sevierville tn - Stuff Parents Need

Smoky Mountains Weekend Getaway at Hidden Mountain Resort (GIVEAWAY!!!)

February 5, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 119 Comments

Special thanks to the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce for hosting my family for the weekend. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

Over the last week I’ve shown you fun things to do in Sevierville, as well as great places to eat in Sevierville. Now I want to show you THE place to stay during a trip to the Smoky Mountains.

Let me introduce Hidden Mountain Resort. This is a glorious little community of cottages and cabins in a remote area so that you feel far away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. And yet, I was also very pleasantly surprised that I could reach the main drag of Sevierville and ALL that fun stuff to go see and do in just 5 minutes flat. Hidden Mount Resort homes are perfectly situated to give you the best of both worlds: seclusion and easy access to all the fun!

We stayed in cabin #4129, Mountain Dove (every home has a fun name, which I love!). When we arrived my husband and my in-laws, who were traveling with us, were positively SHOCKED at how gorgeous this home was. I was honestly a little confused by their dismay, and then I learned that their assumption was that staying in a “cabin” would be rustic and perhaps even mildly uncomfortable.

Clearly they didn’t get the memo about what Hidden Mountain Resort homes are like! I suppose I had the advantage because I visited the website before we went. I knew it was going to be spectacular! 🙂

I just can’t say this enough, friends: if you are traveling with kids or with a larger-than-average group (such as having your in-laws with you) then staying in a house is leaps and bounds more comfortable than staying in a hotel. And you just might be shocked by how comparable the cost is to having to book a few hotel rooms. This particular cabin rents for $350/night. It has 3 bedrooms. If you had 2 different families splitting the bill, that would be $175/night per family and instead of having to hole up in a tiny room, you have an entire GORGEOUS home. It’s honestly a no-brainer!

My children had an absolute blast exploring all the fun that there is to be had in Sevierville. But they also made a point of asking to “go back home” and they weren’t talking about Chattanooga…they were talking about Hidden Mountain!

With that garden tub and a little bubble bath on hand, can you really blame them???

As for the grownups, we enjoyed getting to have some time to relax in the hot tub on the deck, and of course, we made good use of the fire, which was gas and turned on with the flick of a switch!

Our Hidden Mountain Resort home was very spacious, very pristine, and very comfortable. Everyone had plenty of room to stretch out and relax. And while hit up quite a few restaurants on our particular trip, the next time we come to Hidden Mountain (oh trust, there will be a next time!) we’ll make use of the kitchen, which will actually help us save money on the vacation and ensure that we have food on hand that our little picky eaters will actually eat. 🙂

I also loved that while I had all of the benefits of staying in a house on this vacation, I ALSO had some of the benefits you expect when you stay in a hotel, such as 24 hour front desk service and the ability to switch out my linens if I so desired. The house also had a washer and dryer. Laundry wasn’t on my intended list of things to do during the weekend, but my youngest had a potty accident (such is life with a toddler, right?!) and boy was I glad to have that machine on hand so that I didn’t have to haul stinky, dirty laundry back home with me. Imagine how useful that would be for week-long vacations, too!

We absolutely LOVED our stay at Hidden Mount Resort. They have many different cabins at various price points and of various sizes to accommodate a wide variety of budgets and needs. I can’t wait to go back.

And true story: just this morning I was reminiscing with my kids about our trip to Disney World back in November. My oldest said, “Yeah Disney was fun, but when are going back to Sevierville and that pretty cabin?” Sevierville and Hidden Mount Resort, that is the highest praise from my daughter, who loves all things Disney with all of her heart!

Win it!:

One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a 2-night stay at Hidden Mountain Resort in a 2-bedroom home, cabin #4068 (and a few attraction passes, too!). Please note: while Facebook doesn’t allow us to require you to like our pages, please keep in mind that your “likes” help keep the blog running and help make amazing giveaways like this possible! We appreciate your support!

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3 Great Places to Eat in Sevierville, Tennessee

January 31, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 8 Comments

Thanks to the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce for hosting my family over the weekend. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

A visit to the Smoky Mountains is a very easy weekend getaway option for folks in the Chattanooga area. We headed upstate last weekend and enjoyed a fun-filled 3 days in the area, with the bulk of our time spent in the town of Sevierville. A few days ago I highlighted fun things to do in Sevierville, and today I want to make some restaurant recommendations. We ate out at several different establishments, but three stood out from the crowd.

