One-on-one with Dolly Parton at new HeartSong Lodge and Resort
PIGEON FORGE, Tn. - "People are calling me, what do they call it? A ‘hotelier’ now?"
Entertainment icon Dolly Parton may be joking, but with two hotels under her rhinestone-studded belt, she’s well on her way.
Parton spent last Friday morning in her beloved Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, celebrating the grand opening of Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge and Resort. The five-story, 302-room resort is the second of its kind at Dollywood, following the popular DreamMore Resort and Spa; Parton says HeartSong is themed around her love for the Smoky Mountains.
"I love these hills," says the singer-songwriter and actress. "[I’m] proud to be a Tennessee girl, and I love being able to come back…and help provide jobs for my neighbors and friends."
To that end, HeartSong Lodge and Resort features 26,000 square feet of flexible convention space, something Dollywood executives (including its so-called "dreamer-in-chief") hope will drive even more business to the area.
"People can come from all over the country — all over the world, actually — to be here," says Parton. "You can actually stay in the rooms, be entertained, be fed, and have all the recreation and things that we provide in the park…and here in the hotel. There’s so many wonderful things to see and do."
That’s especially true this time of year; Dollywood launched its annual Smoky Mountain Christmas celebration on Nov. 4, blanketing the park with more than 6 million lights and entertaining guests with live shows and those famous gravity-defying thrill rides. The seasonal event is routinely named the best of its kind in the nation.
"I take great pride in all that. I have such wonderful people, they represent me so well," she said. "I always say, I get so much credit for all the hard work that all these wonderful people and my wonderful team put together. So, they just do a great job and I take great pride in it all."
The park’s Smoky Mountain Christmas event continues through Jan. 6, and features a new light show this year using hundreds of drones — click here for more information on visiting.