Has anyone ever been to Gatlinburg,TN? IF so, where to stay?

[disneyfan551]

Gillian... June, July & Oct. are the busiest months. If you want to avoid crowds, you would be fine going in Sept., or even the 1st of Nov. Most likely you would still see some remnants of the fall color season, if you go in early November! I'm not quite sure when they start the Festival of Lights, but if they are like most people, they jump the wagon & start at the 1st of Nov.

I do agree with the above poster stating that it's best to rent a cabin or chalet while you are here. We just built our 1st rental cabin, "The Treehouse", however, to me it is "Tinkerbell's Treehouse"!! Both my Mom & Dad own cabins, so we have followed in their footsteps. Our visitors leave notes in a journal, and they seem to love to get away from the hustle & bustle in their own little cabin with a view. There are tons of gorgeous cabins in Gatlinburg if this is of any interest to you!

While it is very beautiful here, I would still rather be at Disney World...

 

[jessiesue]

Is there anything to see or do in Jan. or Dec.? I started doing a little research and it kind of looks like it shuts down at that time of year.

 

[tinatark]

We live in Sevierville, operate a business in Gatlinburg... here's my .02

BTW - leaves changed very late this year - they're still beautiful!

Jan and Feb are DEAD... Dollywood is closed, most attractions are open but with limited hours.
March, April spring breaks vary through the months, you could hit a busy time.
May and June are busy, but not unbearably so,
July and October are the busiest months,
August, busy and hot.. but schools are starting so traffic is starting to go down some.
September, the Lull before the storm of October,
November is slow, until Thanksgiving week, that week is always busy.
December is slow, but Christmas and New Years' week is always busy!

Your hotel and rental options are unlimited - more hotels than you can count, and more coming in all the time! Plus tons of rental cabins! If you are coming in some of the slower times, I would even say you could get your room once you check stuff out, if you're adventuresome!

Shopping is great - We have a Tanger outlet mall along with several other outlet malls.

We have quite a few shows here, Louise Mandrell (Barbara's little sister), plus many local performer type shows, I've never seen a bad one!

Of course, you can also play the time share game, we have marketeers all over, offering you show tickets and $$ to listen, if you want.

Hope this has been helpful!

 

[Gillian]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Straitlover]

I stayed at the Shular Inn in PF Sept 2002. I thought it was very nice for the price. I believe I pd 41.99/nt or so? I definitely want to go back. I spent way too much time shopping and not enough time sightseeing.

 

[TwinMommy]

We stayed at the Music Road Hotel in September 2003 and it was the BEST! We booked a Family Suite which has a huge balcony and an incredible view of the mountains. We were on the 5th floor. The outdoor water park was still open and the water was very warm. The kids loved the water park which has a lazy river and a water slide. The indoor pool is nice as well. Breakfast is included each morning as well. They have a website with pictures.

Good Luck

 

[MScott1851]

We have a timeshare at Sunrise Ridge.. It's beautiful, off the beaten path, and we always go in December. They start the Festival of Lights this year on November 10, I believe, but we always wait until the Christmas parade in downtown Gatlinburg. My parents went last weekend, and they stayed at a new Comfort Inn in Townsend. They enjoyed it very much, they hate Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge's commercialism and crowds.

P.S. Nashville is a little bit too far..220 miles. I would go with Asheville, NC for a day trip, only about 90 miles. The Biltmore at Christmas is fantastic!

 

[snoopy]

We're visiting Pigeon Forge for the first time this Thanksgiving, and we are staying in one of these cabins, on the recommendation of a friend from the area:

http://www.cabinfevervacations.com/cabin_tours-cabin_detail.php?cid=170&size=8

 

[kilee]

The cabins can't be beat. We loved the one we rented. BTW-- the outlet mall has a Disney outlet . This year we went the week after Easter. We arrived Tuesday after Easter Sunday. The crowds weren't bad. It was busy enough so you felt like there was "something going on", but it wasn't overwhelming. We stayed for 8 days. It was pretty warm during the day too. High 70's. It reached the low 80's twice.

We also ate at the Old Mill-- the food was out of this world.

 

[mom2twinz3]

We were there in August and we liked The Willow Brook Lodge in Pigeon Forge. There was a discount coupon on PigeonForge.com, and we got a poolside room for $75/night including taxes.

It wasn't fancy but was clean and comfortable.

They have a nice pool with a huge twisting slide, and an umbrella fountain in the kiddie pool. They also have an indoor pool and right next to an arcade/laser tag place.

Best part was the free breakfast buffet. Saved us lots of $.

Mary