Gatlinburg is one vacation destination spot that has seemingly exploded in the popularity lately. However, what is going to make the trip is figuring out where you are going to stay and this definitely holds true in the summer months when the popularity of Gatlinburg as a top travel destination seems to soar even more than normal. I guess that would come with the fact that the kids are off school, but also the lack of snow problems in the summer means the mountains tend to be open all the time. Now, it is time to find what we at, Travel To Gatlinburg, seem to view as the 5 best Gatlinburg resorts to stay in during the summer.
How Did We Narrow Down Our Five Best Resorts In Gatlinburg List
The list that we have here is based off of what we feel are the five best. It is opinion based off of what I tend to look for and what suits my family best. Now, each person will have their own needs in the resorts in Gatlinburg that they opt to stay in, but I will tell you that for a family with teens and a younger child these are all great options.
The way that we narrowed down the list was by first looking for the pools and what the pools looked like.
The second thing that we tended to look for was more along the lines of any on-site restaurant.
With the third thing we looked at we tended to look at the ease of access to Gatlinburg the city itself. Yes, I know you can easily drive, but I want to walk the meals off and enjoy myself and take in all the sounds and sites in the town.
The final thing that I took into consideration and played a major role in the selection of the resorts in Gatlinburg was the traffic. I hate traffic and that is the one thing that I dislike with Gatlinburg is having to sit for twenty to thirty minutes to get where I want to go in town.
Those are the major considerations that played a role in the resorts that are ranked here, but I did have some others that I do not consider to be a major factor and are not listed.
Introducing The Five Best Resorts In Gatlinburg To Stay In During The Summer
Margaritaville Resort Gatlinburg
Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Water Park
Park Vista – DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
Holiday Inn Club Vacations Smoky Mountain Results
River Terrace Resort and Convention Center
As you can tell the list is fairly limited because we only want the 5 best resorts in Gatlinburg for your summer vacation. However, we also know that a lot of us are concerned about the same issues. With that being the case here is our little bit more in-depth reviews, but make sure you check out each hotels individual page on our site as well which has a complete top down review.
Margaritaville Resort Gatlinburg
The Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg is a fairly new resort in Gatlinburg. However, it is also a resort that has been maintained even with all the COVID restrictions that were in place last year. Now, coming to this year the resort is rated as the top hotel in Gatlinburg and is one that has proven to be the best.
The location of the resort here is coming in with a great location on the parkway. However, what else is great about the resort is the fact that it is going to be one that allows you to have easy access to everything.
The amenities on site is a pool, that is simply amazing and comfortable. The resort also features a nice lounge type of area.
With most of us, myself included the Internet is an invaluable tool to have available. At the Margaritaville Resort it has free high speed Internet, but also WiFi for you to use as well. This means you can finally post all of your vacation pictures as you take them if you want, which I do not advise doing, and let your friends know what a great time you have had.
Traveling with children is common for a lot of people who come to Gatlinburg and sometimes the parents want some alone time. While most places do not offer this, the Margaritaville even has children activities that are extra in cost in most cases, but well worth it if you want to sneak out for a meal for 2 or just want some quiet time by the pool.
Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Water Park
Okay, I know that I said that the location was an invaluable tool to help us in figuring out where to stay, but the Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort is one that snuck onto the list. The location is outside of the town proper, which means a you do have to drive. However, you are able to go to sleep without the headache at tonight of the traffic or worry about people going by.
Now, one the downside since you are driving to get to the town it does mean that you are spending money on gasoline to get to the town, but also having to deal with traffic. Then you have the added hassle of trying to find a parking space if you decide to stop in the town.
Now, as you can tell by the name the one thing that really made the Westgate standout to me is the water park. Yes, I know that the pools are invaluiable way to relax after a long day in the mountains, but if you have children then you know a pool is the key thing they are looking for. Well, with the water park the entire family gets the best of both worlds as the parents can enjoy the park, but then the kids can enjoy the water park with the parents supervision after getting back from the mountains.
If the weather is nice enough, though, you may want to partake in the family friendly activity of playing miniature golf. This is a tradition that started for my family when I first got married and played on a mini golf course in Pigeon Forge that is no longer in existence. Still it is a great game and one that the entire family can play. I will warn you, though, if you have little kids expect to spend a long time on the course and cutting corners for them to have a fair score.
Just like the Margaritaville Resort that we mentioned above, as the top rated resort in Gatlinburg for summer, you will find the Westgate offers a lounge, but also WiFi as well.
Contrary to what you can find at some places, though, the Westgate does help cater to children with an indoor children’s play area.
Something else that I really enjoy about the Westgate is the fact that your room has a private balcony in most of the rooms. This makes it easier for you to get some privacy, but also since you are away from the parkway you can take in the sounds of the area, instead of hearing nothing but the constant whir of the vehicles motors on the parkway.
Park Vista – DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
The Park Vista is a classic and timeless hotel in Gatlinburg that is one place that you simply cannot miss. Now, just like the Westgate the Park Visa is one that is not located on the parkway, but if you do not mind a little bit of a hike is close enough that you can walk to town. I will warn you the hills can be really steep for some people and you need to make sure you are okay on the hills before you try this. Not to mention the corners can be considered a blind corner and make it difficult for cars to see you. Now, I will tell you pre-Covid the Park Vista did have a trolley stop right at the door step which made it easier to get to town.
