Frequently asked questions

Yes. On our website you pay no Vrbo or Airbnb service fee, and you deal with us, the owners, from the first question to checkout. Book on the lodge page.

• Last-minute: we automatically lower our rates for dates coming up soon. If you book direct, also check our last-minute deals page for an extra discount code.
• Returning guests: 10% off your next stay when you book direct.
• Friends you refer: 5% off their stay.
• Military: 5% off for active duty and veterans.
• Longer stays: ask us, as we can often discount extra nights.

You pay 20% when you book. The rest is charged automatically to the same card 30 days before arrival; if you book closer to arrival than that, you pay in full. We take all major cards (through Stripe) and PayPal. If you need to split the payment between cards or between several guests, or need a custom payment schedule, just ask.

• Taxes: 12.75% (Tennessee and Sevier County sales tax plus the Pittman Center hotel tax).
• Accidental damage protection: $37 per stay, covering accidental damage up to $1,500.
• Pet fee: $100 per pet, if you bring one.

There is no charge per guest. On Vrbo and Airbnb, their own service fee is added as well.

Separately, we place a $300 security deposit hold on your card the day before arrival ($500 with one pet, $700 with two). It isn’t a charge, and it’s released after your stay.

Yes. Every booking, including those made on Vrbo, Airbnb or Booking.com, gets a short rental agreement to sign online right after booking. Your check-in details are sent once it is signed.

On our website you can book up to about two years ahead; on Vrbo, about a year ahead. Last-minute bookings are fine up to the day before arrival, but please check with us before making one.

Two or three nights, depending on the dates, and five over Thanksgiving and Christmas. The calendar on the lodge page shows the minimum for your dates.

For direct and Vrbo bookings: a full refund if you cancel at least 30 days before arrival, 50% if at least 14 days before, and no refund after that. Airbnb and Booking.com bookings follow the policy shown on those sites when you booked. Travel insurance, damage protection and processing fees are not refundable.

Yes, optionally, through our recommended insurance partner, RentalGuardian. You can add it when you book (it can only be bought within a short time after booking). We recommend it: it can refund your stay if illness, an accident or a natural disaster at home stops you from traveling. Please send any questions about what is covered to RentalGuardian: rentalguardian.com, (888) 885-5550 (Monday to Saturday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Eastern) or support@rentalguardian.com. We can’t refund stays for snow, flight cancellations or other events beyond our control.

Adding nights is never a problem if the lodge is free, even at the last minute, and we can sometimes offer the extra nights at a last-minute discount: just send us a message. Changing dates is always possible within the free cancellation period, though depending on your new dates there may be a surcharge. After that, please ask us.

Yes: a $300 hold on your card the day before arrival. It isn’t a charge, and it is released after your stay once the cleaners have been through, normally within a few days. If you bring pets, the hold is higher. If you book on Vrbo, the hold goes on the card you booked with; Airbnb and Booking.com guests add a card for it when they sign the rental agreement.

Accidents happen, and every booking includes accidental damage protection. If something breaks, just send us a photo by text or email and you won’t be charged for it, up to $1,500. It doesn’t cover extra cleaning or costs from breaking the house rules, such as smoking indoors.

Up to 26: 18 sleep in the six bedrooms and 8 on the four sleeper sofas. There is no extra charge per guest. The person booking must be at least 25.

The four sleeper sofas are in the upstairs loft (2) and the theater room (2 queens). Sheets and towels for them are in marked closets. There is also a half bath on the main floor.

The main floor, where you enter, has the master king suite with a large walk-in shower and jetted tub, the kitchen, dining area, living room and main deck, all without steps. There are about five steps up to the front door, and the other floors are reached by standard stairs with solid railings. The lodge isn’t wheelchair accessible, and none of the showers are step-free.

Yes, well-behaved pets are welcome by prior arrangement, normally up to two. The fee is $100 per pet per stay, and the security deposit hold goes up to $500 for one pet or $700 for two. Add your pets when you book on our website, or message us after booking on Vrbo or Airbnb and we’ll add them. Pets aren’t allowed in the hot tub, and bringing a pet without telling us means a $300 cleaning charge.

