I partnered with Cabins of the Smoky Mountains on this post. All thoughts are my own.

Every year, my family takes a trip together right after Christmas. It's been a family tradition since I was a young girl and one that I have looked forward to each and every year. My sister and I are both married, and my husband and I have two beautiful kiddos. Our families have branched off, but getting together for one special trip each year brings us back together to share laughs and create new memories. Sacha and I took our first trip to Gatlinburg in October of 2018. Our two kids came along, and we celebrated our son's eighth birthday with a trip to Dollywood. While we were there, I was in talks with my sister and parents over the perfect place for our 2018 holiday trip, and I couldn't fight the strong urge to want to be reunited with my family in the gorgeous Smoky Mountains.

Our family loves to be together. We also like our privacy, like to go at our own pace, and like to have every amenity of home (and then some) when we go away together. As we agreed on trying our hand at a reunion in the mountains, the excitement surrounding the idea only grew. We knew we needed a cabin, and one with a very home-like look and feel to it, while also giving us a bit of luxury... I mean, what's a vacation without a little luxury?

Gatlinburg Falls Resort through Cabins of the Smoky Mountains (Gatlinburg, TN)

We connected with Cabins of the Smoky Mountains, which just so happens to have been voted the #1 Best Family Resort in the Smokies by Southern Living Magazine. Cabins of the Smoky Mountains is the largest cabin rental agency in the Smokies, with Gatlinburg Falls Resort under their name, as well. With over 400 cabins to choose from, there's a perfect cabin for every family who might be looking for an escape to the majestic Smoky Mountains.

Welcome to Gatlinburg Falls Resort!

Our holiday trip to the Smokies brought us to gorgeous Gatlinburg, TN. We enjoyed a week-long stay in a stunning luxury cabin through Gatlinburg Falls Resort. The resort community is high up in the mountains, nestled back off of the main throughway as go through downtown Gatlinburg. It's the perfect location, as it's just a few minutes from Gatlinburg's bustling downtown area. The location gives vacationers a true mountain vacation in a serene, picturesque setting, while still being able to enjoy the excitement of attractions, restaurants, and shops nearby.

The check-in office at Gatlinburg Falls Resort gave us our first glimpse of this beautiful resort community in the Smoky Mountains.

Upon our arrival at Gatlinburg Falls Resort, we quickly and easily found the main office and were able to check-in within minutes. The front desk staff was amazing! Both of the staff members who assisted me upon check-in were so nice and very helpful, making sure our family had everything we needed to enjoy our getaway.

Our home away from home for our week in Gatlinburg- Ultimate Escape, a family-friendly luxury cabin at Gatlinburg Falls Resort.

We made ourselves at home for the week in the beautiful Ultimate Escape cabin. This 2-bedroom, 2-bath luxury cabin was the perfect place for us to enjoy our post-Christmas celebration with our extended family. As we pulled up to our cabin, we were all more excited than words could ever say. Our kids were itching to get into the cabin and scope it out. We arrived around the same time as my parents, and later, my sister and brother-in-law arrived from Tulsa, OK, just as excited as we were to check out the cabin, and enjoy some family time together.

Now, don't let this photo of the outside of the cabin fool you. Ultimate Escape is a two-story cabin, and was literally built off the side of this area of the mountains. The two outdoor porches give way to spectacular mountain views like you wouldn't believe! The cabin is much larger and more spacious than it appears from the outside. Typically, this cabin sleeps six. We had ample space in this gorgeous cabin (newly built in 2017), and it worked well for our family of eight, which included six adults and two children.

A fully stocked kitchen gave us the opportunity to cook meals in the cabin, grab snacks when we needed to, and feel like we were right at home.

The cabin's kitchen was of utmost importance to all of us, but especially to myself, my mom, and my sister. We knew that we would be doing the majority of the cooking and meal prep for the week, and having the ability to walk into a beautiful, spacious, and functional kitchen was absolutely wonderful. We loved everything about the kitchen from the tile floors to gorgeous countertops and plentiful cabinet space. 

We enjoyed so many fabulous meals throughout the week, and it was made simple thanks to the wonderful tools and appliances provided by Gatlinburg Falls. Basic starter items like trash bags, paper towels, dish soap, dishwashing detergent, toilet paper, etc, are provided by Gatlinburg Falls. Coming from a large Italian family, mealtime is sacred to us, and lots of memories are made when cooking together, enjoying good food and conversation around the family table, and playing games over snacks. The dining area gave us the perfect space to gather, dine, and enjoy each other's company.

The beautifully decorated and spacious Ultimate Escape Cabin gave us a taste of home, while wrapping us in luxury.