The Park Vista is one location that does have quite a bit to offer as well and has some of the best views in Gatlinburg. The location is key for the Park Vista if you are trying to get some great views and feel set apart from the city itself.
The Park Vista does have a great pool that is available for the guest to use. Now, what else is nice is the Park Vista does have a water park type of feel to it as well. So this allows you to rest easier knowing your kids are comfortable in the pool, but also that your kids are going to enjoy the pool.
The restaurant or lounge that is on the site is one of the higher end locations that you can enjoy for a resort or hotel type of food. Now, this is not included in the price of your room, but still it is worth trying out for a quick meal if you do not want to have to battle through the crowds that are often found on the strip.
Something that the kids will like is the fact that the Park Vista does have is a game room. Now, the game room at the Park Vista does not have all the features that you would expect from like a PlayStation 5, but it is more family friendly type of games and ones that you can enjoy playing with everyone in the family.
Just like the Westgate you can find the Park Vista does have some rooms with private balconies. These rooms are nice as the view you get from the balcony is stunning, but also from the standpoint that the balcony is private.
Holiday Inn Club Vacations Smoky Mountain Resort
The Holiday Inn Club vacations in the Smoky Mountains, which is how Holiday Inn refers to the property, but it is located in Gatlinburg. In fact, some people may recognize it as near where the Sunspree, the older Holiday Inn property used to be located. Now, with that being said, that should give you a good idea on where the property is located and at the same time make it easier for you to know if the Holiday Inn Club Vacations is in the proper location for you to stay in.
As far as the location goes, I will tell you that it is a place that is easy to walk to town from. The mountain or hill as it could be referred to in this instance, is gently sloping so it is not harder for you to get up and down. However, it is a far enough distance from the parkway that you do not have to deal with a lot of the headache type of issues that are commonly seen in most of the Parkway type hotels in getting in and out of the parking lot.
The Holiday Inn is a location that does have a nice pool area for you to enjoy. However, the highlight of the pool area is not so much the pool as what you would expect. Instead, the highlight area is the hot tub. The hot tub is large and comfortable, but also has plenty of jets for you to use as well. Not to mention the hot tub its nestled and that makes it feel even cozier than what you may have been expecting.
Depending on the situation with COVID the Holiday Inn Club Vacation Smoky Mountain Resort does have a BBQ facilities to use. Now, this is available to be used as a guest and makes it easier for you to make your own food if you do not want to use the restaurants in town. Now, the downside is the Holiday Inn does not have a restaurant on site, but does have vending machines to use. The Holiday Inn does have a convenience store for you to use as well.
The Holiday Inn Club Vacation does have private balconies for you to use. However, the view of these balconies may not be the same as what you were expecting if you were at a place like the Westgate Resort or the Park Vista, it does have balconies for you to use.
Something else to consider as a family is the rooms are large enough to make you comfortable, but depending on the room and number of people in your party, some of you may have to use the sofa bed. The sofa beds if you are older or a current college student may be what you are used to from school. However, if you are older then this may not be the best option for the beds, so make sure you ask what type of room you are getting.
River Terrace Resort and Convention Center
The River Terrace made our list mainly based off of the location. The hotel is actually ranked in the 50’s according to TripAdvisor for the hotels in Gatlinburg, but it is a location that in a lot of the groups we belong to on Facebook people sing praises about.
Now, the location of the River Terrace Resort and Convention Center is the great feature that we fell in love with. The location is right on River Road, which as you know if you are a frequent traveler to Gatlinburg or a first timer is the road that splits off to the right at the Y-Intersection in town.
The location on River Road is very easy to get anywhere in town by walking. However, at the same time since River Road is considered more of a side street you can get to the park easily by taking River Road down and then cutting back to the Parkway at the end of town. This drastically cuts down on the time that is required for you to make it from one side of the town or the other, but also in getting to the park itself.
The pool for the location here is located outside, which does mean it is a seasonal pool. That could make it harder for you to enjoy the pool or even traveling with kids unless you go in the middle of summer.
Thankfully for the parents the outside area does have furniture to use. Now, this does not mean that it will always be available or if you have my luck even be in the area that your kids want to be in. So you do have this available, but it is limited in what you can do with it.
The rooms tend to offer you a private balcony. Which makes it easier for you to relax and enjoy the view that is around the hotel.
Picking Your Best Gatlinburg Resort For Summer
Finding the best resort for you to stay in during the summer in Gatlinburg really comes down to your own preference. We provided you with our list of the 5 hotels that we enjoy in Gatlinburg that tends to be seen more as a resort property, but the list is limited to our 5 favorites. We did use our own way of narrowing down the list and found it is a common way with what we have seen in the groups for Gatlinburg on Facebook. With that being said, do your homework, use our list for the five best resorts in Gatlinburg for summer and know that you are going to have a great vacation no matter where you decide to stay.
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