Spring Break in the Smokies

Best Things Nearby:
The city is touristy in a quaint way, with a variety of activities and many great restaurants. We enjoyed many of the activities, from the Ripley's Aquarium to a gondola ride up the mountainside. There is great local fare of all types, so skip the chain-type restaurants! It is also a short drive to Smoky Mountain National Park, with white-water rafting, hiking, etc.

Best Things About the Resort:
While off on a side road so we could enjoy the sounds of nature (a stream coming down the mountain just off our balcony), the resort was a very brief (a couple blocks) walk from downtown Gatlinburg. A very great location!

Resort Experience:
We had a two bedroom unit that was actually a studio and one-bedroom joined by a door. The studio side had a partial kitchen & whirlpool tub, while the one-bedroom side had a full kitchen, whirlpool tub and fireplace. The unit and resort was very clean and seemed very well maintained. The bedroom and living room of the one-bedroom side had a balcony that looked out onto the mountainside, where a stream could be heard along with other sounds of nature. There was a linen exchange available daily for those who wanted it. The resort itself is multi-leveled (there are elevators), with parking actually underneath the resort. It's very scenic. There is a small playground area and a small pool which was nice for our son.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Not Available
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Excellent

Some of the best BBQ we have ever had! Great atmosphere, and good family dining. A good place to go if you have kids and like BBQ.

The Dixie Stampede is a dinner show. The entertainment includes a live performance while waiting to go into the arena, then a show during dinner that includes fun, games, laughs, singing and some good horsemanship. The premise is a competition between one side of the arena (the north) against the other side (the south). The meal was good, but be prepared to eat with your fingers!

The restaurant is ideal for a family or casual meal. They feature some homemade soups which were outstanding. We also enjoyed many of their sandwich menu items. There menu was more extensive than this, but all of us enjoyed the soups & sandwiches so much we stuck with that.

The huge aquarium has many different exhibits focusing on different types of aquatic life. The exhibits are put in settings that try to convey the scenic area the fish (and other creatures) are from. For example, there is the feeling of a jungle in one area with a waterfall, piped in sound and a recreation of lush greenery. The shark tank is outstanding-we did this last knowing there was a people mover through it so we could unwind after a bit of walking through the rest of the aquarium. There was also a large stringray tank, that you could view from above or down below, and a coral sea tank with a lot of the colorful ocean fish.