hotel |

Pigeon Forge,TN

Part of the fun family travel isn’t just going all the places and seeing all the things but it’s also about finding all the fun places to sleep too! I have learned that my husband and I tend to be adventurers over relaxers on vacay. It’s a good thing we agree on that.

The Inn at Christmas Place is an adorable hotel completely decked out in Christmas 24/7 from head to toe. This hotel did not disappoint and as a result needs to be booked well in advance. The Inn is a trip advisor pick but I found out about it through other family travel bloggers which are in my opinion the best way to find all the fun places and get really honest reviews and of course your trusty travel agent.

We drove through Pigeon Forge, TN which I had no idea was such a fun place. There is literally a million places to stay and fun things to do. We counted 10 mini car racing places and just as many mini golf places. Bring your money though because nothing is cheap. We drove up to The Inn and were greeted by a suited door man and a Bavarian hotel with Christmas lights, life sized nutcrackers and Christmas music-it was love.

The entire lobby sticks with the theme. Christmas trees and angels and lights oh my!

We checked in an received an ornament for our first visit. Coffee was available all day long as well as pink lemonade.

Our room was awesome complete with a Christmas tree (easy to turn off but why would you), Christmas pillows, a wreath and chocolate Hershey’s kisses for night time. I opted for a double queen room with no balcony which saved us some money and the room was actually really big, comfortable beds and the bathroom was super large. Our room also had a kitchenette.

The hotel runs specials every evening which include s’mores with Santa and Santa signing-he was really great and answered all the children’s questions.

The hotel also has an outdoor pool with slide and an indoor heated pool-Ro was so mad I didn’t bring suits so from now on I’ll always packs them. Each floor level has something special decorated and a complementary breakfast is included. The breakfast is not your run of the mill complementary breakfast. It has an omelet station, fruit, hot items ready made and served, fruit, breads, you name it. Each night the hotel puts out cookies and milk in the lobby as well.

I almost forgot Ro’s favorite part- a 2 story glockenspiel that rings and sings Christmas music every hour on the hour. I can’t even imagine what staying here during Christmas must be like-actually I can-awesome. #Takethetrip

Disney World,FL

Our family is a Disney family. We love going, playing and staying. We have been trying to change things up a bit and do something different each time we visit-which honestly isn’t that difficult. Our last stay was at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR) is nothing short of magical. Disney does it again by creating a truly Caribbean feel through their magical imagineering. We hopped on board the magical express and were whisked away to CBR . Upon arrival we immediately began to feel that Caribbean feel. The resort is painted in bright colors, plays island music and is surrounded by beaches, a bay area and fun pools.

We checked in and were so excited that we had been chosen to be family of the week. This is something chosen at random and of all the times we have stayed at Disney this is the first, and probably only time this will happen! What a treat! We received a private tour of the resort and were sent to our upgraded room.

Our room was just like all rooms in CBR with the exception of location. CBR is broken down into “islands” and each section is named after a Caribbean island. We stayed in North Trinidad-closet to the pools and eating area. Each island has it’s own bus area where you can catch buses to the parks or catch an internal bus to run around the islands and obtain easy access to the eating area. The rooms come with two queen beds and a fold out Murphy bed-so fun!

We visited during Christmas and our common area was decorated Caribbean Christmas style with a festive tree full of garland and seashells.

The eating area was super cute. CBR looks like small island markets-each one offering a different fair, palm leaf fans and string lights. CBR also has a site down restaurant called Shutters which offers food with a Caribbean twist.

There are two separate pool areas at CBR. A large sprawling pool with water cannons, slides and theming. Oh and yes we went swimming in November because the pools are heated. We were also able to see the fireworks from Epcot in the pool at night. CBR also has a sunken ship splash area for the littles. Life vests available if needed. The lifeguards are amazing and vigilant.

We had a blast at CBR. CBR also offers pirate themed rooms for an additional cost. My only issue with CBR was the bus schedule. Each “island” shares a bus system so once you get picked up at your island you had to travel to the others to pick up guests before heading to the park. This made each trip longer and we often had to stand. That being said CBR is a fun and festive resort and is a great value for the money with fun nooks and crannies to play in and an overly accommodating staff.