The Resort at Governor's Crossing
During our fall break trip last year to Dollywood, we stayed at a resort instead of a cabin. We actually had seen this resort on our trip last summer when we would drive to the outlets or certain parts of Pigeon Forge. Melody was obsessed with the slides coming out of the building. Well after doing some research, I discovered the resort was called “The Resort at Governor’s Crossing”. The rates were exceptionally reasonable, and all of the amenities were tough to beat. So we decided to give it a try for our short trip.
The Room
We opted to stay in a studio room since it was just the three of us. We got a king room with a balcony and a twin fold out chair. We did not use the fold out chair because we could all three easily fit in the king bed. We also did not pay for a fancy view, but the view wasn’t awful either. A tip to get a cheaper rate is to sign up for the Smoky Mountain Rewards. You not only get a discount here, but at a few different places throughout town.
The room itself was very spacious and perfect for us. Honestly, I think it would be great even for a week long trip with Brad too. When you first walk in the room, you enter the kitchen. What is great about this studio is that you still get a full size kitchen instead of just a kitchenette. It does come with some standard amenities, but we had extras from home too. We had a full size fridge, oven, microwave, and dishwasher. They also had plenty of cabinets stocked full of just about anything you would need like plates, cups, silverware, and even things to cook with.
The bathroom is right off of the kitchen. There was just one sink, and it had a bathtub instead of a stand alone shower. But again, this worked just fine for us. We did have plenty of towels and wash clothes for 1-2 nights. But one benefit to this resort is that you did get a tidy-up housekeeping service daily. This isn’t always the norm with condos. Basically they remove trash as well as dirty towels and replace the towels. They don’t do a full housekeeping job, but you can pay for that during your stay if you want/need it.
Now another great thing about this studio is the washer and dryer. So if you don’t want the tidy-up service, just put the do not disturb sign out. Then you can always wash your towels yourself. Even though this was a short trip, we used the washer and dryer daily. It was so nice to come home with very little dirty laundry.
In the actual room we had more than enough space. We had the king bed, small sofa, dresser with a TV, and a small dining room table with chairs. Seriously enough space for the three of us for a week for sure! Our friends stayed in larger rooms with separate bedrooms. Their space was similar to ours, but obviously more of it.
Indoor Activities
A big perk here is the activities that they have.
Below is one of the spots where activities happen often. We did a Halloween craft here. They also had Nintendo Switches for Mario Cart competitions, as well as other fun activities. This room is found between two of the buildings.
You can also find an arcade near the activity space above. It isn’t huge, but we were the only people in the arcade each time we went. And there was plenty enough for Melody to do.
Outdoor Activities
There is SO much to do at this resort in general, but outside if full of entertainment for kids of all ages. Honestly, this resort is a vacation in itself.
A neat area that is occupied primarily at night are the fire pits. I believe there were 4 or 5. Each one had around 10 or so Adirondack chairs around it along with Halloween decorations too. They do sell kits for smores that you can roast here, but you can also bring your own. If you want a spot at night, be sure to get there early. They were almost always full the few times we walked by.
Near the fire pits you can find a miniature golf course. I believe you can get the clubs and balls from the front desk, but we never found time to play.
The Resort has two playgrounds which is a nice touch. One can be found near the back of the resort around all of the seasonal outdoor activities. During our trip it was the fall, so they had a pumpkin patch which I will touch on below. There was an outdoor playground along with picnic tables near all of this. Melody played on it once, but we did find it had a bigger bug problem than the other playground.
And the other playground can be found near the outdoor pool. It is well-lit at night (as you can see in the pictures below). It also looks much newer and is themed as a pirate ship. There was plenty of seating around it, and instead of mulch, it is a rubberish material. We spent most of our playground time here.
Pools
The pools here are what really stuck out to Melody months before our fall break trip. She could see the waterslides from the road and wanted to know when we could stay here. To our surprise, the outdoor pool was open during our fall break trip. They have a lazy river, pool with a waterslide, and a great splash pad area for the kids too. They have also added more water slides to the outside since our visit last year. The water was too cold for Melody’s liking, so we did not get much time at any of the outdoor pool activities with the exception of the lazy river and hot tub. Even when it came to the lazy river, we had to “'lay” Melody in a float because it was too cold to walk in.
The indoor pool is where we spent the majority of our time during this trip. To my surprise, Melody LOVED the water slides. Due to her height, she did have to wear a life jacket. And that security blanket probably helped her fears. She was super hesitant. at first, but then it became a competition for her. She wanted to always race someone. In addition to the slides, they had a traditional pool, a kiddie pool, and a hot tub. There was also a sauna tucked away. You can also find plenty of tables and chairs as well as restrooms.
During the popsicle time, they stop by the indoor pool too! The kids loved that.
Seasonal Outdoor Fun
Each “season” they have a festival at the resort. During this trip, it was the Harvest Glow Festival since we went at Fall Break. You can see below all of the fun pumpkin and Halloween decor throughout the outside of the resort in their festival area. It also is not busy at all during the day. Or maybe that was just our luck. But the real fun is at night.
As you will see, everything “glows”. So they have their own version of a pumpkin patch here. You can pick a pumpkin and pay for it (I think it costs around $5 a pumpkin maybe). Once you pay, they give you paint supplies and you can sit at one of the tables and paint your pumpkin. Once done, they will clean up the paint, and you can either take the wet pumpkin with you, or they will tell you where you can put it to dry. Then you can either get it later that night or the next evening. Do pay attention to their hours though. They also had a “paint by numbers” style canvas that you can do for free while in there.
Then you have the actual glow walk area. It is all light up with lights and pumpkins! They say all of the staff carves the pumpkins themselves. There were some really neat ones too.
Then you can walk around other parts of the area and see more pumpkins, lights, and Halloween fun!
Overall we really enjoyed this resort. I was a little skeptical, but we had a great experience. I think it is a great place to stay with little ones, and it is easy to stay here and not leave! I definitely see us staying here when we visit the area if we are not staying in a cabin!
