Looking for suggestions for places to stay in area

I have spent time reading a lot of the postings and would like to get advice from the experts--that%26#39;s you!

My family is planning a trip to the area the first weekend of Oct (Sept. 20 - Oct. 3). It has been several years since I have been to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg.

I would like to get your suggestions about places to stay. Here is the kicker--we have three different families going: my wife and me and our 2 year old, brother and sister-in-law and older parent for a total of six.

The initial question would be about types of places--would you recommend a cabin or hotel-type place. I think that we would prefer a three bedroom place. But I also wondered if it would be more economical to find a hotel that maybe had a suite (or 2 BD) and then simply get another room.

Are there any hotels that have three separate sleeping areas?

I wasn%26#39;t sure if getting a cabin would be good for us since our 2 year old likes his afternoon naps. That would force someone to make the trip back into the mountains every day for the nap. Thought a hotel may be easier in this regard.

Has anyone else had a trip with similar family needs? I would love to hear your advice about places to stay.

Thanks for your help!!

Looking for suggestions for places to stay in area

Oops! I meant to say from Sept. 30 - Oct. 3.

Once again, I appreciate all of your help and suggestions.

Looking for suggestions for places to stay in area

Are you wanting to stay in PF or in Gatlinburg?

When our daughter got married in Gatlinburg we rented one of the Penthouse Suites at the Clarion. They gave us a discount because we had her reception there but they might offer one if that is not a busy time of the year for them. You are going in between school starting and peak for fall so that might work.

Anyways, the one we stayed in was like an apartment.

Two sleeping areas on opposite sides of the living room/dining room/kitchen. One bedroom had 2 queen beds...the other bedroom had a King...both had separate baths and jacuzzi tubs. The couch was also a sleeper sofa.

Right on the Parkway....easy to walk everywhere.

There are also some condo places downtown that prob. have 3 bedroom units....someone might be able to give you info on those.

My family and I are also going in October, and I had a similiar situation as you do with trying to decide if we should get a suite somewhere and an extra room or what. We have seven people going, my husband and I plus my 3 year old, my 16 year old son and his friend, and my mother and father in law. After reading a lot of reviews, and doing a lot of research, I chose to go with a condo near dollywood.

The website is resortquestsmokymountains.com. We are staying in the newer condos that were built in 2004, and it has 3 bedrooms, 3 baths livingroom, full kitchen all the space we needed for 214.95 a night. You really can%26#39;t beat that because by the time you get a suite somewhere, plus an extra room you will be spending more than that. Plus this way, everyone has their own private bedroom and bath, and we are like you, our little one may need a nap during the day, and with this condo you are right there beside dollywood, and close to everything so it won%26#39;t be so far to go back to.

Check out their website and see what you think.

Hello! A couple years ago we had a situation some what like this. My family consists of my parents, my elderly aunt, and myself. We needed 3 beds and that is somewhat hard to find with a hotel. We stayed in Pigeon Forge at the Riverside Motor Lodge. It had 2 seperate bed rooms, and one of the bedrooms had 2 queen beds, the other had one queen bed. Needless to say our sleeping arangement was solved.

If you find a hotel or motel that you absolutely love and it only offers 2 beds at the most, most will usually bring in a roll away bed for you.

Try asking for a family suite, they usually offer at least three beds.

My fienace and I are planning our honeymoon in Oct. also, and we are staying at the Colonial House. It has family suites, but I%26#39;m not sure on the number of beds. I%26#39;m sure you could call and find out. Their website is

www.colonialhousemotel.com

They are also resonably cheat, for very nice rooms with a view.

In Pigeon Forge there are some great 3 bedroom condos at Whispering Pines. There is a pool and small lazy river. The condo we stayed in was beautiful. Its on the parkway so you are close to everything.Hope you enjoy your trip to Tn.

Thanks for all of the helpful info. After checking these out, if I have questions, I will be sure to ask more questions.

Powcat, I think that my sister-in-law prefers Gatlinburg. But I know that getting the room that we want is important, too.

Any suggestions that people have about accomodations is greatly appreciated.

We recently (June 2005) had our family vacation in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. We stayed at the Cabin Patch - a rental cabin from Black Bear Lodging - with 5 bedrooms/3 bathrooms in Pigeon Forge. We had a total of 9 family members. My husband %26amp; I stayed on the top floor. We had our own sitting room, bedroom %26amp; bathroom. My husband%26#39;s parents stayed on the 2nd floor (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, %26amp; dining room). My brother-in-law, his wife %26amp; 3 children stayed on the bottom floor (game room, 3 bedrooms, %26amp; bathroom). The cabin was awesome! Very neat, clean %26amp; well-kept. The big screen TV, however, couldn%26#39;t be seen in the daytime because of glare from all the windows %26amp; skylight but we weren%26#39;t really around to watch TV much. The staff at Black Bear Lodging was phenomenal! They were extremely accomodating %26amp; friendly. We were so impressed, we%26#39;ve recommended it to others. Hope you have a good trip! Try the Black Bear Lodging website: www.blackbearlodging.com

They have cabins of all sizes %26amp; you can take a virtual tour.

the park place condos on the corner of river road and ski mtn. road are very nice and convenient to walk to the parkway in gatlinburg.They are on the river and have a nice pool and I believe that they have 2,3,%26amp;4 bdrm. condos.They have a web site that you can access thru yahoo.

I usually stay at the Colonial House as well, until the day I noticed that the motel did not change the sheets after the guest leave. Nor do they wash the blankets they are folded up and placed right back in the drawer. A nice view is wonderful but a clean bed is more important .

The best place we have ever stayed is Timber Tops Cabins. They are always spotless and since you are booking pretty close to the time you are staying they have ';last minute deals'; on all remaining cabins, like 4 nights for the price of 3...

I don%26#39;t know if I can put their website on here but look up ';timber tops cabins'; on google. Excellent Cabins!