Need advice on Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge places to stay pleae.

[KyraS]

We will be spending 3 nights in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area at the end of the month and are looking for someplace to stay. We were looking at Cabins but to say all of them are overwhelming is an understatement. Also looking at hotels. Can anyone give any advice?????

Also any "Not to Miss" things to see, do or places to eat for people without alot of time.

 

[horseshowmom]

We spent the week before Christmas in Pigeon Forge in a 2BR cabin (one on each floor) that we really liked. It was about 2 miles out of town which made it private (no other cabins in sight) but also very close to town. It has a pool table and a hot tub. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

http://www.vrbo.com/223478


My family loved the Wahoo Ziplines (http://www.wahoozip.com/). There are some places in the area that you can get discounts for it.

 

[KyraS]

Hi,

Thank you so much! What kind of view did you have? Is it just woods?

 

[mrsksomeday]

I have stayed here twice:


Radiant Glory


The views are amazing, the home is gorgeous. I can post some pictures of the views if you would like.

 

[KyraS]

Hi,

Thanks so much, unfortunately though that one is rented for the nights we are looking at. They do have others I'm looking at though so thank you for the link!

 

[MIGrandma]

DH and I rented Mountain Whispers through Sunset Accommodations 3 years ago and loved it. It was exactly as pictured. 1-BR, 3 BA, pool table, air hockey, gas fireplace, hot tub, wooded view, etc. It was about the same price as a nice hotel, with lots more room.

We have rented another cabin through the same company for the end of March with another couple. Can't wait!

We love driving through the Smoky Mountains, taking hikes there and seeing the waterfalls, etc.

We did Ripley's Aquarium (the tube you go through is awesome, with fish swimming around and above you), the Comedy Barn, Black Bear Jamboree, Obergatlinburg tram, the chair lift ride up to the top, the space needle, lots of miniature golf, Alewine Pottery, and of course Dollywood for a day. There is so much to see and do, we're looking forward to doing things we missed last time (Dixie Stampede, more shows, etc.).

Restaurants we really enjoyed were the Alamo steakhouse, Huck Finn's, Bennett's BBQ, The Old Mill, Applewood Farmhouse.

I know there are so many cabin rental places, it can be overwhelming. We had a great experience with Sunset Accommodations though. Good luck with whatever you choose and have a great trip!

 

[NYPDwife]

I always use vacationrentals.com and homeaway.com

Found a great cabin by the ocean in Maine using these.

 

[jspahn]

DH and I always use Timber Tops Cabins - www.yourcabin.com

We have never been disappointed in any of the cabins. I cant comment on activities too much since we mostly spend our time hiking around the park.

I did try skiing for the first time ever at thier ski slope 2 years ago - it was an experience!
That helped me determine i dont ever need to ski again

 

[minniebeth]

We are staying in a cabin with Dollywood Vacation Rentals for 3 nights over the Easter holiday this year and they look really nice. I've not been to that area yet, but I just received literature that I requested from mypigeonforge.com and there are a ton of cabins and hotels to stay in in the area. One brochure that caught my attention was Music Road Inn, it looks like a nice place from the leaflet and gets pretty good reviews on Trip Advisor.

 

[Mom loves Disney]

The Wilderness has an indoor waterpark (if you like swimming). We enjoyed our stay.

 

[tayandjensmom]

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Gatlinburg, stayed in a condo. Summit of Gatlinburg, loved it. But it was straight up the mountain!

Couple things we really enjoyed:

Stop at the welcome center and buy the information packet on the National park. Its well worth the 5.00, gives you all the trails and maps. We spent a lot of time in the Smokey's, hiking and driving.

Laurel Falls is an easy walk, and such a beautiful waterfall. Well worth the hike.

Cades Cove, its a driving loop, get out and enjoy all the stops. You get a map as you enter. Not sure it is open during the winter though. The ranger station can tell you.

Chimney Rocks is a wicked tough hike. We got back about 1.5 miles and turned around. The first mile is some really nice streams and views. Took a lot of pictures with the kids on the rocks.

Dixie Stampede is great. This was our 2nd time seeing it, well worth the money. DD's 12 & 14 agreed, loved it.

Ripley's Aquarium was a big hit also. As someone mentioned, the walk thru tunnel is great, we did it a few times. Spent maybe 4 hours here.

We did the Arts & Crafts circle. First time for that. It was fun to stop in some of the shops and visit with the shop owners/artists. Some really beautiful works can be found.

The Nascar race track in Sieverville. Did the all day wrist bands. We all had a blast. Took a break during the day and went for a nice meal & some shopping. Then back for a few more hours in the evening.

Some Restaurants we will definitely be doing again:
Can not say enough about the Applewood Farmhouse. This by far was the best place all week. Warning....huge portions. The girls shared the fried chicken dinner & could not eat everything!!

Bennetts BBQ is very good.

