re: Best hotel in Pigeon Forge?

I went this summer with a lot of family (30+ people). Staying in Pigeon Forge has pros and cons. You get to be around a lot of the stuff for kids and all the cheesy entertainment and chain restaurants, but all of the scenic things are a little bit of a drive. Looking back we would have much rather stayed closer to Gatlinburg and made the hour drive to Dollywood. Most of our kids are under 5 years old, so we didn't do a ton of "kid things" like the small amusement parks and that stuff. Our cabin was in the middle of a neighborhood of cabins so that really killed the experience of being in the mountains. Also, anytime we needed to drive somewhere, there was a minimum of 20 minutes of sitting in traffic.

Growing up my family went to the smokies a lot so I've had some really great experiences. This was our first time staying in Pigeon Forge and it was disappointing.