Staying at Dollywood’s Dream More Resort makes visiting the theme parks easier and more fun. You get a few perks such as a trolley that takes you to and from the parks and free fast passes to Dollywood (for a detailed review of Dollywood and Splash Country, click here). The resort is only one year old and is absolutely gorgeous. It is nested in the Tennessee mountains and is decorated in a serene color palette with hints of Dolly Parton throughout. The outdoor area with a pool, fire pits, and lots of seating is a great place to spend some time and there’s also a gym and arcade. The Dream More Resort is a wonderful place to stay but it is expensive and the nickel and diming was frustrating and the customer service throughout the resort was abysmal. Also worth noting it that there was a complete lack of diversity at the resort or as my teenage nieces put it, “We are the only brown ones here and people keep staring at us.” Despite these annoyances, staying at Dollywood was a nice experience.

 

Hilton Forth Worth, formerly the Hotel Texas, is where President Kennedy spent the last night of his life. The next morning he gave a speech in the parking lot followed by another speech in the Crystal Ballroom before making the short flight to Dallas where he would be assassinated.

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Having been built in the 60’s, the resort is old but you wouldn’t know it to look at the place. The property is well cared for and appears new. The hotel lobby is an impressive sight and the check in process is top notch. You can help yourself to complimentary fruit and beverages while you sit in a cushy chair and are checked in by employees who excel in customer service.

Even though the staff explains how to find your room, it is still easy to get lost as there aren’t many signs to direct you and there are so many different paths and stairways inside the lobby. Once outside, there are even more pathways. After asking a staff member for help, we found the area our room was located in. Adjacent to the pool and with a fabulous view of the golf course are the premier mountain vista rooms.

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We stayed here for 2 nights because it is the closest hotel to Citizens Bank Park and is just a 5 minute walk to the stadium. (You can read a review about the stadium here.) The price was outrageous because it was game day but you have to remember you are paying a premium for convenience.

On game day the hotel charges non-guests $20 to park in the hotel parking lot but when you check in and pay for parking, you’ll receive a parking permit that you must leave in your car. Make sure to get one. The front desk person didn’t give us our permit when we checked in and it caused problems when we tried to get into the parking lot on game day. Even though the lot was virtually empty because it was 4 hours prior to the start of the game, the hotel had closed off the parking lot and had an attendant out front who didn’t believe us when we tried to explain we were hotel guests. She refused to let us on the property for quite a while.

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