Gatlinburg Info
 

I'd appreciate any opinions or info from people who've stayed in Gatlinburg, TN: <BR>motels, restaurants, etc. Thanks.

The Park Vista is probably one of the nicest hotels in Gatlinburg. It sits Above the town. You actually look down on the space needle the town has for sight seeing. Tell them you want a room overlooking the town facing the road coming in from Pigeon Forge. You will find all the national chains in Pigeon Forge (just outside Gatlinburg) and the prices are somewhat cheaper. I simply prefer to stay in Gatlinburg. I have stayed been up there 8 or 10 times, most recently in April. <BR> <BR>

Unless you enjoy crowds and conjested roads, I'd stay out of Gatlinburg proper. I recommend renting a cabin or condo off the beaten path and only venture into town if you have to.

I love Gatlinburg..sure it is crowded but it still is one of my favorite places to stay...we have been there about 8 times and just went in April for 3 nights...I like staying in the town since you can park at your hotel and walk everywhere. Some people complain because Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg have gotten more commercial lately but I still like being there...there are several hotels in town to stay at and also the above poster mentioned the Park Vista..we stayed there years ago and it was very nice. Great indoor pool. Not really within walking distance but they do have their own shuttle to take you into town that I think runs every 30 mins. <BR>Also, the second poster mentioned Chalets or cabins...they are certainly great to stay at..we have done that also but then you would have to drive into town whenever you wanted a rest. or shopping. It would just depend on what your interests are but they have some really gorgeous places to stay at with great scenery..if you want to go to Pigeon Forge they have a trolley that runs from Gatlinburg...they have a website that can give you all kinds of info. We stayed at a condo the last time we went..they have everything fro a Pizza Hut to gourmet restaurants.. <BR>Hope this helps. If you need further info then let me know.. <BR>

Sal, We might not agree on Berns, but we are in sync when it comes to Gatlinburg! <BR> <BR>We rented a beautiful two story, 4 bedroom, log home with wide porches overlooking the Smokies, and up the side of it's own mountain, well away from town. As beautiful as the home was, wild horses couldn't get me back to that town again. If there were decent restaurants we didn't find them. The shops were forgettable. Traffic jams were miles long. <BR> <BR>We inched our way through Cades Cove with my normally serene, laid back husband getting so stressed by the traffic that when a bear appeared in the woods just off our side, he refused to pull over to look because he'd lose his place in the creeping line of cars trying to get out of there! <BR> <BR>Our one pleasant experience was a hike we took into an area of virgin forest. It was stunningly beautiful...but we hiked in well over an hour just to get away from the crowds. <BR> <BR>All in all, it rates as the absolute worst, hands down, mini-vacation we've had in our 32 years of marriage. JMHO

Gatlinburg is the ultimate tourist trap, from my experience, Enter at your own risk.

Love to hike in the Smokies, but can relate to other posters' comments on Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. If you're a camper, camping at the Cosby Campground allows you to do hikes in/out of the campground. My favorite place for indoor accommodations is the Little Greenbrier Lodge, a B&B in Sevierville. From it, you can go into the upper end of Gatlinburg from the National Park road. I do not care for the traffic between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Another good place to stay is in Townsend, which bills itself as the "peaceful side of the Smokies." While I've only camped over there, I plan to check out a nice B&B there, the Richmont Inn.

Olive Oyl <BR> <BR>Gatlinburg is awful, which is too bad because the region is beautiful. When we travel up that way we stay in Townsend with friends who have a summer home. Great story about Cades Cove. Sounds like my husband. <BR> <BR>I went to the University of Tennessee, and the summer after my Jr. year (many moons ago) a couple of sorority sisters and I decided to rent a place in Gatlinburg and work there for a couple of months. We found this rickety house with bad plumbing (we didn't care, we were 20)and a landlord named Junior(no kidding-we found him drunk, sleeping it off, on our couch when we got home one night--he let himself in "cause mama don't like it when I drink"). What a cast of characters we encountered that summer. <BR> <BR>Anyway, my mother came for a visit and when she saw the house etc., she refused to leave until I packed up and went home with her. She called the other mothers and they did the same. It was fun while it lasted. <BR> <BR>

