The new Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg, TN is perfect for family vacations! With on-site dining options, kid-friendly pools and spacious suites, you will not be disappointed in your stay! We appreciate the Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg inviting us down and hosting our stay, so we could share their beautiful property with you!
If you didn’t have a chance to read it yet, yesterday I shared the first part of our stay at the new Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg. You can check out that post HERE for all kinds of photos of the insides of the rooms and what is included with your stay.
But today, I wanted to step outside of the guest rooms and show you the rest of the resort! Because trust me, this is a resort that you want to explore instead of just heading straight to your bed each evening!
Curb Appeal
If you’ve never been to Gatlinburg, let me tell you that it is hopping!! We weren’t expecting it to be quite so busy and compact! But the downtown is only a few short blocks with SO MANY shops and restaurants packed together.
And hotels. There are so many hotels that it is overwhelming. We couldn’t get over how the hotels are just piled one right after the other and all sort of blend together and look the same.
Until you arrive at the Margaritaville Resort! While it’s still a prime location right downtown, it sits back a little ways off the Parkway and is literally on its own island! It is surrounded on all sides by a river and just feels like you’re stepping away from the chaos and into a little paradise oasis!
As you enter the property, you’re first greeted by a great photo opp! The car sets the stage for the laid-back feel (and color scheme) of the whole resort!
Of course, the giant flip flop and colorful adirondack chairs in front of the resort also help set the mood!
Guest Areas at Margaritaville Family Resort in Gatlinburg, TN
After you’re checked into your room, head down to the lobby for a closer look at everything the resort has to offer!
The seating areas are especially perfect if you’re with a group that is in more than one room! It’s a great common space for you to hang out and catch up!
My kids especially loved the swings, but I think that’s probably the case for toddlers through adults! They’re just so inviting and playful. It helps you swing right into that vacation vibe!
I personally loved the outdoor, covered patio! It was so inviting and looks like it would be perfect any time of year with that gorgeous fireplace!
Indoor and Outdoor Pool at Margaritaville Resort
If you’re curled up on that sofa in the above picture (yes, I may or may not have found myself in that position a few times while visiting), you have a perfect view of the outdoor pool!
And what a gorgeous pool it is! With easy-entrance steps, a fun slide, a handicap-accessible seat and more!
You’ll find plush yellow and white striped beach towels as soon as you enter the pool area and plenty of lounge chairs to enjoy! We visited the pool 3 different times during our stay and never had a problem finding 4 lounge chairs together with an umbrella! And that was during the 1st week of August!
If you have younger kids with you, there’s even a separate kiddie pool for them on the other side of the slide!
Right past the kiddie pool is an outdoor hot tub and the entrance to the indoor pool. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of those because there were people in them every time I went, and I have this weird rule about not taking pictures of strangers in bathing suits…
But trust me that you will want to plan on some downtime during your Gatlinburg vacation, so that you can enjoy the amenities of the Margaritaville Resort!
Activities at the Margaritaville Resort
The only downside to our trip, was that we didn’t have enough time to enjoy all of the activities that the hotel has to offer!
Don’t make the same mistake as us, and plan to cross more than a few of these activities off your list!
- Swim: Enjoy a warm afternoon at the pool with some of the inflatable balls and other toys that the hotel provides.
- Read a book: Beyond the pool, you will find a quiet oasis with a couple of hammocks and the sound of the river running by you. It’s the perfect place to read a book or take a nap!
- Play Cornhole: It’s not a trip to Margaritaville without some classic beach games! Pretend you’re tailgating at a Jimmy Buffet concert while you challenge your family!
- Visit the St. Somewhere Spa: Located right on property, the St. Somewhere Spa is the perfect place to indulge yourself on vacation! They offer everything from massages to manicures/pedicures to facials and more. You can even get a haircut and waxing while you’re there!
- Take a Photo Tour: There are plenty of brightly colored outdoor spots that are perfect to grab some photo reminders of your vacation: the turquoise station wagon, over-sized flip flops, rainbow adirondack chairs and more.
- Go for a Nature Walk: It’s hard to believe since Margaritaville is right in the heart of downtown Gatlinburg, but it is also the perfect place for a nature walk! Since it’s surrounded by a river, it’s a great place to look for frogs or fish. We also saw plenty of butterflies!
