Our first look inside Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort
PIGEON FORGE, Tn. - The list of reasons to visit Dollywood Parks & Resorts in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is a long one — but the chance to gaze out across the Great Smoky Mountain is certainly near the top. And those views just got even better thanks to a sweeping 302-room resort which aims to "bring the outdoors in."
This morning on Good Day Atlanta, we got our first look inside Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort, which recently began welcoming guests just in time for the busy holiday season. The five-story resort is the second of its kind at Dollywood (following the popular DreamMore Resort and Spa, which opened in 2015) and features 26,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting space, six dining locations, and indoor and outdoor pools. Resort staffers say many of the guest rooms come with balconies offering a stunning look at the surrounding landscape.
Back in June 2022, we took at trip up to Dollywood to tour the resort’s construction site (watch here) and sit down with Ms. Dolly Parton herself, who called HeartSong Lodge & Resort an extension of her love for the Great Smoky Mountains.
"It’s really back in the woods, and…you know, we’re kind of surrounded by that," the entertainment icon said. "And we kind of use the term of ‘bringing the outdoors in, and indoors out,’ so it’s really like you really feel like you’re in the woods, even when you’re inside. You feel like you’re kind of in the mountains."
And speaking of mountains, tomorrow is opening day for the park’s Smoky Mountain Christmas celebration, during which Dollywood is decked out with more than six million lights and visitors can catch an array of holiday-themed live shows. Special attractions include the Dollywood Express Light Experience — during which guests can enjoy those millions of lights from a train ride — and Santa’s Village, where the Jolly Old Elf himself might just be prepping for the big night! This year’s Smoky Mountain Christmas is scheduled to run through January 6th.
For more information on visiting Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort, click here. And click the video player in this article to check out our morning exploring this exciting new addition to Dollywood!