For those of you who own at the Gatlinburg Town Square. Can you tell me about the 2 bedroom units? I am scheduled to check in next Friday, 6/5. Do they have washers and dryers? Are they pretty large units? Thanks
Phase one units don't have washers/dryers in the units, but there are washers/dryers available at the resort. The rooms are good size.
As you walk down the hill from the resort there will be a log cabin pancake house on your right within 100 yards of the resort. They have wonderful breakfasts and this is one of the most popular places to eat breakfast in Gatlinburg. There will be a line out the front door and around the corner, but it moves quickly and you must eat there at least once.
My favorite restaurant is the Old Mill in Pigeon forge
http://www.old-mill.com/downloads/map.pdf .
Once again always a wait for a table but worth it. You can shop and watch artisans make pottery in the Old Mill Village and they have speakers throughout the shops to call your name when your table is ready. The food is wonderful and the portions are large. No one in my family has ever had a meal there that we didn't love, and we eat there at least two times per week spent in Gatlinburg.
I also enjoy the steaks at The Alamo Restaurant. They serve as fine of a steak as you will get anywhere. It isn't cheap but it is very good.
http://www.alamosteakhouse.com/
For Barbque we like Bennet's.
http://www.bennetts-bbq.com/ Walk down the hill from the resort to main street, turn left and it is a short walk to Bennetts which is next to the Ober Gatlinburg aerial tram office.
More great food in walking distance is Calhoun's.
http://www.calhouns.com/page.asp?id=117 Calhouns is very close to Bennett's and the Ober Gatlinburg tram station on main street.
There are many more great eateries from country, to mexican, to barbque, to fine dining. In fact there are a lot more places to eat than you could eat at in a month of eating every meal out. We eat a lot of suppers and most breakfasts in the room to save money and relax. Be sure to get the directions for the back road to the grocery stores, liquor stores, etc so you don't have to go by way of main street. It will save you a lot of time sitting in traffic jams.
The aquarium is a must see. Dollywood is good for a day or two. There are tons of shows and dinner theatre things to do. The sweet fanny adams vaudeville type show is a lot of fun and you might become part of the show.
http://www.sweetfannyadams.com/
Ober Gatlinburg has an aerial tram you can walk to from the resort. Once you get to the top there are rides and indoor ice skating.
http://www.obergatlinburg.com/
Then there is the National park with all of it's scenic drives and hikes to waterfalls, overlooks, and wildlife viewing. You could spend your entire week in the Smokey Mountain Nat'l Park and do different hikes each day. Don't miss Cades Cove and go early or late when the deer, turkeys, and bears are most active. Deer will be everywhere in the cove. The roaring forks motor trail directly up the hill from the resort is great and less than a mile from the resort. Turn right out of the parking garage and go straight up the hill. The road will become the Roaring forks trail and the road makes a circle through the park returning to where it begins. The trail to the falls (don't remember the name of the fallsbut it is the only falls hike on this roaring forks) is a good hike. The waterfall here has an overhang so you can actually walk behind the waterfall.
Gatlinburg has it all. There are junky T-shirt shops, outlet stores, craft stores, antique stores, tourist trap shows, putt putt golf, Ripley's Aquarium (Ripleys rides, Ripleys museum etc), live music, people watching, pleasant downtown walks,a theme park, crowds, and the ability to find quiet solitude enjoying nature while sitting next to a babbling brook, waterfall, or on a cliff overlooking the Smokeys..
