Places to Stay - things to do near Tellico Village (Ripley: where to stay, fit in)

[Kris270]

We will be on vacation this August and I am trying to figure out our best option of where to stay. We want to be close to Tellico Village because we own land there and plan on spending lots of time checking the area out and letting the kids use the amenities. Want them to get a feel for what it will be like to live there. We own in the Chota neighborhood and I know that is where the rec center is and most of the facilities that the kids would be interested in.

Looked into renting townhouse right in the development but the cost is about $800 for the week and I was hoping not to spend that much.

We can camp because we do own a camper. Does anyone know of a nice campground close to Tellico Village?

We have 3 kids so a hotel that offers suites to accomodate 5 would be helpful also.

Plan on doing some day trips with the kids - Can I get some recommendations of where to go with girls aged from 9 - 13. I think I read somewhere that there is a new waterpark close by.

Plan on also just trying to check out the schools, meet with some builders and get to know the area better - a lot to fit into one week so we honestly don't plan on spending much time in the hotel or campground we choose.

[Nancy Minton]

Dear Kris270: My sister lives in Tellico Village, and when the grandkids come to visit her, they like to go to the public park at the northern entrance. It has steps going into the lake with a portion roped off for the little ones, picnic tables, etc. Hope this helps.

[oldmanbob]

Hey Kris270, there are a couple of campgrounds close to Tellico Village, and one is ft. lauderdale cove, and is located down hwy 321, and turn onto the old hyw.or the old hwy 95, and they have water and electrical hook ups and is located on the lake, so bring you swim suits. There are several places to stay in Lenior city, only a short drive, and west knox is about a easy thirty minute drive, and there several places, starting at the Baymount, on campbell station, and then three right on Turkey Creek. Enjoy.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by Kris270

Plan on doing some day trips with the kids - Can I get some recommendations of where to go with girls aged from 9 - 13.

There's a post on the main Tennessee forum - 101 Things To Do In East Tennessee. Presuming you know the towns near Tellico Village you should be able to find something.

[oldmanbob]

One great site to visit, is the Lost Sea, on Hwy 68, just south of you, outside of Sweetwater. While staying in the area, it only an hour and half drive into Pigeon Forge, and with Dollywood, her water park, that town has hours you can spend, and girls will enjoy. Post if you need more information.

[TheShadow]

Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are made for keeping kids amused! And they're less than an hour from TV. There's all kinds of mini golf places and water parks and an aquarium, and other crazy stuff. We just returned from our second trip to Tenn 2 weeks ago. We stayed at a house on the Toqua golf course in TV. It was a 2 bdrm place and was $110 a night. If you don't mind driving a few hours, Rock City and Ruby Falls and Lookout mountain are all just outside of Chatanooga. We rented a pontoon boat on Tellico lake for a half day at Fort Loudon marina. It was $115 for 5 hours plus gasoline. (warning: the gas cost us another $75!) But the boat will hold up to ten people easily. You can provate message me for details if you like.

[mrsbratqueen]

there is also a green back cove pond to fish at. they have some age restrictions but kids and elderly have a blast there. have a great vacation. aslo dont forget about ruby falls, cades cove and the museums in pigeon forge are to die for. Have a great time. dianna

[Kris270]

Thanks for all the info. We are still planning and haven't decided on anything concrete yet. Houses in TV were over $800 for the week so I think we will end up passing on that option. Husband isn't happy about pulling the camper from NJ because of the price of gas. So we may just end up getting a hotel. There are plenty of cheap hotels and they all look nice on their websites. Can anyone tell me about America's Best Value Inn in Loudon, Super 8 in Loudon, Ramada in Lenoir, Econo lodge in Lenoir? They all run about $50/night. We don't need fancy but I do want clean. I also found an Inn of Lenoir Motor Lodge or King's Inn Motel but could find no info about them on the internet.

We are going to head to Gatlinburg first. We will take the girls to Dollywood, Ripley's and I found horse back riding in the Smokey Mountains which would be fun. We will then see what else we have time for. On the forth day we will drive to Loudon. I got all the information about the Lost Sea so that is a definate to do. Renting something at the marina would be fun also so I will look into that.

We want to visit the Loudon and Lenoir High School and Philadelphia school during the visit. Does anyone know which high school would bus in TV. That will not be my deciding factor but it will be a factor.

That is all we have planned for now. First thing is to pin down which hotel to stay at or to convince my husband to pull the camper.

Thanks again for all your advice.

[Kris270]

Getting ready to book a hotel and need advice.

If trying to really get a feel for TV and the area should we stay in Loudon or Lenoir.

Looks about equal distance on the map but the map can be deceiving since I don't know the area or the roads.

[TheShadow]

If you want to stay in a hotel, I'd go for Lenoir City. Loudon has very little to offer in that way. It is very, very, small. It's also easier to get to TV and to the highway from Lenoir City. The highway goes right through Lenoir City, next to the hotel. Are you more interested in hanging out around TV or in exploring more of the outlying areas? If you are more in learning about TV, maybe staying in one of the rentals in the village would be better. Since you have kids, they have 2 and 3 bedroom houses you can rent for about $110/day. I know that's a little more than a motel, but you would have a kitchen, so you could save money on restaurants by eating breakfast, or other meals, at home and having a fridge for sandwich stuff, etc.