1. Courthouse Donuts

When we visited this tucked away shop, located right across from the Sevierville Courthouse in the old downtown core of the town, we learned that Courthouse Donuts had only been opened for 6 days! So the word hasn’t gotten out yet, but I can promise you that this is a total gem in the city. It’s off the main drag, so the hustle and bustle of all the tourist destinations is absent (which is actually quite refreshing!) but the food offerings, which at this point are strictly donuts, still offer customers “an experience.”

We all tried something different and then argued over who had the best donut. I personally loved my seasonal selection, which was an apple pie donut (YUM!), but even I have to admit that my father-in-law probably got the very best, though also the most strange selection. The owner suggested that he try a vanilla dipped donut with fruity pebbles sprinkled on top. If he didn’t like it, she promised to make him a new one. He thought for sure that he’d be bringing it back to her to replace.

That donut was gone in a flash, friends! The combo seemed weird, but the owner knew what she was talking about!

The staff at Courthouse Donuts was very friendly and fun, the atmosphere was adorable in every way, and even the iced coffee was yummy (which is always important for me!). Get off the beaten path and head to Courthouse Donuts during your next stay in the area. You’ll be so glad you did!

2. The Apple Barn

The Apple Barn is actually a chain of buildings, so once again you can head to this location to eat, but also to have a total apple experience. We started in their winery. They make several variations of wine with apples right on sight, and offer complimentary tastings.

We also checked out the candy store (a big hit with the kids) and the Christmas-themed shop (which is a great place to buy souvenirs). I also really liked the gift shop that carried all things apple-related. Connected to that shop was a little bakery where we picked up some fried apple pies to snack on the following day. Then we headed over to the grill to enjoy dinner together.

We really enjoyed the apple fritters that came as an appetizer while we waited for our meal. The menu contains what I would call “down home” cooking (chicken & dumplings, pot pie, fried catfish, etc.). It was a heavy meal, to be sure, but it was good! And I really appreciated the atmosphere, which was family-friendly and relaxing. The fireplace in the center of the main room was a really nice touch.

All in all, the Apple Barn is a place to head to for a meal, but it offers so much more so that you’ll want to stick around for a while!

3. Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin

This appears to be a chain in the area. There are several locations in the metro area, and that usually means that a restaurant is quite excellent if it can be in such close proximity to itself! Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin in Sevierville is the location we chose. Inside you’ll find a cute little shopping area that you can peruse either while you wait for your seat or while you wait for your order.

As a family of 6 (4 adults, 2 children) we ordered a total of 5 “regular” plates (so nothing off the children’s menu) to all share, and we still had a LOT of leftovers. So bring your stretchy pants before you head over to breakfast at Flapjack’s!

All of the food was outstanding, but the real stand-out had the be the chocolate and peanut butter pancakes. You can probably imagine just how yummy they tasted by seeing how yummy they looked!

The only thing I would suggest to avoid at Flapjack’s is their iced coffee. I was so excited to see it offered on the menu, but was so disappointed when it came out and I took my first sip. It was apparent to me that it was just regular hot coffee that had been poured over ice. That’s NOT the way to do it if you didn’t brew the coffee really strong, because if it isn’t strong, you are just going to have really weak cold coffee on your hands. So don’t order that item. But as for the food, as far as I could tell you really can’t make a poor choice! I would eat there again in a heartbeat!

Those are my top picks for places to eat in Sevierville. If you’ve got a favorite in the area I’d love to hear about it!

My Favorite Things to Do in Gatlinburg, TN? Head Over to Sevierville for Fun!

January 29, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Thanks to the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce for hosting my family over the weekend. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

Did you know that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in our country? It actually wins by a landslide, drawing roughly 9 million visitors a year, which is double the amount that the second most visited national park receives. The park is located in Tennessee and North Carolina and on the Tennessee side, is right next to the city of Gatlinburg.

