Dolly Parton’s Original Resort Marks Its 10th Anniversary This Summer

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On a warm summer day back in 2015, Dolly Parton realized a dream that had been 30 years in the making. Since she welcomed the first guests to her eponymous theme park, Dollywood, in May 1986, Dolly had also hoped to create a hotel where those guests could extend their families’ vacation time together. On July 27, 2015, the doors of Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa opened to the public … and the 300-room resort has been going strong ever since. So strong, in fact, that a second hotel, Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort, opened two years ago, confirming that Dollywood is a destination of its own within the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.

“Destination Dollywood” has a lot to celebrate this year, with the theme park’s 40^th anniversary season having launched in March and Dollywood’s Splash Country water park opening for its 25^th anniversary season on May 10. Each year the parks welcome millions of guests, many of whom opt to stay at Dolly’s original resort, which echoes the park’s famous philosophy on guest service. Around here, hosts (what Dollywood calls its employees) care enough to treat guests like family and extend heartfelt hospitality at every turn.

People feel like they’re part of the Dollywood family as soon as they arrive, as hosts hand them a glass of the resort’s signature pink lemonade and encourage them to settle into one of the dozens of rocking chairs that line the exterior porches. Guest rooms encourage family and multi-generational travel, offering an array of bed arrangements so kids, parents and grandparents can enjoy vacations together. “Camp DW” provides recreational opportunities designed with the whole family in mind. It’s not a drop-off-the-kids sort of program, but instead provides crafts, music, story times and other activities that encourage families to spend their time with each other in fun and meaningful ways.

Even the resort’s full-service restaurant, Song & Hearth: A Southern Eatery, gets in on the theme. On several nights each week it serves family-style meals, with heaping platters of Southern classics like fried chicken and pot roast and biscuits getting passed around the table. A menu staple is Stone Soup, a recipe that was adapted from a story Dolly shares about how her mother, Avie Lee Owens Parton, showed her big family lots of love in a simple meal.

The name of the resort – DreamMore – was inspired by a speech Dolly made to the University of Tennessee’s graduating class in 2009. In it, she encouraged her audience to “Dream more. Learn more. Care more. Be more.” Those same words can be found at the base of the DreamMore Fountain that greets guests as they arrive at the resort. More words of wisdom, which are affectionately dubbed “Dolly-isms,” can be found on posters in all the elevator landings. Guests find it hard to get off to a bad start or end a day on a sour note when “Dreams are of no value if they’re not equipped with wings” are among the first and last words their brains process.

Speaking of wings … guests can find artistic evidence of Dolly’s favorite animal, the butterfly, all around the resort, from giant sculptures perched on the building’s exterior and specially shaped benches in the gardens outside to images of the beautiful insects stitched into carpets or perched on the signs that mark each room number in guest hallways.

There are plenty of other tributes to Dolly throughout the resort, as well. Some of her instruments – an autoharp, banjo, dulcimer and guitar – can be found on the walls of the lobby-level living room. One level down is a corridor filled with her album covers … and there’s room for more, since Dolly shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to “songtelling.” In fact, she even wrote a song especially for the resort’s opening in 2015 and tucked it into a “Dream Box” time capsule that’s on display in the hotel’s lower lobby. Nobody except Dolly has seen this song, which will be revealed on her 100^th birthday in 2046.

There’s even a Dolly Parton Suite, which features bold tones of purple and pink, a huge closet, and a one-of-a-kind bathroom that makes guests never want to leave. The resort’s spa is similarly glamorous and sparkly, the perfect place to unwind and be pampered.

Like Dolly, the resort has collected an array of awards. It’s consistently recognized among the best theme park hotels in the country, achieving these honors because all around DreamMore, as guests enjoy stunning views of the same mountains that have always inspired Dolly, they can reconnect with loved ones in a comfortable, homey and stress-free environment that truly embodies Southern hospitality.

The entire resort underwent a refresh a few months ago to prepare for its 10^th anniversary, and it’s ready for its moment in the spotlight. Guests who stay at either of Dolly’s resorts enjoy a variety of perks, including free shuttle service to the park, early entry and the best price on tickets. To check availability and explore the array of offers and packages, please look here.