Back in November, my mom and I stayed a few nights at the Drury Plaza Pigeon Forge Hotel. Seeing as how it’s a newer place, I wanted to be sure to review it.
Drury Plaza Pigeon Forge
Back in November, my mom and I took a last minute long weekend trip to Pigeon Forge to see Dollywood for Christmas. While researching hotels in the area, I came across the newly opened Drury Hotel in Pigeon Forge. With an ideal location that is off the main road but close to everything we wanted to do, we decided to try it out.
Free Food
I feel the biggest perk of staying at Drury Plaza Hotels is the free food. There’s free breakfast every morning and a free “kickback” in the evening! We eyed the kickback on arrival day, but decided to go out to eat instead. However, it was nice to have the option of eating something for free from the hotel. We did eat breakfast on the morning of our park visit since we didn’t want to waste time going out to get breakfast. I’d rate it as an average free breakfast. Nothing particularly stood out as amazing, but it certainly wasn’t bad either. I think the free food is a fantastic benefit if you don’t have picky eaters or dietary restrictions.
Two Queen Room
Given that the hotel had been open for just a few months, the room was still in immaculuate shape! We were certainly pleased with the large size of the room. We had ample space to spread out in the room and to sort out our outlet mall purchases! I enjoyed the tree wallpaper behind the beds given we were in the Smoky Mountains.
I will say that we found the room a little dark and lacking lighting. Also, my mom wasn’t wild about the shower since it doesn’t have a door that closes. Rather, it’s open and can allow a breeze to flow into the shower. I also didn’t care for the shower gel as it’s a thin blue liquid. Thankfully, I brought some from home to use.
I was a little surprised by the lack of outlets. I’m used to that in old hotels, but given how new this one is, I expected more outlets. They do have a clock that has additional outlets. However, there weren’t many in the room overall. Additionally, we found the number of elevators a little lacking. We had to wait several minutes to catch one around breakfast time both mornings.
Pros
- Newly built – Staying at a newly built (or refurbished) hotel eliminates lots of issues and concerns around hotel stays. Everything was in great working order and the place was clean.
- Good size rooms – Our room was spacious, particularly compared to some other, older hotels.
- Great location – We were close to Dollywood and other places in Pigeon Forge, but enjoyed being off of the main road.
- Free food – I think this is probably the biggest perk of staying here. It’s a great thing for families to save some money!
- Budget friendly – We paid $353.56 (including tax) for our two night stay here. That’s very reasonable!
Cons
- Dark rooms – There wasn’t an overhead light in the bedroom. That made it a little dark in the room and would make it difficult for anyone with limited sight.
- No shower door – It can make the shower a little breezy and chilly if you stand by the open space.
- Few electrical outlets – If you have several people staying in the room with multiple devices, you may not have enough outlets.
- Morning elevator waits – Leave earlier than you need to if you are leaving during the busy morning hours as you will probably find yourself waiting to get on a crowded elevator.
Should you stay at the Drury Plaza Pigeon Forge Hotel?
I think this hotel is ideal for families on a tight budget. The included food can really stretch your dollars. If you want more upscale accommodations or plan on eating out, then you will probably enjoy staying somewhere a little pricier.
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