Name: Wilderness at the Smokies – River Lodge Suites
Address: 1424 Old Knoxville Highway, Sevierville, Tennessee, United States of America, Sevierville, Tennessee, US
Price range: US$120–US$317 per night
Rating: 6.5

What guests think

At Wilderness at the Smokies – River Lodge Suites, families rave about the fun waterparks, frequent shuttles, and activity-filled resort setup, while also noting crowds, long walks, and that some amenities operate on limited hours or are closed during renovations.

Guests frequently highlight friendly staff, attentive lifeguards, and plenty of kid-focused activities. Repeated drawbacks include small bathrooms, dated or dark rooms in parts of the resort, noise, and inconsistent housekeeping or maintenance. On-site dining is convenient but pricey, with limited hours and occasional staffing strains. Expect an energetic, family-centric stay with trade-offs in room finish and service consistency.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Facilities

Multiple waterparks (indoor and outdoor), a rooftop pool, arcades, and on-site activities are the main draw, with frequent shuttles between buildings. Recurring drawbacks include peak-time crowds, occasional closures or construction, and some broken attractions or long shuttle waits.

Related guest reviews

8

Heather

19 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

I wish they would have had more transportation vehicles taking the guests to the main hotel or get vehicles that could hold larger amounts of guests. 14 people per vehicle every 15 minutes was ridiculous in the weather conditions. It would also be nice to have a dedicated area that had lines so people couldn’t cut in front of you after you have waited so long for the Tram and have it in closed somehow to prevent weather conditions.

10

Josh

28 Sept 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

We stayed at the Stonehill lodge across the street. Shuttle busses every 5 mins to the main lodge was very convenient. Drivers were very welcoming and helpful. Take note “fall hrs” close pools at 8. Many attractions closed for construction. Infinity pool on 3rd floor a win! And light show lazy river was amazing! Enjoyed painting pottery & Starbucks in the morning. We would return!

10

Stephanie

11 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The indoor waterpark looked run down...mold on the hot tub area, peeling paint on the air ducts, dust on the big fans. (Granted the lodges are doing construction, but water park definitely needs attention too)

4

Karlee

10 May 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Everything was like broken while we were there, the only reason we had any fun was how nice the staff was. The wave pool wasn't working, you had to lug up your own rafts for like all the slides since the raft elevator was broken, some games at the arcade was broken, etc. If it's gonna be like this during some form of remodel or something there should be something to compensate. Like free breakfast, or maybe longer hours at the pool without charge nothing insane.

10

Christy

8 Nov 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

To be able to stay at property during stay and not have to leave was nice plenty dining options. Stayed at stone hill across the street shuttles were very quick getting us back and forth didn’t have to wait long for one.

10

Adela

7 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Water parks are incredibly fun!! Worth it

8

Sonia

7 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Room was dirty, comforter and pillows were dirty with stains on them, bathroom floor was dirty, hair and stuff on the floor. Food was expensive for what you get. Shuttles were great to take you back and forth between waterpark and resort. Waterpark was great.

10

Heather

27 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We enjoyed our stay very much! Room was spacious and clean. Had more than enough towels and blankets. The tram ride was quick and the drivers were nice. The property itself is very clean and sanitary. We loved the indoor water park. We also enjoyed the rooftop pool and spent a lot of our time up there. Food choices were average. We went offsite for dinner as the restaurants did not offer a great line up of meals. Otherwise breakfast and lunch offerings were good.

4

Joshua

5 May 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Website stated moonlight hours could be purchased. Nothing on website about certain amenities being closed due to routine maintenance schedule or construction. Had 2 slides and a wave pool to play in until 8pm becayse they changed moonlight hours to Friday and Saturdays only that week.

10

Nanette

26 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

This place is massive and gets very busy. Manage your visits to the water park with this in mind. The shuttles run continuously throughout the day but there was only one running the loop by the end of day. The closing was the highest demand for the shuttle and thus the line to ride back far exceeded the capacity for the small shuttle bus. We had to wait long times in the dark for our turn to ride up the hill back to our rooms. Perhaps they could add a couple shuttles just for the last hour

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Cleanliness

Cleanliness feedback is mixed: many report tidy rooms and public areas, but others cite dirty linens or floors, hair in beds and bathrooms, odors or mold, and occasional pests (including roaches and reported bed bugs).

