Dollywood, Dixie Stampede, and an indoor pool. With one of these hotels, your Pigeon Forge checklist is complete.
The Inn at Christmas Place's indoor pool is one of the most beautiful in Pigeon Forge. Like the rest of the 145-room hotel, the indoor pool features distinctive Bavarian architecture, and Christmas decorations dress the windows year round. One corner features a raised hot tub surrounded by windows and mini fir trees. While the indoor pool is open all year, the outdoor pool is only seasonal; it includes a splash pad and waterslide for kids.
The 137-room Courtyard Marriott Pigeon Forge's heated indoor pool is sided by large, garage-like windows that let in tons of natural light and can fully open in nice weather. Unlike most indoor pools in the area, its surrounding stone terrace features a few proper sun loungers, as well as tables and chairs. Outside is a huge lazy river -- purportedly one of the biggest in the area -- with sprinklers and clear inner tubes. Both the indoor pool and the lazy river are open 24 hours a day.
The Inn On The River is one of the best budget options in Pigeon Forge, due to its Southern hospitality, extensive freebies, and excellent facilities, including two pools. One of the pools is a triangular-shaped heated indoor pool with a separate whirlpool. Whereas Courtyard Marriott's indoor pool has loungers and tables with chairs, The Inn On The River's only has a line of wicker chairs. There is also an outdoor pool deck overlooking the river, but unfortunately you can also see the highly trafficked road from this point.
The family-owned Music Road Hotel bills its indoor and outdoor pools as a water park, which is a bit of a stretch. But the pools do have extensive features, like the 24-hour indoor pool's hot tub and the outdoor pool's 60-foot waterslide, lazy river, and deep end with a diving board. The asymmetrical indoor pool has a more subdued atmosphere; it sits under a vaulted wooden ceiling with a skylight, with a mural of a Georges Seurat painting on one wall.
Unlike Music Road Hotel, Clarion Inn Dollywood Area's indoor pool isn't open 24 hours a day, but it is open from early in the morning until very late at night. Both the indoor and outdoor pool here cater to kids. The indoor pool has an attached basketball hoop which can easily turn it into a splashy water-sport arena, plus it has a separate half-moon-shaped hot tub. The small outdoor lazy river and waterslide are also kid-friendly, with the outdoor pool doubling as the tiny landing pad for the slide.
Best Western Plaza Inn's indoor pool is housed in a large, bright space with vaulted ceilings and skylights that includes a sizable lounge area. The indoor pool also has waterfall features and a small integrated whirlpool. Two outdoor pools have ample sunbathing areas and attached kids' pools; the front pool also has a man-made waterfall and a hot tub, while the rear outdoor pool has a second kids' pool with an interactive water feature, as well as an open-air gazebo with a fireplace. The hotel's 201 large rooms are arranged around the three pools; all have the basic decor of a budget-friendly chain, as well as a microwave, mini-fridge, coffeemaker, and flat-screen TV with free HBO.