It snowed in Gatlinburg this week!

Funny thing! Winter usually arrives in Gatlinburg about the same time every year - right after the Christmas parade. We got several reports of a 'beautiful snowfall' in Gatlinburg earlier this week.

Winter is a fantastic time to visit Gatlinburg. Here are some pictures to prove it.

When you drive in through the National Park, you'll go through several tunnels. This is just one view as you come out of a tunnel.


Sometimes, the trees frost up like this one. This sure beats any 'flocked' Christmas tree!


Here's a view from the Tower deck at Smoky Mountain Tower. Yes, it's snowing across the way at Ober Gatlinburg.


This is a view of the storm last Christmas as it crossed Mt. LeConte. This was taken by our daughter, Kathy, from All Decked Out.


And finally, here's what All Decked Out looks like in the snow.

We think you'll agree - the Smokies are beautiful in the winter. And remember, we're only about 10 minutes from the best ski resort in the southeast - Ober Gatlinburg. So we hope you'll join us at either All Decked Out or Smoky Mountain Tower this winter for some great fun and spectacular scenery.

A very unusual situation - and a great deal!

We have a very unusual situation at both All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower this month = and a really good deal to go with it.

Last year, we were almost completely full at both our cabins in December. But this year, we actually have some open dates.

All Decked Out is open from now through Thursday night, Dec. 22.

Smoky Mountain Tower has several weeknights open, including some dates before and after Christmas. Here's the calendar.


Our normal rate is $169.00 per night through December 15, and $199.00 per night for the last half of December. Also, we normally require guests to stay a minimum of 4 nights during the Christmas and New Year's period. But we've made two changes.

First, all available December nights are only $150.00 per night (plus tax). And we have reduced our minimums to fit the available nights - 3 nights before Christmas and 2 nights between Christmas and New Year's.

It's a busy time of year. But this is a great way to have a little fun and save money on your Christmas gifts at the local outlet malls. We're still getting inquiries for these dates, so please don't wait. Go to our Web sites to make your reservation, or call us for details at 865-325-9888. See you in Gatlinburg - this year!
-

Christmas has arrived!

I've been telling you for days about how Marcia and her boys, Zack and Nathan, volunteered to go to Gatlinburg and set up our Christmas decorations at All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower. Well, it's done!

When you drive up to All Decked Out, this is what you'll see:


Then, as soon as you step inside, you'll find our new Christmas tree - expertly decorated by Zack and Nathan:


Yes, it's all done in red, white and blue - in keeping with our new Americana decor.


And, All Decked Out is truly 'all decked out' with two Christmas trees. The second one is downstairs in the Family/Game room.


Now let's travel the 1/2 mile to Smoky Mountain Tower. We'll go straight inside and take a look at the Christmas tree in the Sunroom:


And if you've been there before, you'll remember our big "NOEL" tapestry:


Of course, there's more. Wait til you see what they've done to the mantle and the bear coffee table at All Decked Out. These few pictures are just to give you a little taste of all the work that our great daughter and grandsons have done for us. And here they are, taking a bow by the Christmas Tree at Smoky Mountain Tower - Nathan, Marcia and Zack.


You may not be able to celebrate on Christmas Day at Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out (although two families will be doing just that). But you can still celebrate a little early (or come in January and get a head-start on Christmas 2012). We still have dates available in December - at a SUPER good deal. Pay only $150.00 per night (plus tax) - a savings of up to 25%. Book now at our Web site and experience the Christmas spirit in Gatlinburg!

THAT was fast!

Remember yesterday afternoon's post about our New Year's opening at Smoky Mountain Tower?

Remember I told you that, after a guest cancelled Thanksgiving weekend, we rebooked it in 36 hours?

Well, New Year's weekend didn't take that long. It was booked in less than 10 hours after we posted the availability. If you were one of the folks who inquired about this time period yesterday, but didn't get it booked fast enough, we're sorry. We hope you'll come back some other time.

And please remember one more thing! We work hard to 'tell it like it is!' So PLEASE don't delay in making reservations. This is a classic example of how the good dates don't last.

Now, keep watching here. Marcia and her boys are hard at work decorating for Christmas. I got a sneak preview last night of the Christmas tree at Smoky Mountain Tower. I should be able to get some good pictures posted later today.

BIG NEWS - Last-minute New Year's cancellation

Special news for our Blog and Facebook friends! The guests who reserved Smoky Mountain Tower last April for this New Years have had to cancel. So we now have great dates open for New Years.

