Hotels Near The Artsy Olive in Gatlinburg

Okay there’s a bit to talk about here. Mostly good! Cons: If you are a bit of a clean nut - this place isn’t for you. The one *major* thing that bothered me was the bedding. There wasn’t a mattress cover between the sheet and the mattress and I just kept thinking about everyone who laid there before me. The carpet was in need of a steam because if you walked barefoot it made your feet turn black. I wore my flip flops the whole time. The room smelled a bit like smoke and we ended up going to get an air freshener. We did also have turn down service but they only did our bathroom and didn’t make our bed. Very funny lol but we weren’t too upset. I think the place just needs to be renovated/a deep clean and it would be perfect. I was in room 266. Also, the breakfast isn’t eggs and bacon etc. It’s biscuits and gravy which in my opinion was not the tastiest and simple things like cereal and bagels. It’s great in a pinch. Pros: That river balcony is everything. It’s such a soothing sound and you see bears almost every day. We saw 3 bears during our stay. I would come back just for that! There are two pools which are often never used. There is one that seems to be for adults which I had to myself one afternoon. The walk to town is about a mile one way - which after hiking the smokies all day is the last thing you want to do but it’s nice to be out of the crowds. Amazing breakfast and bbq spot across the street. The staff were so nice and helpful. Overall - happy with the experience but I am someone who is picky about sanitation and that’s why I docked the star. You get what you pay for. If you don’t mind an older spot that needs some love, this is a perfect place.

So first off let me say that this hotel is still an ok place to stay. I would however also say that by charging 300+ a night for a room you have certain expectations, and those were not met this trip. From the outside, the hotel was lovely as always. The lobby seemed clean but had a few minor issues, and the furniture seemed like it could use a refresh. So my initial impression was favorable. We got to the room and at first glance, things seemed ok, but when you started looking around that's when the issues started. First, the chair had a fabric piping that was half torn off. The carpet seemed to be really worn in spots and could have used a cleaning. The shower had a patch job that looked like someone with no experience slapped calk around the edge of the shower and the drain; it was seriously an eyesore. Then when my daughter went to take a bath she told us it looked like something black was on the walls. Sure enough, there was something black on the wall. I am no mold expert, but it appeared to be black mold although I have no way of confirming that. Then we went to look at the beds before we got in and one bed had a blood spot on the mattress cover that lined up perfectly with the mattress itself so I know that no one even attempted to clean it; all they did was slap a clean fitted sheet on the bed. The mattresses on the beds are so bad that my wife and I woke up with sore backs every morning; I never used to have a problem with their beds in the past so I can only assume that the mattresses are in need of replacing. Also on the balcony when the HVAC unit is running it sounds like you are sitting next to a jet engine. I have stayed at this hotel at least 5 times in the past and do not remember the HVAC being so loud on the balcony. Also, they claim to be short-staffed on housekeeping so they only offer room cleanings once every 3 days during your stay. That means if you need towels, toilet paper, or the trash taken out you have to call them which is not great for what you are paying for this room; I can see every other day, but seriously every 3 days is ridiculous! The hot tub had tiles missing and water was leaking through the opening of the backer board which I cannot imagine is good for the hot tub. Also on all 4 nights of our stay, it looked like the hot tub got cleaned 1 time. When you are charging 300-500 a night for a ”standard room” depending on the time of year you have expectations that things will be taken care of, and that your room will be clean and well-kept. I used to pay 150-200 a night for this hotel and the hotel was immaculate, so clearly someone is taking the money and not reinvesting in the property. I stay here to escape the bad experiences that I've had at other Gatlinburg hotels, and that used to work until this trip. I really hope they reinvest in this property and gut all the rooms to do a complete makeover because otherwise there is no way this hotel is worth the price they are charging current