Fairway Forest Resort Review

If you’ve ever just wanted to run off to the mountains to get some peace and quiet for awhile, then this resort is for you!

Fairway Forest is in a remote mountain town on the back side of the Smoky Mountains, pretty far from any big tourist hot spots.

When you stay here, you’ll get to enjoy the outdoors, golf, lake activities, or just sitting out on your balcony taking in the scenery.

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Fairway Forest Resort Review

Fairway Forest had been on my radar for awhile, so I was so glad when the stars finally aligned to check out this resort and the nearby area.

I booked a 1 bedroom, which ended up being significantly more spacious than I imagined.

The buildings are somewhat cabin like and the rooms are multi-level.

Fortunately, there is parking RIGHT in front of each unit, so you won’t have to take your luggage very far!

When you enter the unit, you’ll be entering into the living room and that is the only room at the entry level.

From there, you’ll go down the stairs to the rest of the unit.

Living Room

I honestly didn’t spend much time in here since it was up the stairs from everything else, but I love when rooms have unique layouts like this.

It feels so cozy to have the living room in its own little nook.

I would say the main downside of the living room being here is that if anyone is staying in the unit adjoining yours, it feels like they’re in your space since you can hear them coming and going.

small corner living room with a couch, closet, medium sized tv on a tv stand, and 2 small ottomans

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Kitchen

Once you go down the stairs, the first room you’ll come across is the kitchen.

It’s so spacious and it’s a full kitchen with a refrigerator, freezer, stove top, oven, sink, dishwasher, microwave, cookware, dishes, and utensils.

Behind those sliding doors is also a washer and dryer!

For the most part, anything that you’d need to cook with will be in the room, but if there isn’t, you can always call the front desk and ask.

Unless you’re needing some super obscure utensil that hardly anyone would ever own, then in that case I’d say bring your own or buy some at the store down the street.

angular full kitchen with a dining table for 4, separate counter for drinks and utensils, fridge, sink, stove, dishwasher

Bedroom

Right off of the back of the kitchen is the bedroom.

This room has a king sized bed, a large tv just outside of the bottom left of the picture below, balcony access, and a vanity with a mirror and sink.

I love that this room has that extra mirror and sink for getting ready that’s not inside the bathroom.

It’s just very functional and practical.

bedroom with king bed, large tv, side tables with charging ports, a closet, and a sink with mirror

Bathroom

From the bedroom, the first bathroom room you’ll enter is the one with a shower.

It’s just a standard walk-in shower with a sliding glass door and a small window looking out into the woods behind the unit.

Here are my main issues with this bathroom:

There is no bench or ledge to put my feet to shave my legs
There is no bench to set anything down
The shower is a little bit slippery

Other than that, the water pressure is good and the water heated up very quickly and stayed hot.

Then there is another door connecting to the rest of the bathroom.

clear glass sliding door shower with a small window looking out into the woods

In it’s own separate room, there is a toilet and a bathroom vanity with a sink and mirror and shelves with lots of towels.

This portion of the bathroom can be accessed directly from the kitchen or from the shower room.

All the rooms just sort of loop back altogether.

bathroom vanity with shelving and a toilet and trash can in a separate room from the shower

Balcony

The bedroom has access to a decent sized balcony with a small table and two chairs.

It looks out into the woods and it’s so peaceful and quiet.

There is a screen door here, so you could keep the glass door open to let in fresh air without the bugs getting in.

wooden balcony with table and chairs overlooking the forest

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Important Check-In Note

The most important note to keep in mind when you make this reservation is that the check-in desk is in a separate location from the rest of the resort.

Your confirmation emails will tell you this, so you won’t miss it!

This check-in center is in like a strip mall type shopping center on the same road as the rest of the resort, just a couple miles down the road, so you can’t miss it.

If you’re checking in after 10 pm, there will be a note in your confirmation about an alternative location to go check-in at and if you have any questions or are unsure about it, just call the resort and they’ll gladly help you out!

Check-in visitor center for Fairway Forest Resort, separate from where the rest of the resort is located

How is the wifi out in the woods?

The in-room wifi is surprisingly good!

I was able to use Zoom meeting rooms with a dozen+ people without any issues and I was able to stream videos.

On one of the days, when it was storming, the lights flickered for a second and then the wifi reset itself, so it just took a few minutes, but other than that it worked.

The only issue I had was doing more technical type of work, specifically Meta ads, which would just give me error after error and it wasn’t able to upload photos.

But I was able to upload photos in this exact post with no problem, so the wifi may not be perfect for super advanced things, but it’ll work great for general uses.

Things To Do Near Sapphire, North Carolina

Fairway Forest Resort is a pretty remote resort in terms of nearby popular tourist attractions.

The resort and nearby resorts have plenty of outdoor activities that you can book to enjoy the outdoors and the scenery.

When you check in, they’ll give you a brochure with coupons and information about everything to do in the area.

I highly recommend Foot Golf through Red Bird Golf if you’ve never played!

I didn’t get to play it here at this resort, but I’ve played it at Disney World on one of their golf courses.

Basically you play half a golf course by kicking a soccer ball into a big hole instead of a golf ball.

golf course hole for foot golf at Shades of Green Resort

Some other activities include ziplining, a Summer concert series, a high hopes course, and an activities center.

You can check out everything in the area through Sapphire Valley Resorts.

But if you want to venture out further and explore more of the area, expanding your stay to include more of the Smoky Mountains would be a great idea.

2-3 Hour Drive From Fairway Forest Resort

Just on the other side of the Smoky Mountains you’ll find Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, which have nearly unlimited vacation activities.

I recommend making time for one day of exploring Smoky Mountains National Park and one day for Dollywood.

If you have more time, I have a 2 day itinerary for exploring Pigeon Forge and a 2 day itinerary for exploring Gatlinburg.

You can mix and match these itineraries to fit your trip length since these towns are right next to each other.

entrance to the Dolly Parton Experience with a huge multi story pink and purple butterfly

Regardless of what you decide to do, I recommend staying at Sunrise Ridge Resort in Pigeon Forge.

For the same price as a standard hotel room, you can stay in a 1-2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen and mountain views!

view of the pool and mountains from our patio in a 1 bedroom suite at Sunrise Ridge Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Explore More Of North Carolina

On the clear other side of North Carolina, you’ll get an entirely different vacation experience.

Instead of mountains and forests, there are beaches!

If you’re exploring more of North Carolina, check out our Outer Banks 3 day itinerary.

This area is known for its lighthouses, sand dunes, and being the home of the lost Roanoke Colony (which you can visit today)!.

While you’re there, you’ll want to stay at Beachwoods Resort.

It’s another resort where for the same price as a typical hotel room, you can get a 1-2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen, laundry, and even a private beach parking lot!