River Terrace Resort and Convention Center

The Resort and Its Setting

River Terrace Resort and Convention Center sits at 240 River Rd in Gatlinburg, right on the Little Pigeon River and within walking distance of the town's main strip. As a Westgate Resorts property, it has a relaxed, hotel-like feel rather than a luxury-resort one — guests on Google describe it as a "casual riverside hotel" with comfortable rooms, two outdoor pools, an on-site bar/grill and meeting rooms, which also makes it a practical base for small groups or family reunions. With a 3.8/5 rating from over 4,100 Google reviews, it's a solidly middling, well-used property rather than a five-star showpiece — useful context for anyone pricing a week to sell or rent.

Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains

Gatlinburg is the main gateway town to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and one of the most visited destinations in Sevier County. Owners and renters typically come for hiking, the Gatlinburg SkyLift and SkyBridge, the aquarium, and the string of mountain-craft shops and restaurants along the Parkway. The nearby town of Pigeon Forge adds Dollywood and outlet shopping, while Great Smoky Mountains National Park itself offers trails, waterfalls and scenic drives right on the doorstep. Because the area draws visitors year-round — leaf season in autumn, snow-dusted mountains in winter, and warm-weather hiking in spring and summer — demand for a week here can shift noticeably with the season, which is worth factoring into any asking price.

Selling or Renting a Week Here

If you own a week at River Terrace and want to sell or rent it out, BidMyTimeshare.com works as a private owner-to-owner marketplace: you list your week, set your own asking price, and buyers or renters contact you directly through the platform. There's no commission on the sale — sellers simply pay a small one-time listing fee to get their week in front of buyers.

Before listing, it helps to understand how a Westgate transfer actually works. According to Westgate Resorts, a brokered transfer typically costs around $500 and takes 12 weeks or more to complete, so sellers and buyers should both build that timeline into their plans rather than expecting a quick handover. Westgate also holds a right of first refusal on resales, though owners report it's rarely exercised in practice.

Resale buyers should also go in with realistic expectations about what they will and won't get compared with someone buying directly from the developer. Owners report that resale buyers at Westgate are often limited to a 60-day booking window (30 days on some deeds, versus more flexibility for direct buyers), and pay a higher internal exchange fee — around $700, compared with $169 for direct purchasers — if they want to trade their week through Westgate's internal exchange process. If exchanging externally, both RCI and Interval International are available networks for this resort, which is worth confirming with the resort's owner services before buying.

Practical Notes for Buyers and Sellers

Anyone buying a resale week here should ask the seller for the current annual maintenance fee, confirm which week or season the deed covers, and clarify in writing whether the unit is fixed-week, floating, or points-based under the Westgate system. Sellers should have their deed, most recent maintenance fee statement and any points or exchange account details ready, since these are the documents buyers will ask for before agreeing on a price.

Getting There

Gatlinburg has no major airport of its own; most visitors fly into Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport and drive the remaining distance into the mountains, so it's worth mentioning this in a listing aimed at out-of-state or international renters.