Wilderness Adventure Forest — Attraction in Sevierville

This review is actually a two-fer, let me explain...

The majority of folks staying at Wilderness at the Smokies are likely vacationers visiting East TN and its wonderful natural scenery. We, however, were part of a large contingent of volleyball families who overtake this resort one weekend a year for a tournament hosted by the local K2 volleyball club. To be fair, I tried to write this review adopting both points of view, averaging the overall rating.

For vacationers, the posted rating of 4.6 stars sounds about right though I would lean towards a low 4 given shortcomings noted below.

In the winter, it can be difficult to find outdoor activities for children in the area esp. when the weather is particularly nasty (as it was for the entirety of our stay). Pluses of this lodging include interconnected corridors linking hotel rooms to amenities, and a great indoor water park. In addition, even though ratings for the hotel restaurant are low, the fact it is also connected to hotel through very walk-able corridors earns it some convenience points. Rooms can sleep families of 4-6, though quarters can be cramped. Since most of the time families in this category spend at the hotel is likely either in the water park, at outdoor amenities (if summertime), or running back and forth in between, this is probably not be a deal breaker. Parking was nowhere near enough for the number of guests so a lengthy walk across the property is required to retrieve one's vehicle.

Unfortunately, we weren't vacationers. From the perspective of volleyball parents, items above which make the resort enticing to indoor water park guests, coupled with other idiosyncrasies, detracted significantly from our stay. As a result, I proffer a very generous 2-star rating for our personal experience. Check-in - Chaotic and frustrating. For travelling volleyball families, it is not uncommon for one spouse to book the trip while the other travels with the player(s) to the event. Additionally, especially in cases of tournaments which span beyond weekends, one parent may arrive later than the other due to work or other responsibilities. Front desk staff didn't seem to know how to process check-ins for these situations, refusing at first to even let me check in because my wife had created the reservation with her debit card. This was not an isolated incident (several other families were stuck in the same rut). Eventually, we were allowed to check in. However, my wife, arriving near midnight, was required to trudge down to the front desk in order to run her card even though I had already paid for the entire stay. Parking - A "mile away" as noted earlier. Noise - Constant throughout the evenings. Several calls to the front desk were futile. We were told quiet time was not until after 11 pm. What sounded like either kids running up and down the halls, jumping on beds, or moving furniture extended well beyond even that deadline. Made it difficult to get sleep which was a problem for 12-14 y.o. volleyball players (and parents) who needed to be at the event site at 7 am local time (6 am Central) to warm up for their first matches of the day. Rooms - In need of renovation (see pics) and, as mentioned previously, cramped. Overall size is on par with an average room at a Hilton or Marriott. However, two full size beds, a bunk bed, and a sofa bed were crammed into the same space. As a result, the bathroom was tiny, there was no enclosed closet space, the space looked strangely compartmentalized, and there was hardly any counter space. Technically, we were able to sleep four, but it felt like living in a tent for 3 days. Price - High for what we received.

Averaging the two ratings provides an overall 3 star rating, but the score alone doesn't provide a complete picture. We have stayed at other Wyndham properties (even in the vicinity) so this visit was a serious disappointment. If your family is looking for an unique indoor water park experience, the pluses might outweigh the cons. For any other use case, I recommend you consider...

First time to the Wilderness, my granddaughter and her best friend enjoyed their 3 days at water park and arcade games very much!! So much for them to do!! But as far as the rooms at River lodge right at the resort,it was disgusting!! The rooms were filthy, carpet was nasty and stained!!! It was so bad I thought about leaving but the children were so excited and ready to play ,I figured I wouldn't get much better anywhere else here at the resort. The rooms are run down, the roomservice was pathetic, we barely got towels for each night we were there.My daughter, her best friend and myself checked all the beds extremely well,I was a nervous wreck about bugs for sure after I seen how gross everything was. We probably won't stay at the resort ever again, but the water park was fun for everyone!! Please clean better and update the beds and...

32$ -35$ per person no matter the age including a 2 year old that wasn't able to do anything at all!!! The arcade is NOT included with day pass! This place is SOOOOO HOT temperature wise like they had the ac off??!! The maze is a small room with light lazers to climb over in it. We thought it was an actual maze!! The tree top climbing was the coolest thing. The burgers up stairs were 15$ a piece good but 60$ for 3 burgers and 3 drinks is just outrageous! This place looks big online but small and got boring fast! Not worth going back again. There's an indoor and outdoor Waterpark we wished we spent our money...