Hotel at a Glance: Sleep Inn & Suites - Gatlinburg

Sleep Inn & Suites - Gatlinburg is located a half mile from downtown, within easy reach of the city's best attractions. Hitch a ride on the Gatlinburg Trolley—it stops right outside the hotel—for quick rides to restaurants, shops, and Ripley's oddities. The hotel is just a 10-minute drive from the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where you'll find tons of hiking and wildlife-viewing opportunities.

• Trolley fare: $0.50 to $2 each way, depending on your destination
• Newly renovated guest rooms feature microwaves and mini refrigerators, free WiFi, and cable TV with HBO.
• Go swimming in the heated indoor pool, which has a lazy river and hot tub.
• Freebies: continental breakfast, 24-hour coffee, weekday newspaper, and WiFi

Gatlinburg, Tennessee: Charming Artists’ Village amid Great Smoky Mountains

Gatlinburg rests near Tennessee's eastern border, less than 3 miles from Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here, you can hike more than 100 trails that wind past waterfalls and pioneer-era log cabins tucked deep within densely forested mountains. Or, take a bicycle ride on the 11-mile loop through Cades Cove, a broad valley of open meadows where you can see deer, black bears, wild turkeys, and vacationing college mascots. Clingmans Dome, the park’s highest point of elevation at 6,643 feet, is a great place to catch the sunset.

Gatlinburg's main attraction is probably the artists' loop. It's comprised of more than 100 craft shops, studios, and cafés, and you can watch artisans as they hand weave baskets and whittle wooden figurines. Downtown Gatlinburg itself is a mountain village filled with old-fashioned ice-cream shops and boutiques selling housemade jams and decorative gewgaws.

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