No Way Jose in Gatlinburg. If you like Mexican, make this a stop. We had our Thanksgiving meal here. Right across from the Ripley's Aquarium.

The Old Mill is good too. But not as good as Applewood Farmhouse.

It was a great week. I hope you enjoy yourselves. We loved the area. Lisa

 

[pperfectmom]

If you want something reasonably priced that isn't a cabin, we like the Zoder's Inn Best Western in Gatlinburg. With AAA discount it is about $100 a night and has a nice indoor pool and hottub, balconies over the stream, continental breakfast AND evening wine & cheese and bedtime cookies and milk. It is within walking distance of all of Gatlinburg which is nice if the weather is snowy and you don't want to drive.

We don't like much of the "touristy" stuff but do enjoy riding the tram to OberGatlinburg and ice skating. We might try the tubing up there on our February trip. We do love going into the park and hiking. The park headquarters has all kinds of helpful info. Also, the aquarium is super nice. Don't let the "Ripleys" name on it turn you off. Restaurants we love are Applewood Farmhouse(I prefer the breakfast) and the Smokey Mountain Brewery which has awesome pizza and hot pretzels with beer cheese. Whatever you choose, have fun. It is a beautiful area.

 

[Jynohn]

We were in the area for the first time last week, and were originally looking for a cabin, but there were no rentals available that would allow us to stay less than 3 nights due to it still being considered holiday season. I panicked a little while looking for hotels, because it seemed like most of them were the Days Inn types of places that I typically try to avoid. I ended up booking the Comfort Inn Apple Valley in Seveirville because of the great reviews of TripAdvisor, and am really glad we did.

My experiences with Comfort Inns in the past have been less than stellar, but this one exceeded my expectations by a mile. It was roomy, comfortable, and spotlessly clean, for only $65/night. That said, if we were to return again we would most likely want to stay in Gatlinburg rather than Seveirville, but the hotel itself was wonderful, and right in the middle of all the action.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[horseshowmom]

Hi,

Thank you so much! What kind of view did you have? Is it just woods?

It was really just woods. A lot of the cabins with great views were further out, and I was concerned about the possibility of the roads being bad. Some of the reviews that I read addressed that issue.Turned out that I was right - a snowstorm hit the day before we were to come in and the roads in the national park were closed for a few days as well as some of the Gatlinburg roads for a couple of days. We decided to go in our 4WD but would have been fine without it where we were (the driveway was a little steep, but it was paved and had two sections to make it easier - instead of straight up).

I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again and probably will since we mainly are interested in going at Christmastime (might consider something further out if I didn't have to worry about the roads). They decorated for Christmas, and it was really nice (very warm and welcoming).

 

[DisneyLover83]

Last time we went we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, it is newer than most hotels in the area. In August 09 we paid about $115 for the room with a AAA discount. It is in a walkable distance to the strip and tons of places to eat.

 

[minniebeth]

I just got another Pigeon Forge vacation packet in the mail and another place that caught my eye for being nice and a little different is: The Inn at Christmas Place. www.InnAtChristmasPlace.com
Gets good reviews on Trip Advisor as well.

You will have to post back about where you stayed and how you liked it!

tayandjensmom, thanks for some great tips!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I just got another Pigeon Forge vacation packet in the mail and another place that caught my eye for being nice and a little different is: The Inn at Christmas Place. www.InnAtChristmasPlace.com
Gets good reviews on Trip Advisor as well.

You will have to post back about where you stayed and how you liked it!

tayandjensmom, thanks for some great tips!

We are staying here in June. It's a beautiful hotel and I can't wait to stay there. We were just up there the week of Christmas and we stayed in Gatlinburg, in the snow!! This time we stayed at EdgeWater on River Rd. We all liked it, but we like the Clarian more. There is also the new Wilderness in the Smokies with the huge indoor water park. They are running a special right now too.

 

[horseshowmom]

I just got another Pigeon Forge vacation packet in the mail and another place that caught my eye for being nice and a little different is: The Inn at Christmas Place. www.InnAtChristmasPlace.com
Gets good reviews on Trip Advisor as well.

You will have to post back about where you stayed and how you liked it!

tayandjensmom, thanks for some great tips!

It is a beautiful place (have relatives who stay there). It has a convenient location on the strip too. We chose the cabin because we wanted to get away from the strip, and we were actually able to have a 2BR/2BA cabin for less than The Inn.

That said, I would like to stay there sometime (maybe just DH and I).

 

[wdwiala]

We've been happy the last several years with Cove Mountain rentals. Very nice cabins and the extra fees aren't too bad. In town, Sevierville, we have stayed at The Comfort Inn. Best part about it is that it backs up to the lot for the Applewood restraunt.

 

[Disneenut]

Me and the wife went down last June an stayed here http://www.mountainchalets.com/Rentals/unit_ABCLD.aspx# absolutely love it!!!