Need help with the Gatlinburg area

[KiminChicago]

OK, I don't want this to turn into a debate on whether exchanging is a good value for my points so please don't comment on that.

DH and I have discussed what to do with next year's points and we can't really afford back to back trips to WDW so we were considering trying to exchange our points for a week in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. We passed through the area last year while driving down to Hilton Head and the kids (DS12 and DD10) were really interested in going back.

I've checked the RCI site and I have no clue where to start checking out the resorts available to us.

Can anyone give me some idea how to get started?

Thanks!

 

[arthur06]

I have never been there, but am really interested in an August '10 trip... We will be at WDW in 2 weeks and Disney Cruise in Dec '10... So we wanted to mix it up a bit... However, we will NOT be exchanging points for our trip. I will be very interested in what others have to say. We did Rushmore/Black Hill last June and had a great time.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

My sister loves going to the Gatlinburg area. I think they recently stayed at the Wyndham at Sevierville, which I think is a RCI hotel. Anyway...they liked it! They enjoyed the indoor waterpark.

 

[Sammie]

Depends on what your options are, what time of year you are going and what you are interested in doing.

I much prefer the Gatlinburg area to Pigeon Forge, but there are fun things to do at Pigeon Forge, such as Dollywood.

You might start with the TripAdvisor rankings and see if any of the ones you were considering are listed. I am familar with Gatlinburg Town Square as far as the location which is great, not familar the actual lodgings. We always rent from a private owner in a cabin.

 

[KiminChicago]

From what I can find going from the Member site to RCI, there are only two RCI resorts in Gatlinburg that we can exchange into. From the reviews, it sounds like the one resort has problems with noise coming through the walls of the units from neighboring units, and the other has rather outdated furnishings. I guess I can deal with older furniture if there isn't any noise.....

 

[Sammie]

From what I can find going from the Member site to RCI, there are only two RCI resorts in Gatlinburg that we can exchange into. From the reviews, it sounds like the one resort has problems with noise coming through the walls of the units from neighboring units, and the other has rather outdated furnishings. I guess I can deal with older furniture if there isn't any noise.....

What are the two? If not acceptable definitely check Pigeon Forge and even Sevierville.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We stay in hotels, so I can't help you out with accomodations, but we love the Pigeon Forge, Smoky Mountain area for recreation and attractions that are offered. Dollywood shows are the best and our thrill seeking friends enjoy the rides. Food is reasonably priced and delicious.

Smoky Mountain NP has lots of ranger led activities to enjoy, hiking as well as sharing the music, cultural heritage of the region.

We go to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg at least 3 weekends a year. I hope you find something and that you enjoy the region.

Bobbi

 

[phyllisnnj]

From DVC's RCI website - http://b2b.rci.com/RDGateway/Functional/RDMain.jsp?clubId=102

Holiday Inn Club Vacations Smoky Mountain Resort (#7540)
Gatlinburg, TN 37738

MountainLoft Resort II (#8883)
Gatlinburg, TN 37738

Tree Tops Resort (#2208)
Gatlinburg, TN 37738

Sunrise Ridge Resort (#3876)
Pigeon Forge, TN 37863

Wyndham Smoky Mountains (#5993)
Sevierville, TN 37862


Read reviews on RCI's website, Tripadvisor, TUG and timeshareforums

 

[r_mccool]

We stayed in Gatlinburg a couple of years ago. Our home resort did a direct exchange for us. I think it was through Global Connections (or something like that). The condo was wonderful just a couple blocks from the main drag. We prefer Gatlinburg over Pigeon Ford because it is just beautiful and much more laid back. I know the condo we stayed in was not available through RCI but there are some other companies out there that will do direct exchanges if your home resort participates in the direct exchanges. Hope you find something, sure you will have a good time.

 

[RobDoc]

We've been enjoying Gatlinburg for 30 years now and have stayed in a number of chalets, resorts and timeshares in the area.

Our preference is to stay in Gatlinburg, but Pigeon Forge is only a 5 mile drive away and is not a hardship at all.

Holiday Inn Club is located right "downtown" and many things are within walking distance. The resort enjoys a great view of the smoky mtns and is close to the entrance to the park. It is a relatively new resort (formerly named Crowne Plaza).

We own floating time at Tree Tops which is located adjacent to the park on a great mountain stream. It has nice amenities and is currently being rehabbed. The resort is 20+ years old, but is well maintained. It is a member resort of Amber Vacations with sister resorts in Pigeon Forge, Kissimmee, FL and Ormond Beach, FL.

