The single WORST hotel experience we have ever had. Asheville deserves your support; The Radical, does not.
When we checked into our room, everything looked fine. Later, we discovered small chocolate candies scattered across the floor—clearly left by a previous guest and completely missed by housekeeping. They blended into the dark carpet, so we didn’t see them. Unfortunately, our dog did. Chocolate can be very dangerous for dogs, and he became very sick overnight. After hours of vomiting, crying, and distress, we spent the entire next day at an Asheville animal hospital. The vet bill was $600, and the emotional toll was far worse—all because our room hadn’t been well cleaned.
What shocked us most was the hotel’s response. For 3 days, we tried to speak with the General Manager, Jon Craven, and the local owner, Amy Kelly. Both avoided us entirely. The GM refused to meet in person or speak by phone, offering only brief emails. He asked for “documentation,” then emailed again saying he had “reviewed the documentation we sent”—even though we hadn’t sent anything yet—and said we weren’t eligible for any support. It was a canned, dismissive message that made it clear he had no intention of taking responsibility.
His lack of professionalism, empathy, and accountability was so upsetting that we cut our trip short by a full day. We tried for two weeks to reach the owner, who never responded to a single message. Multiple staff members told us this is common behavior at the Radical.