It’s no wonder, therefore, that so many people are searching for things to do in Gatlinburg to compliment a trip to the Smoky Mountains. But I’d like to let you in on a little secret: some of the most fun things to do in the area are actually just down the road in Sevierville, TN. Sevierville is within very easy striking distance of Gatlinburg and the national park and it is also filled to the brim with fun activities for the entire family.

We recently headed up to Sevierville for the weekend and absolutely LOVED how many cool things we could do, all within a 5-10 minute drive of each other! I want to highlight two fun destinations that are perfect for families with kids.

Rainforest Adventures

Rainforest Adventures is a very fun spot for any animal lovers. The attraction is largely indoors (and fair warning, it DOES smell like a lot of animals call this place home!). You can see a wide variety of mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and bugs. There is plenty to see and some really interesting material for older kids and adults to read.

We got to watch this fellow snack on a fly, which was AMAZING! Those tongues are crazy fast, y’all! And we also spent a little time with the serval cat, who was most excellent at providing great photo ops.

In fact, the entire place was filled with really fun photo opportunities of super cool animals. My kids were thoroughly entertained for about an hour, and I think if your kids are able to read the info signs they might want to stay about 2 hours. This isn’t an “all day” attraction, but it is certainly worthy of a piece of your day.

The outdoor portion of Rainforest Adventures includes opportunities to feed llamas, ostriches, sheep, goats and even a pig. Bring your quarters (or get change made in the gift shop) so you can purchase some food. I think we spent $1 and that was the best dollar we spent all day because Layah was positively tickled by the experience. She laughed and jumped and squealed the entire time. It was priceless!

Rainforest Adventures is open 9-5 every day of the year except Christmas Day, and children under 3 are free, kids 3-12 are $7.99, adults are $12.99 and those over 55 are $10.99. You can actually get discounted tickets if you purchase them in advance online, so be sure to take advantage of that savings opportunity!

Wonderworks

One building you can’t help but notice on the road between Sevierville and Gatlinburg is the one that’s upside-down.

This is Wonderworks and it is an excellent destination for kids, tweens and teens, as well as for the adults who are with them. While younger kids may work through the displays more quickly, I think tweens and teens can stay entertained for an entire afternoon here! You can also come and go as you please during the day that you purchase your ticket, so leaving to grab lunch or even to go take a nap is no problem, which I really appreciate, since kids can be unpredictable at times and you might need to cut your visit short for some reason.

Wonderworks is overflowing with highly interactive displays, many of which are based on matters related to science. For example, perhaps you want to experience category 1 hurricane winds. My father-in-law thought they were “a breeze” (hee hee) but I was “blown away!” (somebody stop me!).

Or maybe you want to touch a powerful electrical current but not get hurt. No problem! Put your hand in the chain mail glove and see what happens!

You can also feel the exact temperature of the water the night that the Titanic sank and see just how long you can keep your hand in it before you need to pull it out. My mother-in-law did 40 seconds, which was 10 seconds longer than the person who went before her. It really helps you understand how the unfortunate victims would have died very quickly in water that cold when you see that you can only stand it, yourself, for a matter of seconds before you remove your hand.

One of the coolest things we saw, though we didn’t attempt it because our kids were too small, was the obstacle course that was WAY up high in the air. I could tell it was very popular with older kids!

Tim tried out the bed of nails with great success, though it freaked our kids out a bit!

I think our very favorite exhibit (and I’ve only scratched the surface of the exhibits with the above photos!) was the bubble making area. We spent a good deal of time there making bubbles that were absolutely enormous. SO much fun for kids and adults, alike!

Wonderworks is $15.99 for kids and $24.99 for adults. So it isn’t cheap! For that reason, I would hesitate to recommend this for families with kids 6 and under, unless you have a 5 or 6-year-old that is very adventurous and willing to jump in and try everything out. But if you have older kids, I think this is very much worth the money because there is just SO much to do! I also like that you can go in the morning and play for a bit, leave for a spell, and come back and do it again in the afternoon. That can really help you get your money’s worth!

Have you been to Sevierville, TN? I’d love to hear about what you did there, or if it is a place on your radar to visit! I actually have a vacation giveaway coming up, so stay tuned!!! 🙂