30 am. I have been awake for hours because the dog that lives in bunk house has gone in and out of the bunk house slamming the door every 30 min. In addition to that, the guy who is doing work for stay has been in and out of the bunk house and is playing music loud enough for us to hear in the bunk house for the past 3 hours. None of that is the worst part.... There is a rat (huge brown rat) that is running around the floor of the bunk house eating the dog food / tipping the food dish over every 2-3 minutes... it is running around chewing on various items around the hostel and screaming terrible rat screams way too often to be natural. I would leave right now and ask for my money back but the office is closed and won’t reopen until 8am... 6.5 more hours of hell. Never again.
Read more
Date of stay: November 2017Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from UNCLEJ2XS, Owner at Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel & Outfitter
Responded Dec 1, 2017
Dear Sweet Monkey: WOW!!!! We were very surprised to read your review. We were unaware you had an unpleasant stay. No-one brought any of this to our attention. What scared you for your life? Was it Jerry, our hostel dog, opening the door? I designed the door myself to close automatically as quietly as possible, definitely not to slam. Or was it the music at 1:30 which is totally unacceptable. One would think that you and the other guests would be able to handle the problem. Also you could have contacted me and I assure you I would have solved this problem. As for the rat who was raiding Jerry's food, could you have moved the bowl outside? Our hostel cat was hit by a car shortly before you arrived. However this is no excuse. A professional exterminator has been by and we visited the local animal shelter. We rescued 2 female mousers. These beautiful calico cats, Daisy Mae and Princess Leia should do an outstanding job. We will be happy to refund your money if you contact us. We don't want you to "fear for your life".
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Overall, the place looks great. I didn't stay overnight or really use any of the facilities/services other than chilling on the porch with other hikers. Myself and two others were on a day hike of about 6 miles near Erwin. We wanted to hike a bit further, so called Uncle Johnny's to see if we could just hike there and use their shuttle service to get back to our car. We told them where we needed to go and when we would be there. They said it would be no problem. Well, we hiked on and got to the hostel about an hour before dark. We were about ten miles from our car. I went in and asked about the shuttle and they said there was no way they could do it because they were closing soon. I explained that I had already called and been told to come on. They did try to find someone in town who could take us to our car, but were not successful. They only tried for about 15 minutes and then just closed up shop and left, telling us we were welcome to stay on the porch. It took us about 2 hours to find a ride to our car and then had to wait an hour for them to arrive. It was not an ideal situation.
Now, as far as the property goes... It is close to the AT, right by the river, and overall looked like a great place. It was very busy and all of the guests seemed happy and satisfied. The store was well stocked. Maybe a bit overpriced but that's to be expected in a more remote location.
Just be wary of using this place. They don't stand behind what they say.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2014Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I had a drop box of re-supplies sent here and stayed at Uncle Johnny's after four days of an 11 day section hike on the A.T.. While staying the night with some South Bound hikers a couple days before getting there, many of them voiced complaints of a man named Sarge and him telling them prices over the phone and then attempting to up charge them when they checked in and being hostile and rude. I tried to remain positive about the place and assume it was only a misunderstanding b/w them because this place had good reviews on trip adviser for the most part.
Upon arrival I met Uncle Johnny, a nice welcoming man who definitely is there to help hikers and let them recharge. He let us put our packs out of the rain inside and was very accommodating. Unfortunately, he left to go do something and a man named "Sarge" took his place while ringing us up. We called 4 hours before hiking down to ask price and they told us it would be a set price to get a bunkhouse but once getting there "Sarge" was attempting to charge us $10 more and we let him know kindly that that was not the price Uncle Johnny had told us over the phone 4 hours earlier and he immediately become very hostile and unwelcoming. Uncle Johnny finally re-appeared and let us pay the price originally agreed upon since we said we were just going to leave. The rest of the time was pleasant since we had a shuttle with many other hikers to get dollar tacos but every encounter we had with "sarge" for the rest of the night was un-easy as I felt that man was ready to blow up, and get aggressive or even attack someone over any little thing. He treated everyone like scum and overall ruined my experience there.
I would love Uncle Johhny to fire employees that act so hostile and rude to customers and employ someone in his place that is as nice and welcoming as Uncle Johnny and the rest of the staff. It is sad to see such a beautiful place ruined by one man. If you do decide to go there just be cautious of the price scam since it seems like they have no set fees and charge whatever they feel like at the time and be careful of sarge
Read more
Date of stay: June 2014
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Erwin area.
LOCATION
United StatesTennesseeErwin
NUMBER OF ROOMS
30
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
