Holiday Inn Express & Suites Pigeon Forge/Near Dollywood sits at 308 Henderson Chapel Road, right off US 441 at light #1, and it hides a genuine music-town oddity out back: an outdoor pool shaped like a guitar. Mushroom fountains spray over a shallow splash zone for the little ones, a fire pit anchors the paver patio, and indoors the saltwater pool and hot tub run 10 AM to 10 PM year-round. The 105 guestrooms across five floors range from Standard Kings and two-queen layouts that sleep four to Suites and One Bedroom Suites, some with jetted tubs and sleeper-sofa living rooms, every one stocked with a microwave, refrigerator and Keurig.

The park gates are 2.5 miles away, and the front desk will print your Dollywood or Splash Country tickets before you leave. The LeConte Center is 2.2 miles up the road, the Grand Majestic Theater is a walk, and the Sunliner Diner, a 1950s-theme family spot, pours milkshakes directly across the street. From there the Parkway unspools into Dolly Parton’s Stampede, the Titanic Museum, the Comedy Barn, WonderWorks and The Island; Tanger Outlets Five Oaks and NASCAR Speedpark sit toward Sevierville; and US 441 climbs south into the national park, with Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies waiting over in Gatlinburg.