Good location, nice pool area, & affordable!
I booked the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort because I wanted a place on Airport Road (the heart of Gatlinburg so to speak), wanted a place great for kids, wanted indoor pools, and well one of the main needs was PRICE.
It was the most affordable place I could find that fit what we wanted. The check-in & check-out process was painless & fast. I requested a non-smoking room and we got it; if you press for this, you won't be stuck in some stinky room. I told the lady we have one child with asthma & one with a heart condition, and 2 adults who don't like stinky stuff. SO we got ourselves a non-smoking room. I have heard on other websites that even if you request a non-smoking room, ya get stuck in a smoking anyway; well if you let them know from the get-go you NEED non-smoking (for health reasons, and no, I didn't lie about the kids), they will accomodate your health needs!
We received vouchers & coupons upon check in, which was nice. $20 of vouchers per DAY for breakfast at Louie's, the on-site restaurant just a short flight down from our room. This proved to be really nice!!! Kids eat free anyway at the Holiday Inn; and the $20 totally covered my fiance and myself for all the grub we consumed in the morning. Really great pancakes (yes I had pancakes again) and even though the waitress was a little poofy-brained, she gave me my OWN CARAFE OF COFFEE so I fell in love with her.
Giving a coffee-addicted woman a whole carafe to herself deserves high praise.
The pool was very clean; the outdoor pool wasn't opened yet but I'm sure it was nice. Anyhoo we stayed in the lobby tower; just above the restaurant & looking down over the indoor pool. The pool itself was nice & warm, towels provided, lots of chairs to sit in.
Unique Quality: We didn't visit Sade & Dora's Lounge; which was onsite & right next to Louie's where we had breakfast in the morning. It looked pretty nice; cocktails, beer, etc. that apparently you are allowed to bring poolside -- I saw several people with beer in cups. Which is cool. Nothing like getting really hammered & going swimming.
The hot tub was nice; it was really hot the first 2 days, then on the 3rd day, became "lukewarm". Never really overcrowded, I mean you have to limit yourself to 15 minutes anyway to avoid passing out. The scenery was pretty nice around the hotel (behind it anyway); the streams, trees, mountains.
Some people might balk at having to walk the distance each morning and then, walk back up the hill. The trolley stops right outside the Holiday Inn; if ya don't feel like walking downtown & back, take the trolley! But for nice, temperate days? Walk. It's a nice distance & you get to shop & talk along the way.
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