Our Stay at The Preserve (Townsend, TN)

We're spending a week at The Preserve, a mountain top resort on northern edge of the Smokey Mountains, near Townsend, TN.

Getting There
Be prepared for a beautiful ride as you make your way from Pigeon Forge to this secluded destination. It's only about 15 minutes away from all of the attractions along the main drag in Pigeon Forge and is moments away from the Townsend entrance to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

When you are arrive at The Preserve, you are greeted by a rustic chapel (a popular wedding locale), main facility, pavilion, swimming pool and beautiful view.  We arrived late on Saturday night, picked up our check-in packet and zipped quickly down to our cabin, the Blissful Bungalow.

A Great Value
We've vacationed in this area for several years, and our family agrees that the quality of the cabin and the value are unparalleled.

The cabins at The Preserve are top-quality, modern log cabins that hold all the conveniences of home and much more. On top of the fully equipped kitchen, this particular cabin has a nice 52-inch HD TV, pool table, foos-ball, hot tub and a gorgeous view of the Smokies and natural wild life. It's quiet and relaxing, but there is plenty to do. These cabins are not commercial hotel rooms. They are privately owned homes that are luxurious, comfortable and cozy.

If you are planning a trip to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg for a week, seriously consider renting a cabin like this rather than staying in a hotel. The view itself is worth it. Additionally, you'll be able to prepare your own food. For our family, that is a big deal. We like to eat out, but doing that 7 days in a row makes for cranky bellies and longing for a home-cooked meal. A thumbs up to the Smokey Mountain Grocery Store. We pre-ordered all our groceries and they delivered our goods prior to our arrival. More on this service in a future post.

Service
You'll also be impressed by the customer service and responsiveness of the staff. Our first evening here, the upstairs air conditioner had frozen over. We found a note on the door stating that the service man should pay us a visit that evening to fix. Let me tell you we were all shocked when he showed up (7PM on a Saturday night) and fixed the problem. I thought for certain there was no way a service man would come to fix the problem on a Saturday night. Apparently, no problem!

Always Something New

We've rented cabin's like this at least a dozen times and have rarely been disappointed. We've come to really enjoy the nature and the variety that this area offers. While we're not fans of the commercialized tourist trap that is the Parkway in Pigeon Forge, we've found the area has so much to offer that every time we come back we find something new that we really love. We also have favorite attractions we'll take in almost every time we are here.

If you want to know how to "do" Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg, we're building up quite a bit of experience.

I'll try to share some of those tips in coming posts.