Related guest reviews

4

Abigail

22 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

If you don’t have much to compare it to, it’s just okay. I’ve been to the location in Wisconsin dozens of times and was excited to drive the extra 5 hours thinking they’d be similar…. Not even close. The room at the Smokies was not clean, there was chips on the floor when we first checked in, dirty bathroom floor, hair in the shower and it was so noisy. The shower faucet never shuts off, just runs all night and day. The bathroom light/vent makes a crazy squealing noise. The room itself… never again. If I wasn’t so far from home we would have left. The waterpark is SO UNDERWHELMING. But just as expensive and the dells location that has 3 indoor and 3 outdoor water parks. Crazy. Also tons of weave, hair, just filth floating in the water, on the stairs to the slides. Also, no hours and can’t get a hold of anyone on the phone for dining information. No hours posted anywhere. The only positive thing about this location is the front desk workers are very nice and the shuttle drivers are constantly giving you park/arcade information. You also get spammed for timeshare signup AT CHECK IN just to get a map of the facility. Come on. Won’t be back.

4

Meghann

2 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Hotel was nasty and small. There was stuff spilled everywhere on the floors in the hallways. Small rooms and uncomfortable beds and the whole building smells bad. Bathrooms not cleaned and no snacks or drinks near the rooms. Way to far to walk. House keeping just comes in the room while your sleeping while without even knocking

6

Heather

21 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We brought our kids here for a birthday weekend. While the staff was extremely nice, our bathroom door wouldn’t shut, the sleeper sofa cover was disgusting and covered in dirt to the point we went and purchased an air mattress instead of using it, there was a dirty bandaid stuck to the bathtub,

2

Denise

16 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

I had to change rooms 3 times due to hair being on sheets and uncleanliness. I was very disappointed. Don’t know if I will bring going back.

2

Brittany

18 Feb 2026

·

Stayed 1 night

We had a great time, unfortunately I’m quite positive there were bed bugs in our room; evidenced by seeing one single bug while there and getting several bites.

8

Sonia

7 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Room was dirty, comforter and pillows were dirty with stains on them, bathroom floor was dirty, hair and stuff on the floor. Food was expensive for what you get. Shuttles were great to take you back and forth between waterpark and resort. Waterpark was great.

10

Michelle

24 Feb 2026

·

Stayed 2 nights

The room was great and clean. Being able to water straight down the hall from the waterpark to our room made it very convenient when wanting to take a break for a little bit to snack.

2

Rose

25 May 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Ok roaches in our room… very upsetting!!!!

2

Allison

27 Feb 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Went into the first room and it reeked of cigarette smoke. Went a got into another room to find it hadnt been cleaned very well at all. Very disappointed. Especially as much as it cost.

6

Morgan

25 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Shower cold everyday and bedding dirty but the water park was cool

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Rooms

Room experiences vary widely—some are spacious or recently updated, but many mention very small bathrooms, dated or dark decor in places, thin walls, and mixed mattress comfort.

Related guest reviews

8

Ashlyn

5 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

The indoor water park was cool. Definitely not as big as they make it look online. The cost of the room was not worth the size. It’s was very very small and needed updating badly.

8

Mark

12 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Nice for price. Beds uncomfortable.

4

David

29 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

The property is old and out dated. The lighting in the room was almost non existent.

10

Julita

2 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The room is nice and big

6

Paul

1 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Rooms are small and bathrooms even smaller. No free coffee lol slides are nice but very busy. Be prepared for crowds and a lot of waiting

10

Krista

5 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Everything was great but the beds and pillows

8

Jessica

3 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Enjoyed our stay. First time guests and I recommend getting a room with a balcony. Our room was clean and roomy but with all the swimming and wet clothes a balcony is more suitable for drying things.. there wasn’t much space to put wet stuff and the dryers on the property don’t work well. The bathroom was small and the door hit the toilet but overall the room was just fine.. we spent most of our time out if it anyways. This place was so much fun the waterparks are AWESOME! My kids and I enjoyed them very much

6

Cynthia Moore

5 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

We had a good time but felt like the room was way small for 6 people and very dated. I expected over facilities for the money.

6

Shavona

22 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

What I didn’t like about the property was the excessive noise and the thin floors. I wasn’t able to get any sleep and ended up checking out of my room early due to the constant noise from the guests above me and next door.

8

Heather

1 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great stay. Rooms are renovated. Bathtub is tiny and beds are slightly uncomfortable but the waterpark makes up for it.

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Service

Staff are often friendly and helpful, yet service can be inconsistent, with long check-in lines, housekeeping or maintenance delays, occasional rudeness, billing or room-assignment issues, and early check-in not always honored.

Related guest reviews

2

Donald

18 May 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Was checked in by an Asian that could not speak English? Nobody explained that we were not in the main resort and that the room was an old handicap room! The beds were very low to the floor and the shower was a walk in, so water was all over the floor! Requested to be moved to an actual regular room and was told that they could/would not accommodate us! The front desk person said that we were informed of this room type and when asked who checked us in was told he was new and yes, was not from the USA! I then told her that no info on this room was explained! We asked for at the least to get a chair brought in since none was in the room, they said that they would try, needless to say that we did not receive a simple CHAIR! Will never stay here again and will recommend that nobody do so!