Since late 2025 we welcome pets, so we can’t promise an allergen-free home. The lodge is cleaned thoroughly between every stay.

Trained service animals are always welcome and free of charge. They don’t count as pets, so there’s no pet fee or higher deposit, but please still let us know you’re bringing one. Emotional support animals are welcome too, as pets.

Check-in is from 4 pm and checkout by 10 am.

While we don’t charge extra for an early check-in, we can’t promise it in advance, since the cleaners usually need the whole day and we sometimes schedule maintenance between guests. Text us on your arrival day and we’ll tell you as soon as the lodge is ready. To be sure of an early start, book the night before: contact us to see if we are able to offer it to you at a discounted rate.

Normally not, as the cleaners need the time to get the lodge ready for the next guests. If you leave earlier than 10 am, a quick text is appreciated so they can start.

The lodge has self check-in with a keypad lock, and each booking gets its own code. We email it with the full check-in details, directions and the welcome book about a week before arrival, once the rental agreement is signed. If you can’t find the email, check your spam or promotions folder, or send us a message and we’ll send it again.

Empty the fridge, run the dishwasher, take all trash to the bear-proof bins by the driveway, clean up outside (including around the fire pit), strap down the hot tub cover, pile the used towels by the closet on the main floor and lock up. You can leave the beds unmade.

Yes. Let us know as soon as you can and we’ll ask the cleaners to look for it. Shipping is at your cost, and items not claimed within 30 days are disposed of.

Text or call Markus at (865) 244-5406, or email info@mountainhomeretreats.com. If anything isn’t right when you arrive, please tell us straight away.

At 618 Big Bear Ridge Rd in Pittman Center, just outside Gatlinburg (mailing address Gatlinburg, TN 37738). From the East Parkway (US-321), turn up Pinnacle Vista Rd; Big Bear Ridge Rd is the first road on the left, and the lodge is the first house, with a wooden “618” sign. Google Maps puts the pin further along the road, so use our map link or the directions in your check-in email.

No. It is a paved mountain road, but wide and gently winding with no steep parts or hairpin turns, and any car can make it in normal weather. Groups have even come up in charter buses and with trailers. For your first arrival, daylight is best.

The roads up to the lodge are usually treated within a few hours of a snowfall, though after a big storm it can take a day. In winter, a car with all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, or snow chains, is a good idea. Keep in mind that it can be a few degrees colder at the lodge than in town, so the roads up there may be icy even when they’re clear in town. We can’t refund stays because of snow, so consider travel insurance for winter trips.

Six cars fit comfortably in the private parking area, and more with a little planning. If you need more room, the road is wide enough to park along.

Yes, you’ll drive to shops, restaurants and trailheads. To avoid parking downtown, use the free Gatlinburg trolley from the park-and-ride at City Hall on the East Parkway, on your way into town.

FedEx and UPS deliver fine, but the Postal Service doesn’t deliver to the lodge, and Amazon often uses it here. If you must order something, choose FedEx or UPS and let us know it’s coming. Note that we can’t process returns for packages that arrive after your stay.

The six-person hot tub on the covered lower deck is drained, cleaned and refilled between every stay. It takes a few hours to heat to 100°F, so on arrival day it may not be hot until the evening. Children under 16 need an adult with them. If you’d like it cleaned again during a longer stay, the cleaners can do it for $45.

The kitchen is fully equipped for 26, with two full-size fridges (one in the downstairs wet bar), two microwaves, a dishwasher, All-Clad pots and pans, a slow cooker, stand mixer, blender and waffle iron. There’s no air fryer or smoker. For coffee there is a combined 12-cup and single-serve (K-cup) brewer plus a second filter coffee maker. We leave a few K-cups to start you off, so bring your own coffee.

Yes, a large Broil King gas grill on the covered deck next to the kitchen. It runs on the lodge’s propane supply, so you don’t need to bring tanks. Charcoal and other grills aren’t allowed.

