Residence Inn by Marriott Pigeon Forge — Hotel in Pigeon Forge

WOW I had one of those live and learn days today. My family had a cabin in the mountains but we decided to come up a day early and just a get a room at one of the local hotels we stay at almost every year with a large group of 15-20 guests. Figured no big deal right... well, I sure was wrong. We rolled in tonight 9:30 p.m. and to our surprise there was zero availability at the first 5 or so hotels we stopped at, all situated around the same area in pigeon forge. Long story short.... the last one we stopped at, this one, Residence Inn, Pigeon Forge was at the end of the strip we checked on and I was greeted with the nicest host, (manager I'm guessing) lady at the front desk that I had talked with out of all the other hotels up to this point. Her name was Morgan and let me tell you she was super helpful, she was able to accommodate us and she was very empathetic. The other staffs down the strip should learn from this lady. She was very professional and she took my Bonvoy member number and next I knew she was handing me key cards. The facility is beautiful, front entrance area is extremely clean with a high-end appeal to it. The room was amazing, super clean, very contemporary, super comfy, super spacious, etc... I honestly can't say enough about Mrs. Morgan and the room she put us in. We have been staying in Pigeon Forge for years and we have found a new place to lay our head when on vacay here. If you are on the fence, take it from a family that has stayed at a bunch of different places, and who is very concerned with cleanliness and space for a large family, this place hits on all points! You want be disappointed. Let me add, I do not work for Marriot or any hotel group, I don't even have any family members that do and I did not know Mrs. Morgan at the front desk before we walked in tonight. I don't leave a lot of reviews but when I have an experience like this, I sure want to let others know who may be looking for a great place to stay. Morgan, if you see this... thanks again for your empathy and willingness to help us like you did. If you are not the manager, you should be in training! I employ a fairly large staff and the way you greeted me, listened to me, and then assisted me was first rate and worthy of being taught to others in your profession! Keep up the good work and we will be back. Thanks for an amazing comfy stay when we were dead dog tired and had no place to...

We stayed at this hotel for a baseball tournament and chose it for its convenient location next to the fields, the complimentary breakfast, and the in-room kitchenettes. The property itself was clean and clearly geared toward families visiting for the Ripken baseball experience.

Unfortunately, our experience was completely overshadowed by one front desk staff member, Janine, whose behavior was unacceptable and unprofessional. On both evenings—during a rainstorm—families gathered in the lobby to eat dinner, watch the game, and let the kids quietly play cards. Everyone was using normal indoor voices, and no one was acting out of line or being disruptive.

Despite this, Janine continuously yelled at the kids and adults, claiming we were being too loud. She even threatened to call the police. Due to her ongoing harassment of the children and the uncomfortable, escalating nature of her behavior, I made the decision to call the police myself.

When officers arrived, they found nothing wrong with the parents or children and took no action against anyone in our group. Instead, they addressed Janine directly, asking her to stop harassing the children and to speak with the parents if she had any concerns. It was clear to them—and to all of us—that the situation was being blown out of proportion by her.

My husband spoke with the office manager on the phone after Janine called him, and still, nothing was done. Shockingly, Janine was not only allowed to remain at work that night but returned the next day and continued pointing at and targeting me and my children, making us feel extremely uncomfortable. Management again failed to act.

What makes this all the more disappointing is that every other employee we encountered during our stay was friendly and welcoming. But one person’s actions and the hotel’s refusal to step in made our entire experience negative.

Because of this, I will not be staying here again and absolutely would not recommend this hotel to anyone. I’ll also be sharing our experience on the baseball pages and groups I’m part of to warn other teams planning to travel here in the coming weeks.

Families spending a lot of money to stay near the fields should feel safe, respected, and valued—not intimidated and ignored. I hope the hotel takes this seriously and holds their staff to higher standards...

DO NOT STAY HERE WITH YOUR BASEBALL TEAM. The staff during the day were professional and helpful. The staff at night were rude, unprofessional and treated their guests very poorly. The woman, Janine, who worked the from desk with her air pod in, was so rude to everyone and would yell at the guests in the lobby from the front desk. When she wasn't yelling from the front desk at guests, she was having members of the housekeeping staff tell people to quiet down and leave the lobby. ||The location of this hotel is very close to the Ripken Experience and therefore has to see many baseball families and teams chose their hotel to stay at. They would complain it was too loud (it was no more loud than it was during breakfast and the lobby is full) and they could not hear guests checking in. As a paying guest staying at a hotel with a lobby that had several tables and TVs for guests to socialize in, asking guests to whisper and leave is mind blowing. When Janine called the cops twice for guests being in the lobby, the cops did not speak to a single guest and the second time did not even enter the hotel. And the first time the cops came, she left the front desk unattended, went out to her car (guests can see from the windows), came back in, and then when the cops came the second time had locked her keys in her car so the cops then proceeded to have to break into her car in front of all of the guests. Tracy, the head of housekeeping also behaved extremely unprofessionally, as she was asking people in the lobby to huddle and whisper (at 5:30PM), and then chain smoking outside when the cops came. She also asked our baseball team to clear the pool area by the grill because some police officers were coming to grill. A total of 3 officers showed up. The grill area is large enough to be shared by two baseball families as we had happily done the night before. There was also no general or assistant manager on duty when Janine was on duty most of the time so her behavior went unchecked by any supervisor. Jackson, an assistant manager, came on duty one night after she had been yelling and rude, and he apologized to our group for her behavior. This hotel would be great but Janine and certain staff members treatment of their guests was unacceptable and no baseball team...