“You don’t camp!” were the first words my friends told me when I said Gatlinburg Falls Resort had invited me to spend a few days in one of their cabins. Mostly they remembered my Girl Scout days when I had to spend a week each summer in a “cabin” consisting of a canvas tent and four cots. I spent most of my nights awake, clutching my flashlight and extra supplies of batteries I had my mom purchase for me, prepared to fight off ax murderers. Yes, I had an active imagination. I vowed if I survived those trips I would never camp again. “No, no, no, ” I explained to my friends, “these are luxury cabins; with bedrooms, a game room, a hot tub and doors that lock.” Everyone agreed this sounded more like me.
I had expected a nice cabin, but even I was surprised when we arrived and found a huge 3 bedroom cabin, with 3 full baths, 2 half baths, a dining/living room, fully stocked kitchen, game room, movie theater, free wi-fi and our own private hot tub. The kids, usually big on finding places to go and staying busy, exclaimed, “We don’t have to leave the resort!”
Did I mention there is also a fitness room, swimming pool and playground available for guests?
The cabins are located a couple of miles outside the hustle and bustle of Gatlinburg, on a winding mountain trail. As soon as we unpacked, I grabbed a soft drink and headed outside to one of the two decks to sit and enjoy the view of Mount Leconte. Even though both cabins on either side of us were booked, and there were quite a few visitors, it was so quiet and peaceful. I could feel myself beginning to relax!
The kids rushed to claim their bedrooms. The furniture in each bedroom was rustic, reminding me of the mountains, but contained all the modern necessities, a king sized bed, a television with cable, and a private bathroom in each with a spa showerhead. The swan shaped towels left on our beds were fun touches.
The kids wanted to spend time in the game room, attempting to beat the old school games of PacMan, Frogger and Donkey Kong, while I attempted to trounce them at Air Hockey. We spent a relaxing evening watching a movie in the home theater. ( Bring some movies from home, there are no movies in the cabin.)
While they were occupied with their games, I spent time moving from one deck to the other. I also insisted on relaxing hot tub time!
The full kitchen allowed us to cook our own meals not only ensuring we could make gluten free dishes, it helped save money. If you are staying for a while, a washer and dryer is also included, meaning no piles of laundry to return home and spend the day washing.
Gatlinburg Falls Resort has cabins ranging from one bedroom to eighteen bedrooms, making it the perfect destination for everyone from honeymooners to family reunions to corporate retreats. We live about two and a half hours away, making this the perfect weekend retreat. I will definitely be back!
- Some things to be aware of before your visit:
Our cabin had three floors with plenty of steps, which could be difficult to navigate for someone with disabilities.
Although the Trolley to Gatlinburg does not visit the resort, it’s a short drive down to the free parking at the trolley station. You can take the trolley into Gatlinburg for fares of 50 cents to $2.00 and not fight traffic or find places to park.
There were lots of insects around (bees, wasps, after all, it is the mountains). Bring insect repellent.
My kids would love to stay in a place like this! We need to check this out for our next family vacation!
I’ve been wanting to go to Gatlinburg for some time. My kids would love it.
This looks heavenly! A great place to take the family for sure!
That is such a beautiful cabin! I would love to visit there someday! Love the pictures you shared.
That is a beautiful cabin! I can’t wait to visit Gatlinburg sometime!
I’ve never stayed in a cabin before. This looks like a nice one to stay at.
I live in Knoxville and stay in a cabin in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge at least once, but usually twice a year. We love going over and doing the tourist thing as often as we can. 🙂 We haven’t stayed at Falls Resort, yet, but will definitely do so in the future.
It does have a mountainous feel to it. I love the rustic look so this would have been right up my alley.
This looks like a wonderful place to stay. I would love to do another family vacation to Gatlinburg.
I love it. I think it is pretty cool that the cabins are 3 stories. A way to have some personal space when you vacation.
I camp, but this would be way more relaxing! I would love to stay in a cabin like this one with all of its amenities.
Oh my gosh. That is beautiful. The views are awesome.
What a beautiful place! We’re actually looking at heading up that way this fall.
I would love to stay in a place like this one. It looks so relaxing and the view is amazing
Wow, this place is just amazing! The woods, the view the rooms, I would love to go here!
What a stunning resort! I love the mix of rustic and modern.
That looks like a wonderful place to visit. I am not far away so maybe some time I can take my family.
Oh wow, look at those views! I would love to stay there, move there, live there! That would be amazing to wake up too
What an awesome cabin! Seems like the most relaxing getaway ever!
OMG. I’d love to try at this kind of resort with my family. Looks wonderful and relaxing too.
We looked at these when we were in Gatlinburg a while back. They were absolutely beautiful!
This looks like an amazing resort. I would love a three bedroom cottage to share with the family.
What a great place for a family getaway! I love the rustic charm
Gosh, that doesn’t feel like camping at all. Luxury is definitely the right term for it.
That looks like a pretty resort. Would love to visit someday!
What amazing views! We love staying at cabins, this place looks amazing
How cool. This looks like such a great experience. I am sure the kids had such a wonderful time.
What beautiful accommodations in Gatlinburg! I’ve always wanted to visit Gatlinburg.
This looks so beautiful. Like my kind of place to stay that’s for sure. Looks really beautiful and peaceful!
What beautiful accommodations! I love the cabin feel, looks very relaxing!
Wow, I amnot sure if I ever would have come home. That is really a pretty place and it looks like it would be so relaxing. I love taking trips and just learning about new places.
This is the type of camping I can handle. And Gatlinburg is not far from my home. The resort is beautiful!
That would be such a relaxing time! I usually end up at beach resorts so I’d love to go to a resort with a different view like this!
Oh this is absolutely gorgeous! I would love to stay there and just enjoy the beautiful scenery. Great for the entire family too.
I love this type of camping! It makes it so much tolerable. PS I love your new blog pic.
Thanks, Aimee!
It was a really nice cabin. There were plenty of bathrooms, too!
What a beautiful place!! One reason that I love living in the mountains of AZ – looks like that, every day!! 🙂
Sign me up! We love going to Gatlinburg, but we haven’t rented a cabin yet and had been ralking about doing so this summer. I’ll keep Falls Resort in mind when we do. Thanks!
That’s such a gorgeous resort. I love how they managed to make it rustic and still keep all of those wonderful amenities.
We always stay in a cabin when we go to Gatlinburg, but we’ve never stayed anywhere that nice. Those are gorgeous accommodations!
“Doors that lock” …. lol! That sounds a lot like myself! 😉 Those look soooo nice and the mountains anywhere is one of my favorite places to be, as long as the doors lock and luxury is great, too. 🙂
We are looking at staying over that way and I would not camp without a cabin. It looks absolutely beautiful there, I love that there are so many rooms so noone has to share unless they want to (we have camped on the living room floor with our kids)!
What a gorgeous place to stay! This is just what I need – a quiet and beautiful place to relax with all of those amenities. I think that this would be so perfect for a family getaway.
That’s an impressive cabin .. so much so that I’d call it a cabin-mansion!! I would love to stay there – the landscape is just gorgeous!
LOL, it definitely IS more of a mansion than a cabin!
Oh I would LOVE to stay at a place like that. It looks like such a fun family getaway.