As you enter into the cabin (with a keyless entry code given upon check-in), you walk right into the kitchen. Straight ahead is the dining area, and you can go straight downstairs to the game room, bedroom, or to the lower porch with the hot tub. I'll show you how fabulous the downstairs area of this cabin is in a minute.

A Living Space for Relaxing & Making Memories

We spent a lot of time in the living room. It gave us a cozy gathering space to relax, play, read, watch movies, and enjoy the mountain view!

 A quick turn to the left takes you into the living area, which is fully loaded with beautiful home furnishings, such as a loveseat, recliner, sleeper sofa (queen), a big screen television, which is mounted over the electric (push-button controlled) fireplace and overlooks the exquisite mountains.

The kids loved playing in this space. The rolling round coffee table had storage on the bottom, which was the perfect place for the kids to put their books and toys. My parents both loved the living area because it was so relaxing. They're not huge fans of being on the go non-stop when we're on vacation. They love scenic views, quiet spaces, and the ability unplug and read, or quickly put the television on and unwind by watching a movie. We had access to tons of channels, so we were never without entertainment upstairs.

We really enjoyed the beautiful fireplace. It was so easy to just turn the timer switch on the wall and push the start button to turn the fireplace on. I loved not having to worry about having to turn it off- it turned off by itself when the time was up. There was also the option to have heat or no heat from the fireplace. This was amazing for us, because we had two children with us who wanted to be near the fireplace. Having the option to have no heat from the fireplace meant that we didn't have to worry about the kids getting too close to the fireplace.

We even enjoyed a family Christmas celebration and exchanged gifts with my sister and brother-in-law our first night in the cabin. It was so nice to gather in the beautiful living area and sit together in front the fire as we laughed, smiled, and opened gifts.

My hubby and I, along with our toddler enjoyed a week's worth of glorious, restful sleep on the sleeper sofa in the living room. It was really easy to pull out and set up. I'll confess that we did bring along our mattress topper from home, which just gave us a little extra layer of support to sleep on, but we would have been just as comfy if we'd left it at home.

The upstairs bedroom was incredibly spacious and offered a private retreat for my parents.

Another left turn will take you into a private bedroom and ensuite bathroom. This bedroom houses a king size bed, large dresser, night tables, a flat screen television, a small closet, and connects to a private bathroom. The bathroom is beautiful with lovely floors and counters, and a shower/tub. Linens and towels are provided by Gatlinburg Falls Resort. We loved not having to bring extra bedding and towels. It saved us a ton of space in the car, and if we needed anything at all, we could call the front desk anytime to request new linens. In fact, guest services called us mid-week to ask how we were enjoying our stay and to see if we needed fresh towels or anything else. I was highly impressed that I never had to call them- they called me first!

The upstairs ensuite bathroom was spacious and well laid out.

My mom and dad really loved and appreciated having a private ensuite bathroom. They did share it as needed, but for the most part, they had total privacy, which I know made them both happy.

The stairwell in the cabin takes you downstairs to another fabulous level, which is a ton of fun! If your family is looking for a true luxury cabin experience, this part of the cabin will blow you away (it certainly did us!).

A game room to write home about

One of the best things about Ultimate Escape for the under 40 crowd, was the game room! A large portion of the lower level of the cabin is a game room, you guys! It's furnished with a loveseat, pub-style table, and two barstools. It also has a huge flatscreen TV mounted on the wall, and games right in the room! Plus- there's a pool table! Included games were Buck Hunter HD, Golden Tee, and MsPacMan, DKong, Galaga, +57. Wow! We couldn't have been bored for a single second of this trip, even if we tried to be! My brother-in-law, my husband, and my son loved the games. My brother-in-law was able to bring his Switch, and hook it up in the bedroom, and we were able to bring our Wii and hook it up in the game room. Plus, we were able to access our Netflix and Hulu accounts to stream shows and movies, anytime. The high-speed internet/wifi was amazing, and everyone was able to connect to their devices all at once with no problems.

Along with television and games, the game room provided extra dining space.

We were glad to have the table and stools downstairs to bring snacks down while we played or watched TV. Next to the table set was a large closet, which gave us space to store our luggage. There was also a closet shelf for us to place extra blankets, clothing, games, etc. The extra floor space gave us room for our son's air mattress. He was happy as a clam to have his own little area to sleep in on his twin air mattress each night. The other closet in the game room housed a stacked washer and dryer. We used it several times (because kids!), and were so happy to be able to wash the clothing we'd worn during the week the day before we headed home, so we could unpack clean clothes, rather than have to do hours worth of laundry once we got home.