Sunrise Ridge is located in Pigeon Forge and is another Amber member. It is located on a mountain ridge with a nice view of the Smokies and you can even hear the train whistle from Dollywood. It's about a mile drive into Pigeon Forge and about 7 miles to Gatlinburg.

We took our family to Pigeon Forge in July and took everyone on a whitewater raft trip (we found one that allows 3 year olds on the trip - so we had 5 adults and 5 kids aged 8,8,6,5,and 3 ). We stayed at Sunrise Ridge (we've stayed there many times) and had two 2BR units and a 1BR. Sunrise is a pretty new resort (less than 10 years) with nice room amenities and activities.

Mountain Loft is another older resort with a GREAT view. Wyndham is a recent resort but I have not personally visited that resort.

 

[phyllisnnj]

Rental Options

RCI's public rental website - http://www.wyndham-vacations.com/
Timeshare User Group's (TUG) rental and exchange page - http://tug2.com/TimeshareMarketplace/default.aspx
Additional rental options - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17673

 

[KiminChicago]

The only two that came up for me were Tree Tops and Mountain Loft. I checked the reviews on the RCI site and Mountain Loft was the one with the noise problem. If Tree Tops is being rehabbed now, it might be a good choice for next summer.

I'll have to check on a few of the others too -- the Holiday Inn sounds good. We stayed in a Crowne Plaza in Toronto once and it was incredible.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions! Now we just have to choose a week and try for an exchange. I was considering late June or early August (July is a really busy month for us). Is one better than the other as far as crowds, etc.?

 

[littlestar]

If you don't find anything with RCI, I'd check out a cabin rental. We've rented from Cabin Fever and had a wonderful log home that had more luxury features than our home. Their site has pictures (interior and exterior):

http://www.cabinfevervacations.com/index.html

 

[phyllisnnj]

The only two that came up for me were Tree Tops and Mountain Loft.

It depends on how you did the search (see below).

From the left hand column...
- If you start with "Family Vacation" under Vacation Type, then continue to filter down to "Tennessee" you will only get 2 choices.
- If you start with "Mid South" under Region (ignoring the Vacation Type filter) you will get all possible choices for Tennessee

 

[RumpleMom]

We enjoyed Labor Day weekend in Gatlinburg.

We had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and then walked around the corner to the Sweet Fanny Adams Theater. It's a small theater presenting a 1890's style of musical comedy. It was hilarious. You can see an example on youtube. Our twentysomething kids liked it as much as we did.

 

[ILuvMulan]

We live on the "other side of the mountains" so we visit Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge often however we do not stay overnight, so I am not much help on the reservations. I just wanted to suggest that you come in mid-October for the fall leaves... they are why I moved back to this region as soon as I could!!!

 

[KiminChicago]

Unfortunately, October won't work for us for the next few years. DS is in 7th grade this year and although we are taking him out of school for three days next week to go to WDW, DH and I are agreed that this would be the last year we'd do that. He's in all advanced classes and we're worried that he might have difficulty keeping up if he misses too much school.

 

[kimberh]

I have stayed at Tree Tops and Mountain Loft. We are staying at Mountain Loft again Oct 25th. It is a Bluegreen Resort which I own here in Charleston. Tree Tops has a wonderful stream, I just love it, but Mountain Loft has a view. I think they both have fireplaces, but have not stayed at Tree Tops in about 6 years. Which one had the noise issue? I have not had that at either one. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, we just never experienced it.

 

[ILuvMulan]

Unfortunately, October won't work for us for the next few years. DS is in 7th grade this year and although we are taking him out of school for three days next week to go to WDW, DH and I are agreed that this would be the last year we'd do that. He's in all advanced classes and we're worried that he might have difficulty keeping up if he misses too much school.

That's too bad!! Although I totally understand... my oldest started middle school this year and my other two start next year. I know it will be harder to take them out of school from now on

 

[KiminChicago]

We decided to go with the Holiday Inn. I just got off the phone with Member Services and we were able to get 7 nights at the end of July. The CM sounded really surprised that we were able to book anything -- I was surprised to learn that there is an automatic $35/day housekeeping fee.

DD will be thrilled, the fifth graders at our elementary school have to do a national parks report so she chose the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She can help me while we research the area.

We drove through the park on our way down to HHI last year and I think we're going to have a great time!