10

Paullisha

2 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Thanks to Tina at the front desk. She was so nice and so helpful!

10

Meghan Joshua

5 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Paid for early checkin but still wasn't able to got into room till about 3:45 P.m. waiste of $50 considering room was suppose to be guaranteed to be available and ready by 2 P.M.

10

Melanie

1 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Amazing resort! Shawn and Tina made a confusing request...my confusing request...seamless and they were so nice even tho they were so busy at the front desk. All amenities were amazing, shuttle service made it so easy to get around, rooms were good size

4

Stacy

17 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We requested extra blankets the first night and never received them. The door to our room didn't properly, just smiled and walked away. The fire lane/shuttle pick up area is not managed allowing guests drive through other guests waiting for the shuttle. The vending machines do work properly, when we rested the money that was lost to be returned the manager argued with us and said to call the number on the machine. There was no number on the machine. I had request her manager before she would even give a 5 dollar voucher. I have already spent almost a thousand here. I won't come back here.

10

Teresa

17 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

First time staying here and our experience was excellent. We were greeted nicely and every time I had a question, the front desk was friendly and helpful. The facilities were clean and inviting. There were many entertainment and food options and everything was streamlined from room and water park accessibility to ability to charging to the room to check-out. Price is about the only big factor but the cost here is on par to similar places in Virginia and North Carolina. I felt very comfortable here and had a lot of fun. I would definitely come back again.

8

Allonah

3 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

BE AWARE that the hotel may charge you twice for resort fees. I had to speak to multiple staff members at the front desk to explain the overcharges. I had itemized receipts and still left without a refund. I called after 7-10 business days and apparently they refunded it to an unknown card. It sure wasn’t mine. The front desk also mixed my room with another guests room and the wrist bands for entry were wrong. It was frustrating.

4

Kyla

14 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

This property was way understaffed for the amount of people staying there for the cheer competition and it also being the holidays. It took over a hour to check in and get room keys. Only 2 people were at the checking desk. The dining and food was limited and understaffed. Our room had issues with malfunctioning bathroom lighting and plumbing that was not recovering our stay. I was underwhelmed to say the least for this property that categorizes itself as a resort.

8

Bijan

17 May 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Long check in time . I applied for a credit card at the time of booking and supposed to be charged with new credit card but no credit card in filed and I did charged the room with my different card . Could not used the credit card that I applied for

6

Jennifer

18 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Starting with the positives, check in was a breeze and the front desk staff was great. We love all of the amenities and the ease of the wristbands. Our first day we checked in, drooped off our belongings and went off to explore. Lori at camp social was amazing. She was very helpful. When we got back we noticed a smell in the room and realized the sink was backed up with nasty water. We were able to drain the sink and go on about our evening so we left it alone. I was very disappointed in the size of the bathroom. It was near impossible to change clothes in there. If you need privacy for your party, this is not the room for you. The beds are hard as a rock and pillows are not much better. I would suggest bringing your own pillows and blanket if you need and extra because the one they will bring feels like sandpaper. We enjoyed the arcade and waterpark, but the bartender in the waterdome completely ignored us on multiple occasions. For the price, we may explore other options for our next visit.

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Location

Convenient for area attractions and the convention center, but Stone Hill Lodge sits across the street so shuttles or walks are needed; lines or waits can build at busy times, and event traffic can strain parking.

Related guest reviews

8

Heather

19 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

I wish they would have had more transportation vehicles taking the guests to the main hotel or get vehicles that could hold larger amounts of guests. 14 people per vehicle every 15 minutes was ridiculous in the weather conditions. It would also be nice to have a dedicated area that had lines so people couldn’t cut in front of you after you have waited so long for the Tram and have it in closed somehow to prevent weather conditions.

8

Amy

2 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

This hotel is not in the same building as the big waterpark. They do give you access to the waterpark however, you have to take a shuttle or drive from this hotel to the main hotel with the waterpark. It is only a short 5-minute or less drive. It is almost brand new and has that new-carpet smell. The beds were very nice, I would stay here again.

10

Jennifer

1 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

I loved the property, hotel room was a long walk and had to ride a shuttle to Wilderness water park, but was very dependable and didn’t have to wait long at all.

6

Daniel

16 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Property was under construction. Early morning workers outside of our room, which was a ridiculously long walk to anywhere including lobby and parking.

10

Kelly

7 May 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We were there for a volleyball tournament and it was so great to be able to stay in the same building as the gym.

