We were thrilled when we secured a reservation at the Drama Inn as it was located adjacent to the fair grounds were the annual Harley Davidson Bike Rally is held. The room was a bit expensive averaging $189 a nite for the event nites but we expecte

Unfortunately, this older motel has been left to disrepair, and lost in its former glory of the Drama "Unto these Hills", where it must have gotten its name.

We arrived late one evening in Cherokee and our normal hotel was booked, so we stopped in the Drama and asked for a riverside room. What we got was a blast from the past. After being charged a rate that a 4 or 5 star hotel would charge we went to the backside of the motel and found a wooden walkway that seemed unstable as we made our way to our tiny ancient room.

There are no private balconies to enjoy the river from and inside the rooms all the furniture is like a museum to honor the sixties. No secure door locks, unless you put stock in that little chain and every time someone walked down the outside walkway it jarred your room as if Shrek was outside.

On their behalf, a lot of these older motels have been owned by the same families and now they are getting up in age and it is hard to upkeep these places and compete with the gambling hotels that are taking over and ruining Cherokee.

At one time, the Drama was probably a nice place to stay but like most memories of Cherokee they are fading fast and this motel reflects its sad state, unfortunately.