And, since we already announced that all remaining dates for 2011 are on sale for $150, we will honor that price for these newly-available dates, too. But we are going to have to enforce our 4-night minimum stay during this time.

Here are the dates:
-Arrive as early as Wednesday afternoon, December 28
-Stay as long as Wednesday morning, January 3, 2012
That's 7 nights in Gatlinburg - what a way to celebrate 2011 and get a great start on 2012!

There are just a couple of restrictions:
-You must stay at least 4 nights
-You can't arrive on New Years Eve or New Years Day
-Our '7th Night Free' is not valid during these dates.

Remember, the price is only $150 per night (plus tax). That's a savings of 25% per night through January 1. And if you can stay all 7 nights, we'll find a way to give you an even better deal. Just write back to me at Dave@SmokyMountainTower.com for details.

Hurry! We don't expect this deal to last very long. Remember, we had a cancellation for Thanksgiving and we rebooked it in less than 36 hours. I'm announcing this deal on our Blog and Facebook now. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to list it on all our advertising sites and our own Web site. If you can't stay all 7 nights, you can book now at our Web site - www.SmokyMountainTower.com. Just click the "Book Online Now" button and make your reservation. We'll accept the first valid reservation we receive.

A Thanksgiving Change of Plans

It's Thanksgiving night. We hope you've had a great day. In the midst of food, football and shopping plans, we hope you've taken some time to pause and consider ALL the things for which you are thankful.

We did - although it wasn't where we expected to do it.

We had planned to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter, Marcia, and her family in middle Tennessee. Then we were going to come back to Gatlinburg and spend a few days decorating both Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out for Christmas.

But that all changed a few days ago when we found out that Phyllis has some significant back problems which will probably require surgery. Her doctor said, "No travel, no lifting, no work" - which is okay, because the pain she has been experiencing really keeps her from all that anyway.

So, are we thankful? Absolutely! We're very thankful for all of you - our friends and guests. You make all the work to manage and maintain our Gatlinburg cabins worthwhile. We're also thankful for our family, who is supporting us in so many ways during this tough time. In fact, Marcia and her boys are planning to drive over to Gatlinburg on Sunday and do our Christmas decorating! Marcia has promised some pictures, which we'll post as soon as we can.

And we're managing pretty well! Phyllis 'directed' Thanksgiving dinner today from her recliner, and Dave did the work (with help from Sam's Club). As you can see below, we had a feast today - turkey and all the trimmings!


We're also thankful for so many others who keep our cabins clean and well-maintained. Ingrid and Bob Nelson are always there when we need them - cleaning, and doing a lot of little extras to make your stay more comfortable. Mark Kalinowski and Darren Phillips make sure everything is working as well as possible. Our friends at IVacationOnLine.com keep our reservation site and our online calendar working around the clock. Thank you, all of you!

Above all is our loving Savior, our Lord, Jesus Christ, who controls everything in His perfect will. Through His sacrificial death and resurrection, He has given us eternal life. So whatever happens (like changes in travel plans), He is in charge and He knows what is best for us. So our ultimate thanksgiving goes to Him. And we sincerely hope your Thanksgiving has been as special as ours!

Motels are cheaper, right? WRONG!

I just got an email from Hotwire, trying to get me to book a hotel room in Gatlinburg. That got me thinking about the comparative cost between All Decked Out (our smaller cabin at 2,508 sq. ft.) and a motel room.

Here's the Hotwire listing - a 2-star motel (average room size of 150 sq. ft.), and I don't even get to pick my motel.


At $37.00 per night, the cost per square foot is 24.667 cents. When I multiply that number by the square footage of All Decked Out, our comparable nightly rate should be $618.64! And our ratings show that we're five star!

That's not all. When you stay in a local motel, you get...
...one bed and a bathroom (instead of 3 king bedrooms and 3 king baths
...one TV (instead of 5 TVs)
...no full kitchen (maybe a tiny refrigerator and microwave)
...no hot tub
...no pool table
...no game area with foosball & air hockey
...no eating area
...no decks
...no fireplace
...no phones with free long distance
...no mountain views

Let's look at it another way. If you take our current special price of $150.00 per night and divide that by the square footage of All Decked Out, then multiply it by the hotel room size, you should really only pay $8.97 a night for the motel. And that's without figuring all the extra amenities you get at All Decked Out.

And check out their tax rate. It works out to 20.9%, while ours is only 12.75%. Hmmmmm.

So why would anybody stay in a motel room when they can have all the extras at either All Decked Out or Smoky Mountain Tower? What do YOU think?