Bear Creek Inn Gatlinburg, TN — Hotel in Gatlinburg

Great price for our Wed-Fri stay! Off the main strip by minutes. It backs up right to the creek, so the rooms have small balconies with two chairs that overlook a creek. The view itself may not be amazing, but it’s not bad at all (mostly trees!) and the sound is relaxing. Our room was clean, and minimalist in a good way. The bed was strange when I first sat down but I actually loved sleeping on it and felt great the next morning. We were on the second floor with no elevator, but they actually have a ramp that goes around the back and up to the front again so it was probably faster than an elevator anyway. Our room had high, slanted ceilings that made it feel bigger, and the absence of road noise combined with the sound of the creek when we opened the balcony door was a perfect way to unwind. The second floor above the front desk has a large picnic table that would be great for a group, and the workers I met were very kind. The fridge worked great, I didn’t try the microwave. There was also an ironing board, iron, hair dryer, and coffee machine that we didn’t use but Im going to assume they work fine! We liked the lighting, it was great for us. The water was plenty hot in our room, and I enjoyed the rain-type shower head. Others in my party prefer more pressure but it’s personal preference. And I actually really liked that the main window is on the back of the hotel and we didn’t have to worry about lights from outside and neighbors coming and disturbing us. We didn’t hear any noises at all from other rooms except maybe a hair dryer one morning very faintly, and some voices outside for a couple minutes that were barely discernible. Overall, I have to give it 10/10 for privacy, convenience, and inside cleanliness. Now for some things I noticed but were not deal breakers. You’re not getting views, it’s behind other motels. Parking was a bit strange on one side, and is partially just a gravel lot with small lines to indicate which way to point your car. Not a big deal; it actually made it easier to pull out. There was no table in our room, just the tv cabinet that held the fridge and microwave, and a rolling office style chair. The only mirror is above the sink, and the faucet is short enough that it’s a bit annoying to wash your hands. The main thing that threw me are the windows in the bathroom. I don’t know the technical term for them, but the closest description I have is frosted or pebbled glass. It wouldn’t be difficult at all for someone not much taller than my 5’3” to see somewhat blurrily into your bathroom. You could also see them, which I know because I had my 5’6” daughter stand in the bathroom window while I went outside. It was disconcerting, to say the least, but we easily filled the window with some paper bags from our shopping. We would probably stay there again, but we would definitely bring something to cover that window lol. And last of all, the ramp had some serious spiders and webs built the morning we left, so beware walking the corridor. But that’s nature and I don’t think the staff can reasonably be expected to eradicate all insects. If that bothers you, just don’t use the ramp and...

Only good thing about this place is the location. Room had a horrible musky moldy smell. Took 2 different air sanitizer sprays to get rid of the smell, it was making me sick. Killed several bugs while in there. Floor was absolutely disgusting and sticky. You could see the mop tracks where they "cleaned" the floor with a dirty mop. DO NOT LOOK AT THE BASE BOARDS. Even dirtier then the floor. You can tell they don't clean around the toilet cause that was disgusting to look at. It was just really gross. After managing to deal with the nasty floor the first night, the next morning I went and asked if they would mop the floor cause it was super sticky and gross. Dude was real hesitant when I asked for the floor to be mopped. I was pleasantly surprised when we got back to our room the 2nd day and the floor had been mopped. I could never take my shoes off though, cause that sort of thing grossed me out. Put the floor towel in front of the tub to shower and after me and my daughter showered that floor towel was brown with how nasty the floor was. Won't ever stay here again. The corners of the floors, baseboards, walls just nasty and dirty. My key kept deprogramming so had to get it fixed a few times. The woman in the office was nice. The guy was not at all. You could tell it was taking every ounce of energy he had to fake the niceness. I was upset cause for the 2nd time my key wasn't working and I was outside talking to my sister about it and dude comes out and was just rude. As If I'm supposed to be just fine with my key not working and the office being locked not to mention a nasty room. Last i checked i was a paying customer. My key working and my room being clean is not asking too much. I shouldn't have to ask for either of those things. Just not a pleasant experience. The only good thing about this place was it was a 15 minute walk from everything. Google says this place has an indoor heated pool but didn't see it anywhere and there was no mention of it anywhere. It probably wouldn't be clean anyway. Won't be back. Oh and the beds are so old. My back is killing me from sleeping on that bed 2 nights. It's cheap and you get what you pay for. Also, my sister was staying a few doors down and her room was the exact same. Same smell, same nasty floors. So It wasn't just a fluke. This place is...

Myself and my partner were road tripping between Atlanta, Gatlinburg and Nashville for our Honeymoon. We didn't know much about Gatlinburg but wanted somewhere to get our heads down for 2 nights to visit the surrounding area. We loved the fact on the reviews this little Inn was based on the river, it is easy to find from the main route and about 5/6 minutes walk from Ole Red at the end of the main Gatlinburg front street. The inn is easy to find, we arrived late, we parked up and headed to reception were we were greeted with a friendly guy who ran us through the form to sign for the rules, handed us a quaint little welcome pack with some snack bits and a car pass which we popped into the car when we unpacked. We had a room on the 2nd floor, my honest opinion (from someone who works in travel) if you are looking for a 5* hotel this is not the place, however the room was large, very clean we had 2 double beds.| The room had a coffee maker, tv, microwave and fridge. It was large in size, the whole place felt very safe and secure, we didn't seem to find a safe which we would have liked however. The bathroom is basic, clean - there was a big well lit mirror, sink and hairdryer perfect for getting ready and doing make up. No issues with the shower.||My favourite part was the balcony, the door opens to reveal a wonderful river view which was relaxing & tranquil, may be worth packing bug spray however we had no issues but guess this depends on seasons too. There was ample space on the balcony, on the evening we sat our when we got back, even though the weather wasn't on our side they are covered. The added bonus was the following morning whilst chilling on the balcony, a bear appeared down on the river side, a fantastic up and close experience! ||The walk to Gatlinburg front street was a nice one, lots of shops and bars and things to see and visit as you reach the main part. Overall great little stay, clean and lovely staff....