My Favorite Places to Stay in Pigeon Forge

I’ve stayed in a few hotels along the Pigeon Forge strip, mostly cheap deals I’ve found on hotwire.com or similar websites. Most were fine, and some were less so. But the below options are my favorite places to stay in Pigeon Forge and the only ones I can truly recommend by name.

CABINS: A WORD

If you are housing a family, planning to stay for a few days, or planning an otherwise not solo or pair trip–definitely look into the cabin situation in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Simply search for “Pigeon Forge Cabin” or check out VRBO.com to see tons of options at every price point. Getting away from the crowded strip plus having your own kitchen and living room, game room, etc. is super nice if you are seeking family time.

Our family stayed in this cabin in spring of 2017 and we had a fantastic time! You will definitely get more of a quintessential “Smoky Mountain Experience” in a cabin.

But if you are solo, or cabins aren’t your thing, or especially if you’re only staying for one night, there are approximately a million hotels from the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park all the way back to Knoxville. Try to stay near what you most want to visit, but even if you get a hotel in Sevierville, you won’t be far from the action. I wouldn’t stay all the way in Knoxville, though.

GOLF VIEW RESORT

If your goal is Dollywood, however, the Golf View Resort is a fantastic option. Located practically at the back door of Dollywood, there is a trolley stop directly in front of the resort, though more on that later. They have units from two-level 3 bed, 4 bath condos that sleep 8-10 to studio sizes for just one or two.

I stayed in this sweet little studio just perfect for relaxing. There’s kitchen and dining as you walk in the door, then a nice leather couch, a double-sided fireplace, a king-size bed, a HOT TUB, and my favorite, a double-wide recliner. I read several books in that recliner!

Amenities of the resort include outdoor and indoor pools, an exercise room and a sauna! The outdoor pool is down by the check-in building, but the rest are in the basement of the condo building I stayed in. This resort is close enough to Dollywood to see the roller coasters over the trees and hear the train whistle! And Dollywood’s official cabins are just across the street, so you know it’s close.

The Trolley

A word about the trolley–I hate to pay for parking and I love the trolley, and this resort has a trolley stop right in front with a bench and everything. The trouble is, the entrance to the resort is at the bottom of a steep hill and there’s yet another steep hill to get up to the building I was actually staying in. So my solution was to park my car at the check-in building and walk down just the one hill. This may not be a solution for everyone…

Getting picked up by the trolley was no problem–Dollywood is the next stop just around the corner. You could walk it if there were sidewalks instead of ditches. (But don’t try it–the trolley goes in a back entrance and it’s employee-only.)

Getting dropped back off at my resort was an entirely different matter. The first time, I was left on the side of the road across from the resort entrance and had to cross a busy road. The next time, I was dropped down at the golf course and had to cross the busy road AND walk back to my resort with no sidewalks. Finally, they decided that they had to take me all the way back to Patriot Park, unload the whole bus, load it back up, then drop me off at my resort on the correct side of the road. That was a bit much–if I did it again I might opt to drive to Patriot Park since I was moving my car anyway. But it’s still better than paying for parking! #helloimcheap

My Experience

I spent a week once at this unit visiting Dollywood for my first-ever Festival of Nations experience. Not only did I get to see all the fantastic performances multiple times, I got to ride all the rides with little to no wait. Since it was during the week and early in the season, hardly anyone was there! Plus I had some lovely conversations with older visitors there for the festival. I truly felt like I did every single thing there was to do. Dollywood really is only about a one- or two-day park and to stay for four days like I did was overkill, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I did visit some other attractions during the week, like the Titanic Museum, and ate my way through TripAdvisor’s list of top restaurants, but mostly my non-park time was spent in my condo, reading by the fire and relaxing in the hot tub. It was wonderful. 

THE ARBORS AT ISLAND LANDING

The Arbors at Island Landing doesn’t look much different than many of the other mom & pop hotels along the strip, but this one stands out. They have pretty little garden plots wherever they can fit them, an elevated fire pit in the grassy parking lot median, then a whole huge “backyard” with volleyball, disc golf, picnic tables, and an area for a big bonfire for roasting marshmallows, which they do every weekend. The expansive lawn goes right down to the river and you can even rent fishing equipment from the front desk.

Inside, there is a small area for checking in, a small 24-hour snack area to the right with coffee, tea, water, and lemonade, plus donuts and fruit, available any time you want them. To the left is a lofty fireplace room with board games and some nice couches for reading in the sunshine.

The room we were in was spacious and quiet and very clean. Just outside the door was a sort of squashy couch–open to the outside but protected from the rain–and a small table and chairs.

Breakfast is a real treat–they offer breakfast as part of the room rate, but it’s across the street at Reagan’s pancake house. You can either get a pancake breakfast or upgrade to the buffet for a little extra. It’s definitely a Pigeon-Forge-specific step up to your average hotel breakfast.

The Arbors is also very close to The Island area of shops and dining. You can easily walk there on the sidewalk along the street, or through the connected “backyards” of the adjoining hotels. And sitting in a rocking chair by the musical fountains at the island is one of my favorite ways to spend an evening.

Sign up for the Arbors newsletter for special deals. They especially like to treat military and community heroes and will often give deeper discounts for police, firemen, teachers, and EMTs. Rates start around $52, though I usually see them for about $75-80.

INN ON THE RIVER

I stayed at Inn on the River during a holiday weekend by using expiring credit card perks and it was quite a bit more expensive than I would usually do, over $200. This hotel has a much larger lobby and a full breakfast area with seating indoors and outside with the river in view.

And breakfast is very much above par–country ham and biscuits and gravy with oatmeal and grits with all sorts of toppings. There were also eggs, bacon, and sausage, cereal, waffles, and many other “normal” things available that you might find in any hotel breakfast.

This hotel sports an indoor year-round pool in the middle of the long building and rooms that have balconies overlooking the small river. There is also a fire pit towards the front of the hotel, near the breakfast area.

One of my favorite things about the room was the inclusion of a little lap desk, perfect for journaling on the bed or on the balcony. I also noticed when I came in that the standard-issue Gideon’s Bible was open on the dresser with an Inn on the River bookmark in it, marking a particularly jubilant and welcoming passage in Psalms. There were a lot of nice touches in a very comfortable room. I enjoyed it very much.

You’ll find the Inn on the River right next to the Christmas Place, so anytime you’re parking in the rear, you’ll hear Christmas music.

HONORABLE MENTION: THE INN AT CHRISTMAS PLACE

While I have not stayed at The Inn at Christmas Place, it is fun to walk around and the prices are very similar to the Inn on the River, if not lower. First of all, that The Christmas Place is such a draw that they have their own hotel is somewhat amazing. The fact that it’s a really nice hotel is doubly so!

To say this place is dripping with Christmas is an understatement–there are Santa and Christmas-themed everything everywhere, and yet it’s not terribly tacky. It may not be your thing, but it’s not kitschy or cluttered. It’s earnest and honest and good-hearted.

The upper entrance lobby contains the expansive check-in desk, cookies and drinks, and even some exotic birds in the corner that you can look at (but not harass.) But the good stuff is down the stairs. The lower lobby has two couches facing a fireplace complete with a glockenspiel that “performs” every hour from 9 am to 9 pm with a “grand finale” at 9 pm.

You can also run into the “Singing Santa” on select evenings or sometimes at breakfast. I also get a kick that they have patented “sleep in heavenly peace” mattresses in every room. That is commitment to theme!

So while I have not stayed here, I have enjoyed their lower lobby at times when I did not have as nice a place to stay. I find that higher-end hotel lobbies often have very comfortable places to sit and read if you’re looking for a quiet spot.