6

Michael

22 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The pools were cool, but I was not told that I had to drive to the indoor pool, until I noticed multiple 'Wilderness' locations upon arrival. Please be more upfront with those booking the hotel.

10

Nanette

26 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

This place is massive and gets very busy. Manage your visits to the water park with this in mind. The shuttles run continuously throughout the day but there was only one running the loop by the end of day. The closing was the highest demand for the shuttle and thus the line to ride back far exceeded the capacity for the small shuttle bus. We had to wait long times in the dark for our turn to ride up the hill back to our rooms. Perhaps they could add a couple shuttles just for the last hour

10

vicente

6 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Other than the car show held at the convention center and the heavy amount of traffic it was a great stay

8

Shane

19 Sept 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

I stayed at stone hill lodge because of an event going on at the convention center which made it much easier to attend when I did not have to drive anywhere to get where I needed to go.

8

BENJAMIN

23 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Fun place for the family to stay and play. The indoor waterpark was great for the kids. Just down the road from everything, but not right in the middle of it, which is great.

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Dining

On-site dining is convenient but widely considered pricey, with limited hours and some understaffing; quality is mixed, though several guests praised the pizza and breakfast options.

Related guest reviews

4

Karen

19 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

I have bad knees & requested a room close to elevator / lobby, but that was not noted on my stay. So our room was several long corridors away—think the hotel in The Shining. No signage made things hard to find, and overpriced, mediocre restaurants had random hours not posted.

8

Leigh

30 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Loved the waterpark and activity areas! Dining options were a bit limited, ad were the hours. No room service after 10pm.

8

dean

3 Nov 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

The stay was great. Awesome views. The food was astronomically expensive. The breakfast was over $70 for 2 adults and 2 kids. And the quality of the breakfast was worse than a free continental breakfast at any other hotel

8

Julie

6 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

It was just your basic hotel. The restaurant situation was troubled. They have one in stone Hill Lodge but the hours are only for dinner. There is a small Starbucks like shop for general breakfast. On the whole the restaurants at both hotels barswere understaffed but every staff member was 100% friendly and smiled at you the whole time. They were wonderful about the large crowds and did their best

10

Heather

27 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We enjoyed our stay very much! Room was spacious and clean. Had more than enough towels and blankets. The tram ride was quick and the drivers were nice. The property itself is very clean and sanitary. We loved the indoor water park. We also enjoyed the rooftop pool and spent a lot of our time up there. Food choices were average. We went offsite for dinner as the restaurants did not offer a great line up of meals. Otherwise breakfast and lunch offerings were good.

10

Mathew

10 Nov 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

No complaints at all. Ive seen reviews on it being nasty and dirty. Our room was nice, no wierd smells. Shower pressure was better than any hotel I've been to. Pools were nice and clean. Food and bars were great.

6

Jeff

29 May 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We have been several times not once has the water park at stone hill lodge worked. Safe didn’t work in our room. And the sliding door to the balcony was off the slides and wouldn’t lock.

8

Sheila

9 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Property was clean and water park convenience was great. Ordered pizza to room first night was served quickly hot and fresh. Tasted great. Ate at the breakfast buffet on day 2 and enjoyed the food which was obviously cooked on property not your typical mass produced buffet food. Prices are reasonable but get prepared for large gratuity:/ taxes added to bill.

8

Liz

26 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Very clean rooms but extremely over priced as well as the on site restaurants being over priced sad to see so many people steal food

8

rickie

27 Nov 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

The new eatery on top of the water park had food that was really bad, and I mean really bad. Everything else was great!

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Month	Average price
January	US$156
February	US$149
March	US$162
April	US$167
May	US$140
June	US$186
July	US$210
September	US$117
October	US$161
December	US$185

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16 $121	17 $121	18 $148	19 $157
20 $122	21 $121	22 $120	23 $125	24 $123	25 $138	26 $148
27 $122	28 $122	29 $122	30 $122

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1 $122	2 $132	3 $166
4 $169	5 $175	6 $176	7 $169	8 $228	9 $317	10 $309
11 $176	12 $132	13 $131	14 $131	15 $139	16 $200	17 $201
18 $122	19 $122	20 $122	21 $122	22 $122	23 $149	24 $157
25 $122	26 $122	27 $122	28 $125	29 $122	30 $141	31 $149

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Monthly average prices

About this property

Location

Room options

Studio Suite Poolside

Bunk Suite Poolside

Bunk Suite

Queen Murphy Deluxe, Poolside

Queen Murphy Deluxe

Studio Suite

Guest reviews

Pleasant

Who stays here?

What guests think

Property policies

Check-in instructions

Good to know

Optional extras

FAQs about Wilderness at the Smokies – River Lodge Suites

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