Hotels near Ober Gatlinburg's Wildlife Encounter, Gatlinburg

Remodel was in progress during our March 2024 stay. I don’t know if that was relevant to the blaring smoke alarm at 8am on a Monday morning but that was a very rude awakening and rough start to our trip. Pros: Nice friendly staff. Room and bathroom were very clean. Location and parking were perfect. It was worth the negatives to be this close to downtown (quick walk). Pancake restaurant next door was a plus. The pool and hot tub looked nice although we didn’t use them. Cons: Did Courtyard invent a new bed size? That felt like the smallest King bed ever. Another review mentioned this too. Very odd bed situation. Pillows were awful. 4 of 6 window panes were permanently fogged so the view that should have been amazing was 2/3 diminished. The Bistro, although staffed with helpful and friendly employees was depressing and empty. The cold food in the Bistro frig looked old and sad (yogurt parfait had separated and pooled substantial liquid in the bottom for example.). The seats were all cracked and badly worn. I was extremely hesitant to order food but the coffee ($3.50 for plain coffee) was tasty enough as it was the only option other than making your own with tap water in the room via the provided single-serve pot. Fairfield’s lobby coffee station was sorely missed during this Courtyard stay! The things that can and hopefully will be addressed during Courtyard’s remodel will allow for us to give this hotel another chance one day perhaps.

Excellent

I really wanted to love this place. The location is perfect to quickly get to the attractions in Gatlinburg without fighting traffic and the views are incredible. The food from vista grille is surprisingly delicious for hotel food and the welcome cookie was so good. The front desk staff and restaurant staff are the best. So polite and friendly each and every time. But this place is busy. It is a convention center and there was an event every day during our stay. There is not ample parking to accommodate a packed hotel during peak season and daily events. Allowing guests to park in the fire lane seems like a major safety issue. The rooms are a decent size however, the beds are not great unless you like sleeping on a worn out extra firm mattress. The rooms also need a deep cleaning. I understand that there is a quick turnover between guests but these rooms haven’t had a good cleaning in years. There was hair left behind from a previous guest in the bathroom and years of dust behind the couch. For almost $300/night, I expected more.

Okay there’s a bit to talk about here. Mostly good! Cons: If you are a bit of a clean nut - this place isn’t for you. The one *major* thing that bothered me was the bedding. There wasn’t a mattress cover between the sheet and the mattress and I just kept thinking about everyone who laid there before me. The carpet was in need of a steam because if you walked barefoot it made your feet turn black. I wore my flip flops the whole time. The room smelled a bit like smoke and we ended up going to get an air freshener. We did also have turn down service but they only did our bathroom and didn’t make our bed. Very funny lol but we weren’t too upset. I think the place just needs to be renovated/a deep clean and it would be perfect. I was in room 266. Also, the breakfast isn’t eggs and bacon etc. It’s biscuits and gravy which in my opinion was not the tastiest and simple things like cereal and bagels. It’s great in a pinch. Pros: That river balcony is everything. It’s such a soothing sound and you see bears almost every day. We saw 3 bears during our stay. I would come back just for that! There are two pools which are often never used. There is one that seems to be for adults which I had to myself one afternoon. The walk to town is about a mile one way - which after hiking the smokies all day is the last thing you want to do but it’s nice to be out of the crowds. Amazing breakfast and bbq spot across the street. The staff were so nice and helpful. Overall - happy with the experience but I am someone who is picky about sanitation and that’s why I docked the star. You get what you pay for. If you don’t mind an older spot that needs some love, this is a perfect place.

