Laurel Inn

Best kept secret in Gatlinburg. Parking for Rvs and a short walk downtown. You can have a small condo for the price of a room. Full refrigerators and microwave and everything you need in a kitchen. Our condo had a jetted tub for two. So relaxing!!! Tv in bedroom and living room area, Well kept. Nice and clean. Don't feed a bear, if you see one. A fed bear is a dead bear in the area. Nice heated swimming pool.

This is not a very good hotel at all. I was surprised because it had decent reviews. First, I had been trying to contact the hotel days before we arrived and I was never able to get anyone on the phone until the day we arrived. We were not given a code for the door to get in the room until I could get them on the phone. The hotel is moderately convenient to the Main Street in Gatlinburg. For younger people, I think it should be fine. For older people, I think this is probably too far of a hike. We thought that the location would have been much better. I think the area is safe, but it is off the beaten path for sure. The room is significantly dated. I really felt like I was sleeping at my grandmother’s house, but not in a good way. The appliances are all very outdated. The electric hand mixer was literally older than me. It even smells old in the room. There were old cigar or cigarette burns in some of the furniture. THE HOT WATER IS TERRIBLE. We maybe got literally 7 minutes of a warm shower and then it went completely cold. Really disappointing having to take extra time for showers while waiting for more hot water. The room is very noisy. There are kids running wild all over the hotel and we heard them running up and down the walkways all night. Very uncomfortable bed, but the cigarette burned recliner was quite comfortable. We called during business hours but had a hard time getting anyone on the phone. I do not recommend this apartment.

We go to Gatlinburg alot, but we haven't been there for the Christmas parade since the fires. We always go with my husband's son and wife, and we usually get 2 hotel rooms...not this year. I decided to go for a condo, since the prices were about the same. We were originally put in Olde Gatlinburg Place condos, but the day before I got a phone call that there was a maintenance issue and we were being moved to Laurel Inn room 401. I did my research and saw good reviews, so I was looking forward to it. Upon entering, it is smaller than I thought it would be, but it was CLEAN, smelled good and it's on the corner so our balcony had 2 views: Anakeesta on one side and the Sky Bridge & Space Needle on the other. We could even see the tram. What a treat to see those lit up at night!! We even got to see a bear below Saturday night! There were plenty of towels, albeit they were a little thin like a hotel, but they did the job. They have blackout curtains so the rooms are dark at night. And luckily they had coffee filters because I forgot mine! I hope to reserve this condo again! There was such a comfort in having a “home” instead of a “room”...and I got to spend more time with the family. The walk to downtown is about 8-10 minutes...depending on how you walk, but I didn’t mind. My husband has bad knees, so the steps were a little rough for him going up (steps are faster). It was quiet in the morning and beautiful to see at night with all of the Christmas lights. The only negative is that they need a new wireless router because the internet was down, but luckily I had my hotspot on my phone. Water pressure is great (they provide soap & hair dryer), master bedroom’s bed was comfy to us. Daughter-in-law said their bed was a little soft, but they are used to a tempurpedic, so everything seems soft to them. All in all…Wonderful experience! I am hooked on condos instead of rooms now! Everyone is SO nice there. Take a chance on 401 and Laurel Inn Condos! You WON’T regret it!!

Condo #502 was nice, comfy & cozy with just the perfect balance between furnishings & knickknacks, plus it was pretty clean, too! The only downside was not having a condo balcony. But since it was freezing cold in Nov. it really didn’t matter now anyway. However in the warmer weather it is 100% a deciding factor on where we book our reservations.