Suggest everyone search back and look at an earlier thread about G. It was generally agreed that G. is a HOLE, and after it burned down some years ago, it should never have been rebuilt. For some reason, people said it never burned. Let me repeat ... that is no socially redeeming reason for G's existence, none at all. We've done a lot of AT hikes in the Smokies, so we've seen G. a lot ... it is awful, as it has always been. It actually used to advertise bear brugers ... black bears from the park, no doubt. Just a charming pit!! Traffic city ... just so non-chic. There's really no need to continue this thread now ... my word is my bond, completely reliable and unbiased. Just ask my mom. Ciao

Hi Kelly, <BR> <BR>I was in Gatlinburg yesterday 5/15. I live in the next county. My family heritage is Sevier County where Gatlinburg lies. <BR> <BR>Sadly, I must concur with much you have read in this thread. It is like the invasion of the body snatcher. The charming Gatlinburg I knew as a child & teen is long gone. It has been stolen from us by big bucks from other places who spot a "niche" for one more horrible addition. <BR> <BR>Yesterday I met a friend from New England who was there for a conference. She laughed about the haunted house next to her motel and the sea water aquarium in the mountains. We spotted another haunted house & giggled about whether there was room for a 3rd. Yep, we spotted yet a third haunted house. There might have been more. <BR> <BR>Re the Park Vista, it is a short distance from the main street. If you want to walk to everything at your own convenience, then stay in town at maybe the EdgeWater or Terrace View. Or the many other chain hotels. <BR> <BR>All the chain restaurants are there...Hard Rock, TGIFridays, etc. I hope you will seek out the more local restaurants. Ask the desk clerk. <BR> <BR>Re Townsend being "peaceful side of the smokies"....well, the body snatcher are there too. The place is torn up with a widening of the highway that runs through Townsend. The road is very controversial since many locals don't want it since it will just open the gate wider to more traffic. Also Native American graves were found which created all kinds of controversy. Unfortunately, 'progress' can't be stopped & the road continues. (Should I mention that the Governor bought land that the road will lead to???) <BR> <BR>Fortunately, the weather was perfect yesterday and the traffic was light. When we made the Cades Cove loop we saw a large black bear...with the usual really ignorant people with cameras chasing it on foot. Never mind the fact that we had a local woman to be attacked and eaten by a bear last year. <BR> <BR>I'm sorry to be so discouraging. Gatlinburg is just not what it used to be because of uncontrolled growth(?) and greed. <BR> <BR>If your trip is already set, I hope you have a wonderful trip and don't encounter the usual problems. Much of it will depend on when you plan to go. Anytime between June and Sept. is very congested. But maybe you enjoy that kind of thing. <BR> <BR>Good luck! I wish you could have seen the Gatlinburg that used to be. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Not sure if you are interested in Gatlinburg specifically, or staying near Smokie Mountain Park, but if it is the latter, may I suggest considering the Maggie Valley area on North Carolina side of the park. Many years ago my husband and I visited the area and stayed a few days in the Maggie Valley area at the Catalouchee Ranch, and then a few days in Gatlinburg. We absolutely loved staying at Catalouchee, and were very disappointed with Gatlinburg. (We wished we had just stayed the whole time at Catalouchee). The Catalouchee Ranch has a website, and I have talked to people who stayed there recently who spoke highly of it ... so I believe it still retains the ambience it had when we were there. We found Gatlinburg, and especially Pigeon Forge, to be way too touristy and overrun with people for our tastes, and lacking in true charm that we have experienced in other towns visited on many vacations. Some people just love it, so you really have to know yourself and what you like/dislike ... What types of places in the past that you have visited that you really enjoyed; what have you disliked? My husband and I tend to like more out-of-the-way places with great ambience (but not too isolated) that are not overrun with too many tourists. Although I like to do some shopping at interesting shops and stores on vacation, our vacations are not centered around going from shop to shop with hourds of other people ... we found Gatlinburg to be this was.

As someone who was in G. more than 30 years ago, let me tell you G. has always been a visual mess and tourist trap ... always a single road with cheap shops on either side, and traffic jams like you could not believe. My earliest memory is the early 1960''s when we began to backpack in the park. When I hear that G. of someone's childhood was different, I have to think they're perhaps 70-80 years old. Anyway, that's my two cents worth. You may bypass G. and miss only negatives. Ciao.

