Interval Int'l Trade-Gatlinburg, TN

[Picmac]

Anyone ever traded for the resorts in Gatlinburg, TN?

 

[Dean]

Anyone ever traded for the resorts in Gatlinburg, TN?

Yes but not through Disney. Of the 3 resorts on the list, Westgate is the best but they are a bear to deal with from a sales standpoint. They'll chase you until you give in and hound you until you buy or get in their face. Just don't answer the phone if you take it. The other 2 are in both II and RCI so less units in II, esp for GTS. You can likely do better privately for one of these or other resorts like Bluegreen's Mountainloft up the Mountain in Gatlinburg or Wyndham's resort in Sevierville next to the outlets or the Crown Park next to GTS. There are a couple of others worth considering as well. You should be able to rent a 2 BR for the value of 1 BR trade using points, possibly less. We had nine 2 BR units at Mountainloft this summer for a family trip, one of our all time favorite trips.

 

[littlestar]

My parents own at Westgate Smoky Mountains. The unit we stayed in with mom and dad was very nice. It was a large 1 bedroom with a fireplace. We slept on the pull out couch for a couple of nights when we visited them at the resort. The unit was very nice and clean. The resort has a terrific indoor water park with a lazy river. I've heard that there are different sizes of one bedrooms. I'm sure mom and dad were staying in a large one bedroom because it had to be between 900 and 1,000 square feet.

The bad thing about Westgate is how pushy the sales people are. I wouldn't dare answer the phone at Westgate or EVER do a sales tour.

 

[Dean]

Not sure about Westgate but some companies have gotten in to having lockoff's with a small and large 1 BR unit. Bluegreen has done this recently a fair amount, Marriott to a degree now. It can be good and bad but generally it's been bad with BG because you can't really exchange them with RCI or II. The one thing I've noticed with Bluegreen for many of their resorts including Mountainloft is you get a full kitchen, W/D, gas fireplace and separate BR (queen) in the smaller 1 BR. It's also bad exchanging in because it means you have little ability to control which size you get. All you can do is accept the exchange and then decline it if you don't like the info (non DVC). With DVC it's even worse because while you can put a unit on hold, you can't cancel in the first 24 hours like you can with II directly or RCI.

 

[Picmac]

So the Westgate is first choice, right?

We are looking to go mid to late June before the crowds get too much for the summer months.

 

[Dean]

So the Westgate is first choice, right?

We are looking to go mid to late June before the crowds get too much for the summer months.

Using DVC and given the choices, Westgate would be my first choice. We were there at Mountainloft 13-21 Jan this year and it was fairly busy then. The busiest will be the first 3 weeks of Oct., followed very closely by late June through July. Anything after the dates we were there will not help you with crowds from what I've seen, if then. The earlier in June the better from both a crowd and availability standpoint.

Personally I wouldn't exchange to there using DVC. You can rent a week for likely under $1000 for a 2 BR, less for a 1 BR, at or less than the price of the dues on those points. IMO, it's actually a better deal to pay cash and then use the DVC points for other items like Cruises, even though I don't think they're a good value either, just not as low a return comparatively.

 

[littlestar]

Something I remembered about mom and dad's one bedroom at Westgate was that we were in the main building next to the check-in that had elevators. On the entrance to the unit, there was what I would call a vestibule with a shared washer and dryer for the unit next door. So basically two units would share a washer and dryer.

There were a lot of separate log buildings that looked like cabins that meandered up a big hillside/mountain. I don't know what the washer and dryer setup on those cabin units would be. Some of the cabin units were perched on steep hills - which would probably make it hard for older people (like me who just turned 50) to walk and keep their balance without rolling down a hill (laughter).

Dean - what do you know about Treetops Resort and Gatlinburg Town Square? I've been curious about those two. Gatlinburg Town Square looks like it's right smack dab in the middle of the action.

Here are some floor plans for Westgate Smoky Mountains. The 3D tours are neat:

http://www.westgateresorts.com/inde...ID=WESTGATE_SMOKY_MOUNTAIN&fileHandle=wgsm_03

 

[RobDoc]

We own at Tree Tops and , while it is a great setting, it is a little remote from the rest of Gatlinburg. It is literally at the boundary of the Nat'l Park at the exit end of the Motor Nature Trail.

We will be staying at Gatlinburg Town Square next spring and stayed at Crown Park (next door) this past summer. The location is great - just off the main drag about 2 blocks, but still with a great view of the mtns and very centrally located. We really enjoyed our stay at Crown Park and are looking forward to Town Square.

We have stayed many times at Sunrise Ridge - which is near Dollywood in Pigeon Forge - about 6 miles from G'Burg. It's also very nice with great a great view of Mt. LeConte.

 

[littlestar]

Thanks for the info, Doc. Gatlinburg is such a reasonable drive from Indy that it makes a great getaway.

 

[Dean]

Dean - what do you know about Treetops Resort and Gatlinburg Town Square? I've been curious about those two. Gatlinburg Town Square looks like it's right smack dab in the middle of the action.

As Rob noted they are both (GTS & Crown Park) essentially downtown about 1-2 blocks up from the convention center. This can be good for walking access and bad if you want more of a mountain experience. Crown Park is likely nicer but GTS is pretty good, esp if you get the newer section. I don't want to be in that close for a week. I'll defer to Rob on Tree Tops given he owns there. I think it really depends on what you want out of it. We wanted mountains but to be close though not too close. Mountainloft and Westgate would be perfect for that. We never really found parking a problem but I could see where others would.

Rob, how were the Crown Park units from an upscale standpoint?

 

[RobDoc]

Crown Park is brand new - they still have an active sales force and will call you to offer a tour (we did NOT take the tour). The accommodations were very nice. We had a 1BR and it was well appointed although a little on the small side.

Tree Tops is a much older resort with all 2BR villas. It is on a stream in a very wooded area. It's a beautiful location but too far to walk to get into G'Burg itself (it's a 3 minute drive though). I would suggest taking the Motor Nature Trail - it cuts thru a remote area of the Park and has a number of hiking trails as well as some old buildings to see. Tree Tops is located at the exit of the one-way motor trail.

We've been going to Gatlinburg since the late 70's and have watched the community grow with mtn. chalets, timeshares and resort and restaurant chains replacing the local cabins, restaurants and stores. In some cases, the changes are wonderful and in others, not-so-much ... but we continue to return at least once a year and usually more often.

 

[Dean]

Crown Park is brand new - they still have an active sales force and will call you to offer a tour (we did NOT take the tour). The accommodations were very nice. We had a 1BR and it was well appointed although a little on the small side.

Thanks Rob, I know it's new and it looked pretty upscale from what I could see. We usually do one tour a week when traveling with timeshares but didn't this particular week due to the nature of our large group of 35 and need to be available given we were the "travel agents" so to speak coordinating for our family and making sure we mixed and mingled as fairly as possible.