Black Bear Lodge – Sautee Nacoochee

I had a great time there staff awesome

What an amazing campus and team. An amazing program for the community.

I came to Black Bear Lodge during one of the most vulnerable moments of my recovery. I arrived carrying fear, shame, exhaustion, and uncertainty about whether I was truly ready to return to life. I did not leave… believing that I had been magically transformed or that I would never struggle again. I left with something more honest and valuable: renewed direction, practical tools, meaningful connections, and the understanding that I do not have to face recovery alone. The staff treated me as a human being, not as a diagnosis or a collection of mistakes. The structure, clinical support, community, and peaceful natural setting gave me the space I needed to stabilize, reflect, and begin trusting myself again. The people I met there also became an important part of my journey; we reminded one another that recovery is not about perfection, but about continuing to show up. No treatment center can do the work of recovery for us, but Black Bear gave me a safe place to stop running, tell the truth, and choose my life again. I returned home not “finished,” but stronger, more aware, deeply grateful, and willing to keep moving forward. To everyone who became part of my journey: thank you. This experience will remain in my heart for the rest of my life. ❤️‍🩹

This place is honestly shitty, not the worst place because of some of the workers , the staff is a hit or miss tbh, but the corporation is corrupted and they just give u a different drug to be addicted to “but it’s… prescribed so it’s different” is what I was told, and I was also told if I didn’t take the medication they wanted me to I’d have a higher chance of relapse, it’s just praying on our failure in my opinion. The place is not all that or nice it’s better than a state place but it’s not very clean they don’t care to clean, but it’s a rehab right? It’s a healthcare facility with termites. Nurses breaking HIPA and only a few RAs who care. Money corrupts. But either way a lot of the staff is great. They deserve 10 stars and some deserve none. Over all I wish they had more consistency between all of the staff. It’s very understaffed and the new staff they’re getting either is lazy or won’t stay long. The younger staff doesn’t care about anyone or anything and it basically seems like every staff member has a different rule book. The nurses are either high themselves or just plain dumb, there’s so many laws being broken. The RAs (I’m not speaking for them all, I obviously have my favorites) but I have a good reason for that because the ones that I am referring to like I said above don’t have any consistency and honestly no one is on the same page ever, u ask the ra or nurse or office for an answer they all give u a different one. In my case I was hit with a lot of lazy staff and only a few great ones. I am mentioning that because I don’t want those rare good staff members to not know what they’re worth, because there’s some damn good ones. But it’s RARE. I think personally a lot of the people here don’t care or try to even care. Or possibly still on drugs frankly . I wouldn’t put it past some of them. The ones that care made it worth it made me want it more and helped me recover , I will forever appreciate the ones that truly cared , I hope BB figures out the others.

Black Bear Lodge literally saved my life. After 6 relapses after leaving another facility I chose Black Bear over many others and found the staff to be amazing with my care. Thanks to them I am sober and will not… relapse again because of the awesome tools they provided me! A huge shoutout to Becky, Cory, Tilly, Conny, Jim, Jeff, Leigh, Susan, Tiffany, Toby, Brandon, Heather, Amanda, Diana and many others who provided unbelievable support for my recovery! I would highly recommend Black Bear to anyone who is seeking the very best care and support available in Georgia and the United States. Thanks Black Bear! Edward

Amazing atmosphere to recover in! This place has changed me. ❤️

I had a visitor. Was asked at check out if it was a friend answer was yes. Follow up question was it was a friend friend. Next question was are you having sex with him keep in mind this wasn't a doctor a staff paper… pusher. 🤯 I reported it & left immediately. No follow-up on their side. Besides that I liked the place. Great wood surroundings. Some staff were exceptional. Great check in, nice lodging, foods okay.

This is a 1 stop rehab! Everyone is amazing here. RA's, counselors, business department. From day 1 Everyone was welcoming, helpful and accommodating. Tiffany, Heather, Tilly, Kai, Brandon, Dawn, Hannah, Jim and Susan… were all a pivotal in my sobriety. Cory was amazing in assisting with everything. Thanks Black Bear for everything!

I was disappointed that what was billed as a dual diagnosis program was instead solely focused on substance use disorder. The website is inaccurate, and Black Bear has long had a reputation for treating co-occurring… mental health and substance use issues. That was not my experience during my recent stay. Tiffany and Becky were outstanding. Some of the RAs were on power trips and rules (ie vaping during group) were frequently not enforced consistently. The food was sub-par at best. The professional staff was excellent, but some of the other staff members were grossly inconsistent and frequently rude.

