Clarion Pointe Downtown Gatlinburg

The best parts were the shower head, clean beds, and being close to downtown. The front desk woman also waived the roughly $34-35 in taxes we’d paid after we’d had trouble with our rooms. We arrived around 5:30 and were first given a room with trash on the floor, no working phone, and no phone wiring. After carrying our bags back to the office, we got a second room that was even messier, with things in the toilet and bottles on the floor. For the third room, a front desk employee checked it herself before we moved our bags. It was fairly clean, but had no phone, no hair dryer, very little light, and no security lock on the door. At breakfast, the woman working there was unfriendly and snapped at another guest who asked her a question. The tables weren’t kept clean either.

The location was handy, with everything within walking distance, and breakfast was good despite the limited choices. The room had a few problems: the bed wasn’t comfortable, the TV remote didn’t work, some lights wouldn’t turn off, and the deadbolt was hard to use. If stairs or a steep incline are difficult for you, getting to the elevator may be a problem. You have to use one of those routes to reach it.

I booked two queen beds but was given two full beds again. On the first night I tried asking for another room, but nobody was there. When we first arrived to check in, we also waited 45 minutes for someone to come to the front desk. The service was great when staff were available. The bathroom door hinges were broken, and when I tried to get help, no one was around.

For the price, this is a great choice so close to Gatlinburg. It includes free parking and a hot breakfast, and Annakeesta was only a few minutes away on foot. The rooms were clean and nice. A few things could be better: there was no towel rack or wastebasket, water from the shower could spill out, and the AC had no automatic setting.