- Go Fishing: There are steps that lead right down to the river directly outside the resort. We saw a number of fisherman catching fish while we ate dinner the first night!
- Enjoy a bonfire: There are two different bonfire pits for you to enjoy at the Margaritaville Resort. The main one is on the covered patio that is between the back of the lobby and the pool. If you also head past the pool, you’ll see twinkling lights draped across a gazebo and a 2nd firepit with more adirondack chairs.
- Work off some of the Vacation Calories: Not saying this is my favorite vacation activity, but if I had any interest at all in working out, the fitness room at the Margaritaville Resort is what would get me there! With a tropical vibe, free earbuds, towels and a water fountain for water bottles… it could almost make me feel like I was in shape!
- Eat and Drink: With 2 different on-site dining options plus the famous LandShark Bar & Grill only steps outside the front door, you will not go hungry!
Dining Options at Margaritaville Resort Gatlinburg
License to Chill Bar– Located in the back of the 1st floor, the License to Chill Bar was definitely our favorite spot to hit as soon as we returned to the resort!
We sat at the bar one night where we got pulled pork nachos and margaritas!
When our teens arrived back to the resort, we moved over to the lounge area beside the bar to hang out with them for a bit!
You also have the option to eat out on the covered patio which we took advantage of twice! There are servers who work both the patio and the pool area so you can get your frozen mixed drinks while your kids swim too!
I highly recommend trying the Southern Fried Chicken Tacos. I almost didn’t go with them, but the cilantro lime slaw was calling to me, and I was so glad I tried them! Delicious!
My husband’s favorite meal, though was the Salmon Avocado Salad! He actually got it our 1st night at the LandShark Bar & Grill and then got it again later in the week at the License to Chill Bar. Both times it was absolutely delicious, and I ended up swiping a few bites!
Joe Merchant’s Coffee and Provisions– At the front of the hotel lobby, is a quaint little coffee shop that is the perfect place to grab breakfast in the morning! They had very reasonably priced breakfast sandwiches (I think they were about $5 and change), coffee drinks and yogurt parfaits that my daughter couldn’t stay away from!
There are also plenty of tables right off the coffee shop for guests to use…
They even thought to include little surfboard tables for the kids! Right beside a live parrot in the lobby! Talk about an entertaining breakfast!
What We Loved About Margaritaville Family Resort in Gatlinburg, TN
Location: The location of the Margaritaville Resort could seriously not have been more perfect! At the end of the Parkway, we were still in walking distance to literally all of downtown Gatlinburg but we didn’t feel like we were right in the heart of the chaos!
This was the view from our hotel room balcony…
Anakeesta was directly across the street (the gray roof towards the middle of the left side of the picture). The Ripley’s Aquarium is the blue and yellow glass building towards the right of the picture (it was about a 3 minute walk). There were restaurants, shopping, activities and more all within a short walking distance from the hotel! Extra points because it’s located right on the trolley line!
Attention to Detail: For me, when I see a resort that pays attention to branding and decorating, I feel like that means they pay attention to everything else too. Including customer service.
The furnishings and decorations were high quality and set the mood for our whole stay! It really felt like we were in a tropical paradise in the middle of Tennessee!
Extra Amenities: Some things have become standard with a hotel stay, but we loved that Margaritaville went beyond the usual! There were complimentary bottles of water in our room…
Towels, water bottle refill stations and so much more all to ensure their guests’ comfort!
On-site Activities: And while I know I mentioned this before, we really did appreciate that there were so many activities available on-site. It’s what takes this from a place to sleep on vacation to a true resort experience where we gladly spent our time!
Spacious Suites: You must go and check out my previous post where I showed pictures inside a couple of the guest rooms! They were just gorgeous and we were so comfortable even as a family of 4 with 2 adult-sized teens! Check out the inside of the guest rooms HERE!
How to Book Your Stay at Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg, TN
You can check availability and make your reservations directly through the Margaritaville website. Be sure to check out some of the packages available also with the St. Somewhere Spa and indulge yourself!
Be sure to follow along with them on social as well, so you can plan which season you want to visit!
Margaritaville Gatlinburg website
Margaritaville Gatlinburg Instagram
Margaritaville Gatlinburg Facebook
Can’t you just picture yourself sitting here during the summer to cool off? Or the fall to watch the foliage? Book your reservation now!