10/10 Would relapse to go again! Good food. Great atmosphere. Very relaxed and comfortable.

Life changing experience. The staff is extremely supportive and caring. Heather and Tilly are rockstars!!! BBL took me from broken to whole again. Dawn was the therapist I needed at just the right time. You will not be… disappointed by choosing BBL for recovery. Ben Ba

I have to give my thanks to Black Bear Lodge, I was an alcoholic for 16 years the staff here has provided excellent care in my rehabilitation, the classes and the program work!!!! Abby is an amazing chef, the hikes are… amazing...It is truly a program that works and continues to benefit me each day!!! Almost 30 days clean and an Alumni in the PHP Program here!!! Excellent Experience

The place & staff itself are top notch and really care about my recovery . However depending on who the actual residents are can really really make or break the experience. Luckily in my time there I was surrounded by… so many folks who wanted to be there & work on their recovery . Shout out to my therapist Becky R & all the RAs who were there . Absolutely wonderful professional people. I loved and appreciated my time here . 10/10 would recommend

Staff was very nice. I chose this place to detox because it is advertised on Google with pictures of a pool and waterfalls. I wanted a resort style detox from an alcohol binge because I have insurance and I have been… through hell. Couldnt jump in the pool and didn't see any waterfalls, you have to work up to that in the program. I loved the staff. Food was pretty good, it was more of a jail vibe which unfortunately I've been to a lot. Not trying to feel like that when my insurance is paying that much money. I'm not going to say how much...but a lot. If your serious about wanting to get sober then this is a great place. I've just been through all this since the early 90s and I just wanted something different, But it got the job done.

Shoutout to all of the RAs, nurses, and other amazing staff that made my recovery a wonderful experience! Special thanks to Dr. Kirson and Tiffany for their support.

I stayed here when I was younger in my recovery period and I found it odd the amount of medication they had me on on like 1200mg of phenobarbital or more after I detoxed and 4 muscle relaxers at a time. I had a special… bracelet i think do to not being able to walk around well on my own so they would have a van transport me. So one day they decided I have brought drugs in on my own. But I flew in. So this is not possible. At least I don’t see how I could have. Then arrest me off the premises, high as hell on the 1200mgs phenobarbital and the 4 muscle relaxers. I have nothing this woman gives me 30 dollars due to this and I oddly fill my pockets with bacon because I’m very out of it. They end up dropping me of at a random gas station in Georgia. I get the attendant to let me use the phone, my mom sets up me to go to Florida and finish everything there so I had to wait for this greyhound and then catch a flight. I end up getting harassed then raped by this odd man that seems to have mental issues. I have no idea what to do but try and get away and he continues to follow and harass me. When people started showing up for the bus, people noticed and asked if I was okay and i expressed he was harassing me and they called the cops because the gas station wouldn’t even though I asked. The greyhound was two hours late I missed my flight. I can’t go into detail but this was one of the worst experiences I went through and the rehab did not look out for my safety at all by first off accusing me of having drugs with no proof and then sending me to the middle of nowhere high out of my mind. Shame on you guys and your whole staff. And trying to get ppl to recover in a lecture format is ridiculous. Most of us dropped out of college, why would u think that format would work for addicts trying to recover? They will get bored and zone out. Promise you that. Thank you for putting my life in danger and the terrible trauma I had to go through due to your stupidity. I find it very funny that the program goes on to say this didn’t happen. Instead of wanting to follow up and hear my concerns and my situation

Loved it, it was beautiful and everyone was super nice

Hello, I had a beautiful experience here. I felt as though I was taken away from the chaos of the world in a small quiet area. I almost felt as this is how Heaven could be. People serving one another, people helping one… another, and brother and sisterhood. Telling the stories the difficult things we've encountered and it just felt okay to be able to say these things. I felt no need to hold back. I could say things and I wasn't limited by what society limits us to say. I felt safe here. I felt supported. I felt quiet here. I felt close to God here. I felt like I was in the world that I needed to be in and so do so many others. Away from the chaos of work and technology and cars and stress. Walking around in the mountains. Walking in peace with your friends or by yourself. I wish our world was like this. I believe these are the things that we will find in Heaven one day. Thank you for my time here. It was very difficult for me to leave and come back to the society that I tried to love but it overwhelms me. Thank you for what you've given to people. Thank you Lord for helping this place to be here for those of us who needed a safe place to be. I hope others get the opportunity to know what it's like to be around piece. I pray that all of you are doing well and that we will continue to be able to be in peace

Disappointed. Insurance issues, had to leave.