Have stayed in Gatlinburg 4 times. Always stayed in a beautiful home high in the mountains.. Wood Song. Hot tub on balcony, beautiful wood finishes and the view is probably the best, for one whole side of the house is glass. Never needed to go into town, although it is decorated nicely in the fall (October) and around Christmas (lights). There is too much traffic and the shops are like everywhere else..

Sorry but I have to both agree and strongly DISAGREE with the prior posters. Everyone is correct in that if you are looking for an out of the way uncrowded back to nature type vacation, Gatlinburg is NOT the place to go. Though there is some nice scenery in the park, the town if very touristy. <BR> <BR>However I still very much ENJOY the touristiness of Gatlinburg (in small doses). We have been 3 times with our children on minin vacations and love it. Yes, ther are more T-shirt shops, haunted houses, wax museums, indian jewelry places etc than you can count, but we had fun. Our children like staying in town (I believe we stayed at a Days Inn up a small hill in the town) and riding the trolley to visit these tourist traps. Tackiness is fun for a change. We did all th etacky stuff, even saw a haunted house, went to wax museum, played Hillbilly mini golf, went to Dollywood theme park and Ober Gatlinburg. we are not snobs and enjoy this for a break every now and then even though we feel like the Griswalds its fun. <BR> <BR>My husbnd and I also took a romantic long weekend to the area once and found a fabulous B&B in Sevierville called Christopher Place. Very sophisticated, elegant, and out of the way of Gatlinburg! If you like Vegas or the Wisconsin dells, you'll like Gatlinburg, if not , then BEWARE!

Question: How does Gatlinburg compare to Cherokee, NC? <BR> <BR>April was our first time to GSNP. We stayed in a very nice cabin in Cherokee. Drove thru GSNP into Gatlinburg. From the 10 minutes we were there (stopped in a hotel just for the heck of it), Gatlinburg seemed like a nice place to anchor for the GSNP trip. <BR> <BR>Anybody care to compare?

I have visited Gatlinburg for over 35 years, and Pigeon Forge for the last 13. Both have always had their "tacky" parts. Most tourist destinations do. And, most tourist destinations are crowded. That's a sure sign someone likes it. However, despite some tackiness and congestion, I still enjoy Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The tourists visitng these areas have alwaays been pleasant and polite. I enjoy walking the crowded sidewalks of Gatlinburg looking at unique shops. I love to drive through the National Park and hike the trails. I also enjoy the outlet shopping in Pigeon Forge. My favorite place to stay in Gatlinburg is Oak Square. These are condos with covered parking and a pool. They are just two blocks from the main road through Gatlinburg. Some family members recently stayed at a new Motel Six in Pigeon Forge, and they were very happy. I have stayed in town, and at a condo up on a mountain. I much prefer to be in the middle of town so I can walk around and "people watch." As far as shows, I enjoyed Dixie Stampede and Country Tonight. <BR>

And there you have it. One man's meat is another's poison. One thing is for certain...we're wildly diverse group!

I enjoy going to the Smokies in fall when the leaves are turning. The middle of October is beautiful. we usually rent a condo or chalet away from town, bu tgo into town for dinner etc. In my opinion you will find more restaurants in the Gatlinburg area rather than Pigeon Forge area. The town is very crowded so try to take the trolley in rather than drive. You will lose your sanity driving in Gatlinburg! go to the Dixie Stampede for the show and food especially if you have kids!

We go to the Smokies quite frequently because it is a short 4 hour drive from our home in KY. There are outlets aplenty for shopping and I shop while my husband plays golf. There are some nice courses there. Then we have a very nice dinner at "The Peddler" or "The Park Grill". While there is certainly a downside to the traffic, there could most certainly be far worse ways to spend a weekend....shopping, golf, and great food and wine. We like to stay in Pigeon Forge at a cabin in the mountains....it is very secluded and quite lovely (hiddenmountain.com). This is a "touristy" place, no doubt. Although it doesn't seem to matter to large crowds who frequent the place. Give it a try....you may enjoy it as we do.

I agree with cindy that The Peddler is a very nice restaurant. You may have a long wait, though. I don't believe they take reservations.