Checked in 10/11 when we arrived at our rooms we had 4 there were 16 of us one room we could not get into. The card unlocked the door but the security bar was in place and we couldnt get in. Tried calling front desk several times with no answer. Went down to lobby to find around 20 men that did not speak English in the lobby being very loud and disruptive. They would crowd in front and put there phone in the young lady at the desks face im assuming translating it to English. When i got to speak with her she had manger on the phone so he was telling her what to do to get into the room She came upstairs and tried with a piece of copper wire that was unsuccessful. She said she was going to go get a different tool and we continued to try to get the door open knocking and yelling to see if anyone was in the room with no response. We worked for 45 minutes or so and finally got into the room, to find a lady with 2 children in the room. She was yelling at us to get out. Which only one stepped inside to try to explain why we were there. Something was very suspicious about her. So i went back downstairs to tell the young lady at the desk that we have another issue she still on the phone with the manager and said she would get a different room. Before we had asked for a different room we were told they had no vacancies they were book. But somehow had a room for us then. The young lady was still dealing with these men in the lobby. She came up and entered the room to check and be sure it was good. Shame on the manager for not coming in to assist her, she said she was the only person in property for all night. Ifeel that was a very poor manager that left her in that situation However was very concerned with her safety. And ours as well at that point. So and hour and a half had passed and it was almost midnight before we got a room. On Sunday morning we went up to the breakfast are and there were all those same men very load and rude crowding taking up all the seating and taking 3 plates of food at a time. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. Its a beautiful facility but the management is terrible!

We were on a road trip from Wales, and after staying here in 2019, we chose it again for 1 night between our 2 days in Dollywood as it provides the excellent, and complimentary, TimeSaver pass and shuttle to the park (parking is free at the hotel). Logan on the desk was fantastic - thank you very much!! The hotel itself is beautiful and very comfortable and homely. The decor is tasteful (with Dolly pics here and there) and there is a great coffee shop on site where you can also buy cinammon bread (why wouldn't you?). Minor quibble with the room which was on the 3rd floor (2nd UK), but at the very end of the building so a little bit of a walk for our tired legs! But the room itself was as our previous visit, very comfortable and clean. The grounds are beautiful with a butterfly garden, fire pits for smores, lovely pool (also an indoor pool), kids play areas and a covered area that shows family films in the evenings. Pokeberry Lane is a nice little gift shop selling Dolly, Dollywood and Dreammore souvenirs. Unfortunately the budget on a 2-week road trip from the UK means we had to restrict ourselves to 1 night - but if the price was just a little bit less we would have definitely stayed the full 4 nights we were in the Smokies. That being said, it is a very well-appointed hotel and probably worth the price in today's climate.

We have stayed here several times in the past. As you can see by my previous reviews. Unfortunately the renovations must have been cosmetic. The place again is looking very tired. I actually watched a cleaning lady use a lint roller type of contraption on the end of a broom handle to “vacuum “ the floor. Not one vacuum cleaner was seen anywhere on premises with any cleaning lady. One lady foot mopped the bathroom floor with a dirty guest towel. It’s like a restaurant, once you see the bad things no matter if they improve, you can’t unsee it. So I’m done with this hotel. I’m sure it happens everywhere but when you see it. 🤔🤔 you start questioning everything . The breakfast was like it was cooked way earlier. We got there at 7:30 and the biscuits were rock hard. We asked for fresh and she said that’s it. The eggs were room temp and everything else is mediocre. The waffles were good. Very low grade syrup. It’s Best just use butter and fruit. I get it times are changing and food prices are rising, but if it’s sub par just stop offering it. The room prices were on par with others around the area but the amenities were definitely lacking here. The whole place smelled like my grandparents basement from the 70’s. Not too terrible but a definite musty damp smell no matter where you were in the hotel. Beds were comfortable, room was adequate once you stopped noticing the musty smell. BOTTOM LINE: This used to be my go to place for price and convenience and quality in pigeon forge. Maybe it’s a combination of factors, staff, environment, inflation etc why they have let it get into a motel 6 category but I’m done with this place for good or until some SERIOUS changes are made. We had a family weekend and we had three rooms here. All members felt the same as I do. Unfortunately it was me that made the reservations for the family so I had to endure the complaints. I WOULD NOT STAY HERE AGAIN OR RECOMMEND ANYONE ELSE TO UNLESS SOME LARGE CHANGES ARE MADE. **side note. Front desk staff were very friendly and professional