Was admitted at 11PM. Was woke up the next day at 7AM, and was told I was being discharged. They wouldn't specify a reason. They simply discharged me while I was detoxing from alcohol and opioids. They didn't refer me… to another facility. They simply kicked me out while detoxing.

The food was good. It was clean. Don't be deceived, you have a roommate and a twin bed. In addition, they make leaving difficult. No photos because no phones. No zip line or pool.

My Experience at Black Bear Lodge (Read if you’re looking for non-AA options) If you are looking for a rehab that offers holistic, mindfulness-based, Dharma Recovery, SMART Recovery, or non–12-step approaches—this is… NOT the place. I chose Black Bear Lodge after spending about a month researching facilities. One of my top priorities was finding a program that offered alternatives to AA, as I am an atheist and was specifically looking for non–higher power–based recovery options. Black Bear advertises a range of holistic therapies, including Dharma and SMART Recovery, but in my experience, those offerings were not actually available in any meaningful way. SMART Recovery: There was no program—only a book provided. Dharma Recovery: Offered once a week and led by other patients at the same level (who were unfamiliar with the program), or by local AA members. When I asked about it as a primary recovery path, I was discouraged and told it should only be used as part of the AA's 11th step, not as its own program. The overall program is heavily AA-focused, and when I asked for alternatives, I was made to feel like I should simply conform to AA rather than pursue a different approach. Therapy & Counseling Black Bear advertises counseling, but what is provided is very limited: Daily group sessions consisted of large groups (~20 people), where each person shares one word about how they feel. One person may briefly share more. Individual sessions were about 30 minutes once per week, and felt more administrative than therapeutic. There was little to no focus on addressing underlying issues that led to substance use. When I asked about deeper counseling, I was told: “This is a place to detox. If you want to work on those issues, you need a longer-term program.” The 90-day program they referred people to was highly religious, including required daily Bible reading, which was not aligned with my beliefs. Environment & Support I experienced bullying from other patients, and did not feel supported when raising concerns. Aftercare planning was minimal. I was told there were few alternatives to AA, which turned out not to be true—I found multiple Dharma Recovery meetings near my home on my own. What they did well The food was genuinely very good. It provided a structured environment away from alcohol for 29 days. Final Thoughts I am now 3 years sober—but that is something I achieved through my own work after leaving. Black Bear Lodge may be a fit if you are specifically looking for a traditional, AA-centered program. However, if you are seeking: Non-religious recovery Evidence-based or alternative programs (SMART, Dharma, etc.) Meaningful individual counseling …I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

Loved the staff, Black Bear WILL give you a SOLID foundation if you just allow God to do what He does! And the foods amazing!

I cannot believe this has a 3.9 average. Black Bear is a wonderful place, filled with great people that actually care about your recovery. This place is a hidden gem and if you are serious with your recovery this is the… place to be! 100 STARS!!

Seem like we tried to cram a lot in 1 day. And the communication was not the best yall need to work on that. Other than that I learned a lot about myself and dug up problems that I buried realized that I had this… problem years ago all in all I would come back God forbid if I fell off the wagon again. And a shout out to Heather she was great and to the point.

Black Bear Lodge was the start of my recovery journey. From the initial friendliness and wide smiles, I was welcomed to the first step of my recovery. From another facility I will not mention, I had a low expectation of… how attainable my sobriety was and black Bear completely altered my mindset. I am beyond grateful for this facility and the staff I had the honor of meeting.

I spent 45 days at Blackbear during the Christmas season of 2024 and have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how helpful the staff and program was. It was my first time ever going to a rehab and obviously not… something I was proud of. Now that some time has passed and I’ve realized how important they were in my road to recovery I felt it necessary to take some time to write a review on my experience. If you need help or your struggling with something that you’ve tried time and time again to do yourself with no luck I recommend you give Blackbear a try. I met some wonderful people there who were struggling just as I was. Even the staff themselves are not shy to admit many of them have struggled the same way. Blackbear gave them hope and the tools to better themselves. Thank you Blackbear for continuing to be there for me even after my stay for any of my needs post admission. You all deserve medals of honor for all you do. Sincerely-Robert C.

I had a wonderful experience!! Wish I could have stayed longer!! Everyone was extremely nice. A shout out to Tiffany and all the RA's. I'm extremely beat down and shy. I have low self esteem. They helped to give me the… confidence to speak up and be me. I'm now 19 days sober and that's the longest I've been sober in 10 years.