For the kids, and maybe even the big kids, being able to head downstairs was a huge blessing. It gave us a place to make noise and have our own fun when the Grands felt like they needed some quiet downtime. We played many games of pool, which I had a blast with! It also gave me and my husband a chance to just be silly and have the best time with our kiddos. It was awesome!

The downstairs bedroom was also spacious and had a luxurious ensuite bath attached.

My sister and brother-in-law enjoyed their own private space in the downstairs bedroom. This room has lots of space, a small closet, a dresser, night tables, flat screen TV, and king size bed. Those two loved how comfy the bed was- they were glad to lay down to rest each night after their niece and nephew wore them out.

Our favorite bathroom feature- the jacuzzi tub!

The downstairs bathroom puts any bathroom I have ever used to shame. It is just gorgeous! It's modern, spa-like, and I loved getting ready for the day in there each morning. I took long, soaking showers and enjoyed the Vertical Jetted Shower Spa immensely. The jacuzzi tub was just another reason to love Ultimate Escape! This deep soaking tub has lots of jets, and the kids loved being able to have their own little hot tub to enjoy while we were on vacation. I wish I could have brought this space home with me!

Come on out and sit a spell!

An inviting porch on each level called to us a time or two during our stay.

One of the draws of this stunning cabin for me, is the fact that there are porches on each level of the cabin, with ample seating. There are rustic rocking chairs and side tables on each level, so that guests can head outdoors and enjoy the views anytime they wish. I loved sitting out on the porch with my coffee, and was so excited to see an eagle perched in a nearby tree one morning! The lower level porch also houses a private hot tub! We loved being able to head downstairs for a relaxing spa soak anytime we wanted to during our stay. Even though the evenings were crisp, we surely took advantage of the hot tub. There are privacy screens on one side of the porch (downstairs) to give a little extra sense of peace and quiet. The hot tubs are fully drained and cleaned after each guest checks out, which we appreciated knowing.

If the weather had been a bit warmer, we would have enjoyed even more fun outside! There's an outdoor charcoal grill right outside the cabin. I can just picture our family coming back during the spring or summer and grilling up some delicious meals! There's also a community outdoor pool, which cabin guests have access to during their stay. We can't wait to come back for a little fun in the sun on our next trip!

To say that this family reunion in the mountains was a dream trip for us would be an understatement... that's how fabulous our stay at Ultimate Escape was with Cabins of the Smoky Mountains at Gatlinburg Falls Resort. You know, we've been on a lot of trips as a family, and I can easily say that this has been our favorite trip thus far, and Cabins of the Smoky Mountains helped give us the most wonderful accommodations we've ever could have dreamed of. The cabin was clean, spacious, and beautiful beyond compare. Everything was comfortable, easy to use, updated, and accessible. The staff was friendlier than I ever thought possible (that seems to be true everywhere we've visited in TN), and we had an unforgettable experience and made precious, lasting family memories. I'm not an overly emotional person, but when I think back on this trip, I get a wee bit misty-eyed, because it was truly an ultimate escape for our family after a stressful holiday season. It also provided us with a beautiful space to meet up and reconnect, which we are ever so thankful for.

Anyone would be sad to leave these gorgeous views!

We were so sad to leave after a week-long stay in this gorgeous cabin. As guests of Cabins of the Smoky Mountains, we received a wonderful package of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge attraction coupons & discounts. This gave us the chance to get out and explore and have even more fun as a family. Be sure to look for all of my TN attractions posts for more ideas on how to make your ultimate vacation in the Smokies the best ever!

I would come back to Gatlinburg Falls Resort or book any other cabin through Cabins of the Smoky Mountains over and over again! Everything about the cabin, the resort, the staff, and the surroundings exceeded our expectations and gave us a truly ultimate family gathering place. We can't wait to go back!

Want to go? Plan your trip & book your stay!

Cabins of the Smoky Mountains has hundreds of luxury cabins for rent throughout Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge! They're perfect for couples who might be looking for a place to honeymoon, great for parents who need a weekend away, perfect for families, and amazing for family reunions or group trips! Choose from one bedroom cabins on up. You can even book a cabin that sleeps 30+ people! Make your ultimate escape to the Smokies your own, with a little help from Cabins of the Smoky Mountains. Be sure to check out their monthly deals and specials! 

Want to see more? Check out our video tour of Ultimate Escape over on Facebook!

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Let's chat vacation goals!

I'd love to share more about my family's experience with Cabins of the Smoky Mountains. Let's chat in the comments or over on social media. Find us on Facebook @mommysblockparty or on Twitter and IG @mommysblckparty.

A huge thanks to Cabins of the Smoky Mountains for hosting us and making our family reunion in the Smokies dream a reality! We can't wait for our next visit!