Yes, there’s a wood-burning fire pit with benches in the yard. Firewood isn’t provided, so bring your own: it’s sold at the Food City on the East Parkway and by roadside sellers along the East Parkway on your way to the lodge. If you’re coming through Pigeon Forge, Knockout Firewood has a 24/7 self-serve stand with kiln-dried bundles at 3264 Wears Valley Rd, Sevierville. Bring fire starters too, and before lighting a fire check the Tennessee burn ban page: bans also cover campfires.

Yes, a gas fireplace in the main living room, turned on with the timer dial on the wall.

There’s free, unlimited Wi-Fi on every floor through fixed wireless (not satellite), usually fast enough for video calls and remote work. There’s also a desk. Big storms occasionally knock the service out for a few hours. Cell coverage is patchy inside the lodge, so turn on Wi-Fi calling on your phone.

• Theater room with an 82” TV, recliners, Blu-ray/DVD player and an Xbox with four controllers.
• Pool table in the loft, two arcade machines with 60 classic games each, and board games.
• Satellite TV (290+ channels) on all nine TVs; you can also sign in to your own Netflix.
• A piano, guitar, banjo and ukuleles. The piano is kept locked to spare it from little hands, so if someone in your group plays, text us for the key.
• Outside: a swing set with slide and a private trail down to a mountain stream.

Yes, a washer and a separate dryer on the lower level, with detergent, an iron and ironing board.

All bed linens and towels are provided, plus a starter supply of toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, dish and laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner and soap. Every full bathroom has a hair dryer. For longer stays or big groups, plan to pick up extra paper goods and dishwasher pods, along with coffee, groceries and fire starters.

Yes. There are two pack ‘n plays (bring fitted sheets) and two high chairs, plus a swing set, kids’ picnic table, children’s books and games. There are no baby gates, so bring your own if needed.

No. The nearest is the indoor pool at the Gatlinburg Community Center, about 15 minutes’ drive, which also has bowling and a gym.

Approximate drive times without heavy traffic:

The lodge is on the quieter East Parkway side of Gatlinburg, so you skip most of the Parkway traffic through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

The closest full supermarket is the Food City on the East Parkway, about 15 minutes away; Walmart and Kroger are in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. Smoky Mountain Grocery (smokymountaingrocery.com) can deliver and stock the fridge before you arrive: just let us know once your order is confirmed, so the door code works for them.

The Greenbrier entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is 10 minutes away, with easy walks like Porters Creek and the more strenuous Ramsey Cascades hike (with arguably the best waterfalls in the National Park). The Arts and Crafts Community loop is 10 minutes away, and downtown Gatlinburg is 20 minutes away. Our area guide has our favorite restaurants, attractions, shows and hikes, and the welcome book has more tips.

Our default rule is no events. We can sometimes make an exception, as long as there are no outside guests (neither our permit nor our insurance covers them) and you run your plans by us first.

• The person booking must be 25 or older, and only the guests in your booking may stay or visit.
• Quiet hours are 10 pm to 7 am, especially outdoors.
• No smoking or vaping indoors. Smoking is fine on the decks with an ashtray, away from open doors and windows.
• Fires only in the fire pit, and grilling only on the gas grill.

Black bears live in the area, and many guests see them. They are shy, but they will come for food, so please be very careful with food and trash, both for your own safety and for the bears’: a bear that gets used to human food often ends up having to be put down. Keep your distance, never feed them, and make loud noise if one comes close. Always lock your car and keep the windows up, whether or not there’s food inside: bears can open car doors, and if the door closes behind one, it will destroy the inside of the car trying to get out. Never let dogs loose outside; keep them on a leash.

Take all trash out to the bear-proof bins by the driveway right away and always lock the latches. Never leave trash bags, food or coolers on the decks or porch, even for a moment. Recyclables go in with the normal trash, since the county sorts them out. If the bins are full, take the extra to the Pittman Center convenience center, just down the road on US-321 (Monday to Saturday, 8 am to 6 pm), or leave it well sealed (ideally double-bagged) inside the lodge at checkout.