Pigeon Forge favorite stays??

[Imacarolinagirl]

Might take our girly vacation in Aug this year to Pigeon Forge. We've done the Myrtle Beach-4.5 hours away, went to Hilton Head- 5.5 hrs (did not like :() and now we're thinking back to the mountains.

I've looked on vrbo.com and I'm not ruling that out but I thought I'd ask some of you for suggestions.

We've been there before but this year it'll be me, mom, neice and her baby and my dd. We've stayed at the hotel that sits in front of -slightly cattycorned to--the Old Mill rest and that's a good one but maybe something a bit different.

Would prefer a kitchenette and a pool is a must for the girls. I prefer tubing so that's not a biggie--I'll check out the River Rat for that.

So, any suggestions that won't break the bank??

I'll get coupons for some shows--my mom LOVES the shows. The last time we went to the Chinese circus they pulled my dd up on stage to help twirl the plates.. was cute.. :eyepoppin

[Great Dane Mom]

No suggestions on where to stay. We're staying in Pigeon Forge through a timeshare exchange. I bought the season passes to Dollywood and the Waterpark. We're going in July.

My sister is going soon, maybe she'll pop in here with some suggestions.

[Kandy]

We used Black Bear Lodging. and rented a cabin the last time we went up there.

This is the actual cabin we stayed in. We had a special it was like $80/night for a week

http://www.blackbearlodging.com/hiddentreasures.html


I just hated the driveway... it was a doozy going down into in a car, would have been better in an suv or truck

[Kandy]

Here are their specials.

http://www.blackbearlodging.com/blackbearspecials.html

[Shortness]

Can I ask what you didn't like about Hilton Head? I've thought about going there if we ever do a long trip to that side of the U.S. I'd rather not if there is something that we would not like about it.

[happysunshine28]

Comfort Inn right next to Denny's has a indoor pool, and the rooms are very very clean, each room has its own private balcony. Not sure if they have an outside pool, no kitchette. That is the only hotel I have stayed at in pigeon forge. We have stayed in a chalet ourside of gatlinburg before, no pool but very clean, I forgot the name of the company if was years ago.


I recommend eating at Duffs Restaurant, we eat there everytime we go sometime go to just eat there, lol.

[kmbrly]

We stayed in Sevierville, not far from Pigeon Forge. We were there for the race in Bristol though (90 miles away), but we got to enjoy some of Pigeon Forge and Gaitlinburg when the Busch race got rained out.

[Haley28]

We went to pigeon forge a few years ago. We loved it! I want to go back one day. The kids and I really enjoyed Dollywood! Hope you have a blast!

[jdoug]

Look into chalet rentals. It's been a few years since we went, but we stayed in a chalet and the price was very reasonable. It had a kind of "subdivision" type pool, a jacuzzi bath and a hot tub on the back deck overlooking the mountains.

[Sugar&Spice]

Can I ask what you didn't like about Hilton Head? I've thought about going there if we ever do a long trip to that side of the U.S. I'd rather not if there is something that we would not like about it.

We vacationed there once. I loved it. Dh and dd hated it. I'll be curious to see what carolinagirl doesn't like about it. I probably wouldn't have liked it so much but we lucked into a timeshare stay that was in a complex under construction. We were in a spot that had very few other vacationers, so we pretty much had the pool to ourselves. Dd was just learning to swim, so it was wonderful. It was a snazzy spot and they would send a car to pick you up to take you to the ocean! The water was great, a perfect temp. Of course, this was several years ago. Now, with 2 more kids and all the crap you have to take to the beach, I would hate dealing with the transport. That is a major drawback. Oddly enough, most of the hotels are not directly on the beach. At the time, dh and dd were used to the things to do in Myrtle Beach. HH was much less focused on that. Unless you played golf, there wasn't a ton of stuff to do.

[mudechevy]

I absolutely loved our vacation there a few Christmas' ago. You absolutely MUST eat at the Saw Mill restaurant & The Apple Barn Restaurant.
Make sure you visit the National Park. Pack a picnic and head up to Cades Cove for a day. You will be SO glad you did. :)
We stayed at a cabin that was last minute and hard to find so I think we had slim pickings. We didn't go to Dollywood but we did go see her dinner show. I forget the name of that place! It's on the tip of my tongue. It was cute and the food was so good.

[Kandy]

Dolly's dinner show is the Dixie Stampead (sp) We also went to the Underwater Aquarium & to Ripley's belive it or not.

[Imacarolinagirl]

Can I ask what you didn't like about Hilton Head? I've thought about going there if we ever do a long trip to that side of the U.S. I'd rather not if there is something that we would not like about it.

I'd found a small 2 bedroom condo in a huge complex that was old and a bit rundown.. for the week it was $800 nice tho' compact (READ small) but it was some of the creepy guy neighbors that bothered my mom.. She nor I liked the ogling our pretty girls.. not bragging but truth.. there was one unit we had to walk by to get to the elevators and every afternoon there they were and while they weren't nasty you knew what they were doing.


we went in Aug a couple of years ago and it was SO crowded.. while it's lush and green the signage is all down low mingled with the trees and hard to find stuff. The restaurants are pricey and always crowded.


if you are looking for good water and can take the trip from where you are spend the money and go to the west coast of FL or down to the Gulf Shores area.. much prettier water and some actual waves..

the one good place was a church thrift store--very cool and great prices..

we are limited in travel as I'm the one to drive--I can get a wicked migraine if I'm not careful. She's got restless legs and neuropathy.. and then there's the baby we'll have this time around.. It'll be fun.. I hope..

[Imacarolinagirl]

for the girls we've been there once before.. for myself I've been there several times.

I love to go to Townsend and go tubing and then eat the bbq..

Our last girly trip I locked the keys in the van and we sat at the drug store until the locksmith came.. that was a "funny" moment. I made a scrapbook page for that..

I love the Apple Barn and that's a given.. We've done a couple of shows but not the Comedy Barn so that will be this time around if that's where we end up..

[Imacarolinagirl]

Here are their specials.

http://www.blackbearlodging.com/blackbearspecials.html

checking these out.. I'm loving some of these cuties.. if they don't work out this time it'll be great for a mini vac w/ dh and bf's..

[goldie]

http://www.logcabin.net/