We just stayed for a full week at this mountain home. There were 6 adults and we were in Gatlinburg for my son’s wedding and then a week of exploring the Great Smokey Mountains.
LOCATION: The home is situated up on the mountainside looking over the town of Gatlinburg, the view from the deck both day and night is awesome. It is a winding mountain road up to the house, but fun once you know where you are going. It was a short drive from downtown up the hill, less that 2 miles.
HOUSE: First of all, this home is very clean and we felt very comfortable here. The 3 levels to the house make for privacy when needed and a bathroom on every floor is good. Each bedroom is nice with king beds and bathrooms right outside bedroom doors. The bottom level bedroom is small, no dresser or closet with a double bed and it is cool on that level so needed extra blankets on that bed. Nice washer & dryer and the kitchen was nicely functional for our needs (note that none of the pans are good for making pancakes), and everything we needed was there for us. Living room is small and not much seating. Game room downstairs very big and fun for games. Both could have used a few more club chairs or sofa for everyone to gather and visit after dinner or games.
HOT TUB: What a VIEW! Nice to use at the end of day. Chlorine was extremely strong, so it helped to take top off tub for about 5 minutes before we got in, to let the strong chlorine odor disperse. But it was clean and relaxing after a days hike!
BEARS: Ummmm there are bears everywhere in this area and we had a daily visit from “Brownie the Black Bear” (as we named him for his brown butt). Stay diligent about no food outside or in vehicle, because he checks every day to see if you slipped up and left something out. He even came up on the lower deck as we were on the upper deck, but he was respectful of people and turned away when he saw us getting up. Such a treat to see them, but always be alert and respect that they are wild and keep them wild. Drive carefully in and out of the hills, watch for the bears anytime of day or night.
DOWN TOWN: Weekends in Gatlinburg are a madhouse, absolute traffic jam with both cars and people. Weekdays not as bad and is a better time to go there to explore.
WATERFALLS & HIKING: We visited three waterfalls and Cades Cove. Lots of bear sightings in Cades Cove and it’s a lovely drive around the park. Went to Abrams Falls, long somewhat difficult hike, but very pretty. Took the Roaring Fork Nature Motor Trail and stopped to hike to Grotto Falls, beautiful location and you can walk behind the falls. Also did Laurel Falls hike which is very pretty. Each one was unique and worth the effort. We did the chairlift ride up the Anakeesta for the day, it was a touristy spot but still a fun day and beautiful views. Saw a bear while on the chair lift.
FINAL THOUGHTS: All in all we enjoyed the house, Clean, comfortable & Awesome Views. The week in Gatlinburg was fun and we loved seeing all the BEARS.
Note: When you put garbage in the cage at road, turn the sign to FULL (not EMPTY), so the garbage truck stops to pick it up on Monday & Friday.
