Christmas in Gatlinburg

Can you believe it? Both Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out are available for Christmas! We have guests coming to Smoky Mountain Tower on December 26 and to All Decked Out on December 27, but you can spend Christmas Day at either cabin.

We plan to decorate for Christmas in early December. Nothing fancy - just a few things to make it look like Christmas. Here are some pictures showing what we did last year.


The big lighted wreath greets you when you arrive at Smoky Mountain Tower.


Our "Noel" tapestry in the kitchen/eating area.


We put the Christmas tree in the sunroom.


At All Decked Out, we put the Christmas tree in the main room, just inside the front door.


And we decorated the "bear."


Our family has enjoyed Christmas in Gatlinburg in the past.

As you can see, it was pretty chaotic. But we had a great time. And we hope YOU will bring your family to Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out for Christmas this year!

Winter is coming ... inevitably

Well, it's here!

First, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced a few days ago that it's starting to operate on its "winter schedule." The Visitors' Centers have cut back their hours, and some roads are being closed. You can see all the schedule changes and closings by clicking here.

If that isn't enough, I started yesterday getting warnings about possible snow. Sure enough, earlier today, the Asheville Citizen-Times ran this story about Highway 441 being closed through the park from Cherokee to Gatlinburg, due to ice and snow.

The good news is that we don't have a rock slide on I-40 to contend with, like we did last year at this time (at least, there hasn't been a report of one yet).

I talked with Ingrid, our cleaner, this afternoon. She told me, "It's snowing up high in the mountains, but it's just rain in Gatlinburg. It's supposed to be cold and snowy or rainy for the next day or so. After that, it's back to the 60s during the day and 30s and 40s at night.

We're prepared this year - especially at Smoky Mountain Tower. We've hired somebody to plow our street when it snows and put salt on the hill. So we're hoping (and praying) that nobody will have a problem.

If you want to check the Gatlinburg weather (and traffic), we recommend checking the Space Needle Webcam. Just remember, winter is one of the very special times in the Smokies. So we hope you'll come and enjoy it - either from Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out.

Dutch Auction for Gatlinburg dates in 2010

Can you believe that today is November 1? There are only 61 days left in 2010!

We don't have very many dates left for you to enjoy the late fall and early winter beauty of the Smokies. So we're doing a 'Dutch Auction' for the dates. This is where we keep lowering the price until somebody books the date.

We started about 10 days ago with a 5% discount. Today, I changed to a 10% discount. The next step is 15% - and so on. You can wait for a better deal. But what if somebody else books the dates you want?

Here are the available dates for each cabin:

Smoky Mountain Tower has 24 nights open through December 16:
-Nov 7-18
-Nov 21-22
-Dec 6-15

All Decked Out has 27 nights open through December 16:
-Nov 14-23
-Nov 28-Dec 2
-Dec 5-16

Don't wait - get your dates now. You'll find all the details at our Web sites - just click on "Specials" for the coupon code to save you some money.

We still have dates open after December 16, including Christmas Day at both cabins. More on Christmas in another post.

What does the "best" view look like

If you're keeping up with this blog, you know about Smoky Mountain Tower being selected as one of America's Best Vacation Rental Views. By the way, if you do a Google search with that phrase - in quotes, you'll get over 7,600 hits, which is TRIPLE the amount you would have gotten a week ago! And they're still being added. There have been 40 new sites this week, and 6 added just today.

If you've been to our Web site and looked at our pictures, you've seen some of the shots of the view. But here are a few more from different times of the year for your enjoyment:

Fall


Winter


Winter sunset


Early spring

And here's a panoramic shot in fall.


But the trees are growing. This is our most recent panoramic shot, taken last May (guess I need to update it, huh?).


Now that we're one of the "best," we need to work hard to keep that distinction. So this will be a top priority this winter - to see how much we can open up the view. Of course, many of these trees belong to our neighbors. So we'll have to get their permission for tree trimming.

Stay tuned...

BIG NEWS! We've got the best view in the Smokies!

We have just been notified that Smoky Mountain Tower was selected as the only property in the Smokies to have one of America's Best Vacation Rental Views! The list is published by TripAdvisor, which says it is the world's largest travel site. Since the story was released on Oct. 19, it has been picked up by hundreds of Web sites and publications, including such national media as Reuters, CNN.Money, CNBC and USA Today.

Okay, so we're number 10 on the list. The others are in places like Hawaii, the Rockies, and California. The next closest property is in Hilton Head.

Here's what the editors of TripAdvisor said about Smoky Mountain Tower:

Amenities Aplenty: Smoky Mountain Tower, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
While this mountain chalet is packed full of amenities, from an air hockey table and electronic hoops in the game room, to a hot tub on its first floor deck, its views of the Great Smoky Mountains are what really wow its guests. As one TripAdvisor traveler noted, “The view from the tower is exceptional.”

You can find the entire news release, which was sent out yesterday on the PRNewswire, by going to this link:

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/tripadvisor/42929/

By clicking on "Smoky Mountain Tower" in the link, it will take you to our TripAdvisor listing (which we actually manage through their sister site, Flipkey).

So, what are you waiting for? There are only 21 nights open in November and December (plus Christmas week). And we're already getting inquiries for as far out as September 2011. Don't be disappointed - book your vacation now. Then you, too, can say that you have seen one of America's Best Vacation Rental Views!.

The Neighborhood - All Decked Out

As promised, here are some shots of the neighborhood around All Decked Out.

This is the view as you come down the road.


That's All Decked Out on the left. As you can see, our little private road continues on past All Decked Out. There are 5 more cabins down that road, plus another one set down low on the mountain just before you get to the road entrance (right behind the mailboxes on the right). That cabin, and the one just past All Decked Out, are occupied by permanent residents, both of whom are good friends. The other cabins are rental cabins, like All Decked Out.

I walked a little further down our private road to give you a better view. The left cabin is owned by permanent residents.


Right across the road is a rental cabin. Here's the view from our front entrance deck:

The white car you saw in the previous picture belonged to guests at this cabin, but they left just before I took this picture.

People ask if there is a "view" at All Decked Out. Yes, it's what we call a "winter view." Here's the view from the upstairs bedroom window:


So that's the neighborhood. We hope you'll come and enjoy it for yourself.

The Neighborhood - Smoky Mountain Tower

From time to time, we get inquiries asking us about the neighborhood around Smoky Mountain Tower. Since we were just there last week, we took some pictures to show you what it's like. (It was a cloudy day, so the pictures aren't the best.)

This is the view from the driveway, near the front door.

As you can see, there's another house on the left, mostly hidden by the trees. You can see two cars on the right. They belong to our closest permanent neighbor (he's a good friend who actually was in real estate before he retired. In fact, he sold Smoky Mountain Tower to us!). His house is also mostly hidden by trees. Farther down the street, there are several other houses, some of which are occupied by permanent neighbors.

Now, let's walk out the driveway and look back at Smoky Mountain Tower.


On the left are the two cars you saw in the first picture. On the right is the corner of the house you saw. The driveway into Smoky Mountain Tower is in the center left of the photo, just to the right of the cars. As you can see, it's pretty "secluded."

In our next post, we'll show you the neighborhood around All Decked Out.