For spring break this year, we went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and stayed in Gatlinburg as our home base. Due to points and rates, we ended up staying at the Embassy Suites in Gatlinburg for our first 3 nights and the Margaritaville in Gatlinburg for our last two.
In this post, I am going to talk about each property and my pros and cons of each. Gatlinburg served as a great home base for exploring the national park but this may be helpful in deciding which hotel will work best for your family.
Related Posts: Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Kids for Spring Break
Embassy Suites by Hilton Gatlinburg Resort
Cost: Rooms can go as low as $125/night during low season and as high as $300/night during high season. Hilton offers a great way to shop by price so if you are flexible in what nights you go, I would check this out. Self-Parking is an additional $15/night.
The Embassy Suites in Gatlinburg is a resort just outside of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and 15 minutes from Pigeon Forge. It has a resort-style pool, complimentary breakfast and evening reception, and on-site restaurant.
The rooms at the Embassy Suites are suite-style rooms and this works great for families. For our family of 5, we got a room with two queen beds in the bedroom and then the living room had a sleeper sofa. My husband, our youngest, and me slept in the room while my older two slept on the sleeper sofa. My older two thought it was fun to have their own area. The room also had a small fridge, sink, table with chairs, closet, and nice bathroom. There was no balcony, but the windows were big and we had a view of the pool area. I really liked our room, the furnishings were nice and modern, and there was plenty of space for us all.
The Embassy Suites brand offers free breakfast and that is a big perk. As a family of 5, this helps with the cost, and it is convenient. Their breakfast is a buffet style with plenty of hot items, pastries, cereal, oatmeal, etc. They do also have an option for you to order a fresh omelet and there is a waffle maker for fresh waffles. I do prefer more than a general cup of coffee though, so I picked up a latte at the Starbucks they have onsite (it is close to breakfast). Breakfast was the only meal we ate at the resort, but The Roaring Fork is an on-site restaurant that offers dinner from 5pm – 10pm.
They also offer a complimentary evening reception. This includes free snacks (each Embassy Suites has their own snack offerings) and drinks. Not all drinks are included in the evening reception but they will have a red wine, white wine, some beers, and cocktails.
The pools and outdoor area of the Embassy Suites were my favorite part of the resort. There was a large indoor pool that was zero entry. With us being there in the spring and the weather ranging from 25 to 75, having the indoor pool was a great option. The outdoor pool was much larger, and I was so happy we were able to use it during our trip. There is a spot that has zero entry, there’s a slide, and it has a lazy river. There is also a large hot tub between the indoor pool and outdoor pool that the kids made great use of. In the morning time, there were lots of kids in the hot tub. In the evening, there were lots of people in the hot tub. It would be a great place to unwind after a day of outdoor adventures.
Outside also had two large fire pits with chairs and corn hole set up on the lawn. We enjoyed spending time there in the evening and letting the kids run around.
I really liked the location of this resort. It was close to the main street in Gatlinburg to get there easily, but it was far enough removed that it was quiet and peaceful. You didn’t feel like you were that close to the hustle and bustle. Downtown is close enough that you could walk if you are up for it or there is a free tram stop just down the road and it will take you all around Gatlinburg.
Margaritaville Resort Gatlinburg
Cost: Rooms can go as low as $150/night during low season and as high as $500/night during high season. They also have the ability to see what the price is per night in a calendar view, which works great if you are flexible on your dates. Self-Parking is an additional $15/night or valet is $22/night.
Margaritaville Gatlinburg is in the heart of downtown Gatlinburg, so it is walking distance to all of Gatlinburg’s attractions, it’s close to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it is a 15 minute drive to Pigeon Forge. It gives the laid-back tropical atmosphere that Margaritaville is known for while providing easy access to all of the local adventures.
The best part of Margaritaville Gatlinburg from my standpoint was the location. You walk outside and you’re immediately in the heart of downtown Gatlinburg. It made walking around convenient and easy. It is right across the street from Anakeesta so if you are planning to do that on your trip, it is a quick walk over there (and I do highly recommend Anakeesta).
Another plus for us at this resort was our room. We stayed in the double queen one bedroom suite and it was great. You walked in to a living room with a TV, mini fridge, counter space, and a sofa bed. Similar to the Embassy Suites, this is where my older two slept and all 3 of the boys used that as their hangout when we were in the room. From there, you walked down a long hallway and halfway down the hallway was a door to the bathroom. Wow, the bathroom was so big! There was a large tub and a large shower so it was perfect depending on which you prefer with your kids. There were also two sinks and plenty of counter space. At the end of the hallway was the bedroom. Ours had two queen beds and a closet. One thing that I really liked that I had never thought about before was that the resort uses a long skinny throw pillow as decoration. But this also doubles perfectly as a bumper for any kids you are worried about falling out of bed in the middle of the night. Pro tip: Put that pillow underneath the fitted sheet and you are good to go! The room also had a balcony off of it and it was a decent size. My husband and I were able to sit out there comfortably. We had a city view, which I liked, because it made for good people watching.
Margaritaville also had a great outdoor pool area. There was a large pool with a slide and then there was a kiddie pool area to the side that would be perfect for little kids. There were plenty of lounge chairs and we did not have any issues finding a place to sit. I will say that the pool is essentially in the middle of the parking lot so there is not much of a view from the pool. But being in the heart of downtown, that is what I would expect. They do have an indoor pool option, but I don’t recommend it. The smell was too much, I felt like I couldn’t breathe well in there. This was the opposite of the Embassy Suites indoor pool, which seemed well ventilated.
Margaritaville does have on-site dining available. We ordered breakfast and coffee downstairs each morning. Breakfast was good but it is not complimentary how it is at Embassy Suites. That was the only meal we ate at the hotel because there are so many restaurants that you can walk to and we wanted to explore some of those. While we waited for our room to be ready the day we checked in, we went to the Pancake Pantry and really liked that. There was a line to get in but it moved quickly so don’t be deterred by it if you see a line. Another restaurant we went to was No Way Jose’s Cantina, which is a Mexican restaurant right next to the hotel. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I recommend it. I would check out a different restaurant nearby.
Which Resort do I Prefer?
For me, it is no competition. I prefer the Embassy Suites over Margaritaville with the kids. I will say that Margaritaville had an excellent location and the room that we got was a great option for families. Outside of that though, I like the Embassy Suites. The Embassy Suites also had a great room size for families and while it is not in the heart of downtown Gatlinburg, it is close enough that you can easily get to it when you want to but then you can get away from it when you want to. I loved their pool, both the indoor one and the outdoor one, and that they had an outdoor area that the kids could run around and play corn hole. The giant fire pits were a perfect touch too after a day out in the park.