Big Bear Lodge — Hotel in Pigeon Forge

We stayed in cabin #455 at the resort with another family. We were in town for a youth baseball tournament. Here's the PROS.... The cabin was clean and all linens, dishes, pot and pans were included for use. There was a hot tub on the screened porch, a porch swing, rocking chairs, and a gas grill. We had access to the resort pool and all its amenities. The location is great.... just a few blocks from the Parkway and close to several restaurants and Kroger. We had some amazing views of the Smokies from the hot tub :) And the lodge and surrounding property was beautiful. The grounds were well maintained. The AC stopped working in the middle of the night. We called first thing in the morning and someone was out within a few hours to fix it. And the CONS... We weren't up on the mountains at all so the views were nice, but definitely not breath-taking. I would have liked it to be a little more wooded and rustic but it's a resort so understandable. The beds were all so uncomfortable. I wasn't expecting 5 star accommodations but the mattresses were definitely past their prime. Lots and lots of pokey springs. And the sofa beds....The cabin would have easily accommodated our group of 8, had those been usable but they were SO thin and uncomfortable. My husband and I had to sleep our 10 year old twins in the bed with us (yeah, about as fun as it sounds. Lol) and my son slept on the sofa. (not pulled out... just the couch) The pool was clean but very small. There were about 8-10 kids in there and it was over-flowing. They barely had room to swim or play The hot tub our cabin seemed to be clean but the community hot tub next to the pool was GROSS. It looked like the bottom was rusty or something, causing the water to look very yellow-ish (My kids said it was pee water. Haha)

Overall... I enjoyed the cabin. It was extremely affordable and even though I have a few complaints, they are minor and wouldn't keep me from renting at Big Bear Resort in the future. A lot of the cabins are private owned and just managed by the resort so I know the furniture, etc are not provided by the lodge itself. I would definitely recommend...

The Property Manager Larry was great from the start. He was very responsive and answered questions before we arrived and was quick to respond once we were there. The condo was clean and had the basic necessities. We had everything we needed to cook and clean. There is a washer and dryer in the unit but they will bring you fresh towels and linens upon request. It was a two bedroom unit with a king bed in each and both were comfy. The master bedroom had a door leading to the balcony which was nice because we had the kids on the pull out sleeper couch bed next to the sliding doors so we could sneak out on the balcony in the AM or PM without disturbing their sleep. The master bath had a jacuzzi tub which was nice after a long hike! Also had a large shower. The sun set off the back of the condo so each night we could watch the sunset and relax. The balcony has a table with 4 chairs and 2 rocker chairs. There were board games and DVDs in unit. There was a dining table for 4 and 2 bar top tables. Everything you need to sleep and entertain 6 people. The unit 5003 was located right off the elevator which was convenient and since it's the center of the building the balcony was kicked out and was bigger than the other units which was nice! Location wise it was right off the main strip of Pigeon Forge so we were close enough to enjoy the activities but away enough to have peach and quiet. We brought our bikes so we drove over to the library and jumped on a riverside trail that runs from the library over to The Island (area with shops, restaurants, activities). There is an Alpine Coaster you can see from the balcony to the left and it is REALLY cool! Probably the best around and it's right down the street. The building had an indoor pool and gym and also an outdoor pool. This condo was about 15 minutes to Gatlinburg. Overall great experience and we...

While my review is not overly favorable, there were definitely good points about our stay at this facility. I'll start with those: Big Bear Lodge is located close enough to "The Strip" for those wanting to partake in those activities, yet far enough away for those that do not. The views from our balcony were lovely at sunset. The unit in which we stayed (5002) was wonderfully spacious, nicely decorated and wonderfully appointed. The dishes all matched, there were enough of them for all, the appliances were late model and there were all of them that you could possibly want or need, ie, 4-slice toaster, high-end blender, etc. There were board games and puzzles in case of inclement weather days, too. Now for the bad; the place was dirty! Visible, thick dust on every surface. If they are willing to leave visible dirt, I am now incredibly uneasy about the dirt I can't see. I vacuumed the upholstered furniture then liberally sprayed with Lysol before I let anyone sit, I laundered the linens (the extra blankets that were provided shed lint balls like you wouldn't believe!) and cleaned the bathrooms. When I was drying off with a towel, a long blonde hair stuck to my face. Need I say that NO ONE in my family has blonde hair? Ugh! I opened a drawer in the master bath to put some toiletries in and there were hairs and smears of make-up (I hope!) in the bottom of the drawer along with some other gritty, dusty substance. There were hairs in the shower as well. Again, there were many favorable aspects to this establishment, but dirt is a deal breaker. I don't know that we'll ever visit Pigeon Forge again, but if we do, we...