29. August 2025
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Hotels & Accommodation

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Harrah's Cherokee Valley River

95.27 USD
Harrah's Cherokee Valley River
4

Rating

 4.0/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Good price
  • Overall, nice room value for money

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Limited food
  • WiFi option too expansive
  • High resort fee

At the end of the sixth day of my Six US States and Nashville trip, I originally planned to sleep in Chattanooga, TN. However, the weather forecast for the upcoming days was (incorrectly) that bad that I decided to head already into the region of the Great Smoky Mountains, where I planned to stay the next two days.The hotel of my choice was the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River in Murphy, North Carolina. As the name suggests, it is one of the many Native American reservation casino hotel. I typically struggle with those places, but the price was too appealing, so that I gave it a try. Here is my review.

 

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River – Location

The casino hotel is located on a hill Northeast of Murphy. From US-74/129, there is a connection road which leads to to the major parking lot. There are no additional services like restaurants or stored right around the hotel, but along the highway, you find those, including a Walmart Supercenter.

The casino offers a coach service, but overall, you should get there by car. If you don’t go for an additional service (like valet parking), you should be able to park for free. There is no designated space for hotel guests. However, it was rather convenient to me to get from the parking lot to the reception, despite I arrived comparably late in the evening.

 

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River – Casino & Entertainment

Of course, a casino hotel is about gambling first. It may look small on the pictures, but overall, the casino features 60 table games and 1,300 slots. You will find the typical North American classics there. I was willing to gamble at the casino. However, they refused me to receive a Cesar Rewards card due to my German citizenship. The only way to pass that would have been to use a postal address of a US-based friend for registration, which I refused and thus decided not to invest into that part of the casino. Out of Las Vegas experience, it should definitely be possible to enroll to their loyalty program as a foreign visitor.

While you reach the casino, most services and the hotel rooms by heading right after the main entrance, on the left hand, there is an arcade and bowling alley. The bowling alley features 24 lanes and looks quite nice. The arcade, though is a bit of limited in its services. The area also features some pool tables. Compared to crowded Las Vegas casinos, the Harrah’s has a very relaxed atmosphere.

 

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River – Room

I had one night at the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River, Wednesday to Thursday in June 2025. The non-refundable rate for a Tower Deluxe King Room was 95.27 USD. The price was driven by a massive 34.99 USD resort fee. The room was basic, but very spacius. It featured all I needed for one night, including the large bed, a microwave and a fridge and a large desk to work on. The view from the room had limited appeal – you could explore the construction of the upgrade of the building from your window.

The shower bathroom was in a similar style and worked very well functionally. Amenities were provided as packaged items close to the sink and dispensers in the shower. The whole concept felt rather basic, but it was convenient and got the job done. Most people, likely, visit the place anyway to have fun in the casino, for which this place is absolutely fine. The hotel felt rather new and the state of the rooms and the bathroom was thus very nice. There were neither maintenance nor housekeeping issues.

 

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River – Food

No meals are included in the price of the room. The key food provider is a food court close to the reception and casino, which features “classics” like Earl of Sandwich, Panda Express or Nathan’s. Especially for breakfast, this felt a bit of limited. There is also the sportsbar-alike Brew Brothers and a Ramsay’s Kitchen outlet on premise of the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River. The food felt comparably expansive to me – maybe also due to a lack of peers in the area.

 

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River – Service

Check-in and check-out was rather friendly. Basic internet is free. It was slow, but got the job done. You can upgrade the WiFi to five times speed, which is 8.55 USD. That price would be acceptable – if it wasn’t for a single device only. I rather used my US mobile roaming account for major data sizes instead.

A really nice feature of the hotel was the pool and gym area, which was located on the other wing. There are a lot of windows, so that you can watch the hills and trees while swimming or exercising. I guess that the place is rather popular on weekends – during my visit, it was not used by other hotel guests. That felt like a real shame.

 

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River – My View

I was looking for an affordable night at a good location for my travels – and the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River. The food, especially the breakfast options, felt too limited to me. I would have loved a bit more comfort in the room, even though it was absolutely fine. Not being able to join their loyalty program was weird as well. The big plus of the hotel was obviously hidden to many hotel guests during my visit: the pool and gym area is absolutely nice. Furthermore, it is a nice location for hikes and similar activities. As the price was significantly lower than the hotels in the city center, it is definitely a place worth considering.

 

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