Holiday Inn Express Pigeon Forge

Steve’s take

If you're doing the Smokies detour — Dollywood, Gatlinburg, the national park — Pigeon Forge is where you stay. The Holiday Inn Express on the Parkway is in the thick of it. Pancake houses on both sides, go-kart tracks visible from the parking lot, and a pool where your kids will spend every minute they're not at an attraction. It's tourist-town chaos and it's exactly the kind of chaos families love.