River Terrace Resort and Convention Center

Reviews

• C5

  Camochic 520

  1 day ago
  3.0
  10/28/25-11/02/25 Great location right on the river towards the beginning of the strip, but one road back. You're not directly on the strip, but its just right across the street and on the other side of a parking lot. Check in was easy, but the overwhelming perfume smell in the lobby made my eyes and throat burn. There is usually someone to help get you tickets to all the shows in the area if you're into that. Our room was on the third floor of the River Terrace building. Each building had its own parking area, which was really nice. Ours was up a small steep hill, so we found it better to come in from the entrance to the hotel next door, but we were able to park right outside our room door the whole time. For our needs, the room was fine. Beds were clean and comfortable, we had plenty of towels(even some extras under the bathroom sink), the refrigerator was nice and cold, the microwave and TV both worked well. There was an electric fireplace that worked, but I was too nervous to use it. Nice dresser for storage(I never use them but it was nice), and there was even a spare blanket in the top drawer. We had our own little balcony facing the river, with a great view of Anakeesta to the left and of course mountains on the right. They allow dogs, which is one of the reasons why we picked it, but there are VERY few grassy spots for them to do their business. Only flat spot is by the main office, the other 3 small spots are on hills that can make walking difficult for you and your four-legged family members. Floors weren't horribly dirty, but they were definitely in need of a good sweeping(sorry for the foot pic). Bathroom, especially the tub/shower could use some updating and maintenance. Tub floor had black streaks, there was mold on the shower curtain, and the shelf/ handle area had some serious stains. Having one sink in the bathroom and one outside the bathroom made getting ready much easier as we didnt have to wait for one to be done. Heated exhaust fan was nice to have on the chilly mornings. Bathroom door was torn up quite a bit at the bottom. On our last day(11/1), we had gone out exploring and came back to our room keys not working. Older lady at the front desk was very helpful and got them working again. However, while waiting outside for my daughter, as staff member who was driving the courtesy van, walked by us and took a picture of my dog without asking. I told him he didnt have the right to do that and should at least ask first. His exact words to me were "You'll be fine". He was very rude and even tried to say he wasn't taking a picture, but he came right up to us with his phone pointed right at my dog (we were just standing at the entrance, it wasn't as if there was something going on behind us). I went back into the lobby to inform them about it and the younger lady behind the counter seemed like she agreed he was out of line, and went out to talk to him, but nothing really was done. (She put her hand up and said "Ma'am I'll take care of it.) Over all, this was not a bad place to stay. The location had us right were we wanted to be and the room served its purpose. Don't expect to eat breakfast here, as they only offer "grab and go" and coffee. For what they charge for rooms, powdered eggs and waffles isn't much to ask for. I wouldn't say there was anything here that was worth the almost $1100 dollars paid for it. I've stayed in rooms for 80 bucks a night that offer more. And the interaction on our last day definitely left a sour taste.
• MR

  Melanie R.

  6 days ago
  1.0
  Can I give 0 stars. The only thing good about this place is location however, you would be better off in a cardboard box on the river. Honestly, outdated is putting it lightly and I can deal with outdated but not nasty. Ripped carpet, floors not mopped, bathtubs cracked which is a health hazard in my opinion and stairwells held together with duct tape and zip ties (where is OSHA). Oh and the smell, yuck. Musty and Moldy. I am shocked that Westgate would own and advertise this place to there timeshare owners. Disgusting. Oh and to make it worst of all, we prepaid over $700 to stay there. Well since it was so bad we left and were told we would be refunded. Two weeks later, still getting the runaround and no refund. We have had to make calls to property, to cs supervisors at westgate, two different phone numbers supposedly to GM Sean Jamerson. One was disconnected , the other went back to hotel which is useless. 4 different people and 4 different stories and excuses. Heck the night we left, the so called manager disappeared and left a front office girl, Candy to deal with the issue, who really did try but it wasn’t her responsibility. Photos do not show as well as videos we have sent to hotel. 👎 Mr and Mrs Rowell
• AD

  Ashley Donaldson

  6 days ago
  4.0
  We stayed over the weekend and the view and location are great. The room was dated but clean! The breakfast was as described, grab and go. They had coffee and tea available all day which was nice. My only issue is after you check in, you go to a second desk to get your parking pass. When you go over there you are having to speak to the lady about wanting to sit through a timeshare thing to receive certain perks or tickets. There were Anakeesta tickets that were super discounted so I did it. I was told an hour and a half, it ended up being almost 4 hours. This was my choice and not anyone else's fault but I just think you should not have to haggle through this conversation as you are checking in to your hotel. Other than that, I would stay here again. Everyone was very friendly!
• SH

  Sarah Hodgkins

  Oct 22, 2025
  2.0
  By far the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at in my life. The rooms smell horrible, the bathroom is riddled in mold, the walls are paper thin, I could hear my neighbors phone ping everytime they got a text, every conversation they had. And I counted more bugs/spiders in my first night there than I have at every other hotel I’ve stayed at combined. Yes I understand it is Tennessee and there are going to be bugs, but I’m no stranger to staying in gatlinburg/pigeon forge and this was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had, so much so that I ended up checking out a day early. My favorite part of this all is I showed the front desk the mold and let them know I was checking out early, and the issues I had, was told they’d try to look into some form of a refund, here I am almost 3 weeks later I gave them time to try to make it right before I posted this but I have gotten not even a partial refund for leaving early or anything. I stayed at the cambria in pigeon forge for nearly the same price the night before I stayed at this hotel, and ended up the night after, SO much nicer all the way around. Also to any young females traveling alone, the back corner (where I stayed) has poor lighting and is pretty sketchy at night. Good Luck if yall choose to stay here. Only reason I did more than 1 star is because it is in walking distance to everything in Gatlinburg.
• CD

  Chuck Ducastel

  Oct 5, 2025
  1.0
  I don't normally leave reviews like this, but my experience Demands, I let others know before they get here. For starters, this is not a resort by any stretch of the imagination! There are Zero amenities associated with what one would expect a Resort to have, even at the basic level of a decent hotel. There's no spa, there's no fitness center, there isn't even a restaurant or bar on site. There is, however, a big sign that says excellent dining. A danish and apple in a paper bag is not what I consider excellent dining! Heck, you have to walk off the property and down the street in order to get a coke! There is no daily service in the rooms and if you want extra or clean towels/sheets during your stay, you have to walk down to the front desk and ask for them! They won't even pick up your trash from your room. However, there is a dumpster that you can deliver it to approximately 75 yards away. The room we stayed in was huge, which was nice. However it definitely dates to the seventies. Then there's the issue of hot water. I would expect hot water in the cheapest of hotels, But here the hot water is barely above lukewarm (78 degrees) at any time of day. When I complained to management about the hot water situation, the maintenance guy showed up he was pleasant, but told me, unfortunately, that's about the best that we're going to get. Oh, upon my arrival, I was offered to sit through a 90 minute sales pitch to buy into a timeshare. For which I would be provided a full breakfast and a $150 with no obligation to purchase anything. However, in order to even do that, it would be at a different location and I would have to pay a $40, sign up fee! I asked the supervisor at the desk... Michaela (sp?). How they can even advertise as a resort and was told "well it's right there in the name", and that I must have mistaken this property with their sister property close to Dollywood. If I could give negative stars for this hotel I definitely would! There's so many nicer places in Gatlinburg, to stay at cheaper rates. My guess is the people staying here were either suckered in by the name, such as myself or they have timeshares. Please save yourself the frustration and book somewhere else. But if you do stay, I hope that this review will at least set your expectations appropriately!