Hippensteal's Mountain View Inn

Gatlinburg was once a quaint, quiet little place. At Hippensteal's Mountain View Inn, you are there. The pleasant half-mile drive to the top that winds past meadows and other homesteads doesn't prepare you for the view that awaits after the last turn. At the top of the mountain, the breath-taking panorama that stretches from Greenbriar Pinnacle to Mt. Harrison--with the majestic Mt. LeConte in the middle--greets the visitor. And the Inn has three wraparound porches from which you can enjoy the majestic views. The Hippensteal Mountain View Inn is a bed and breakfast of many elegant and comfortable rooms designed, built, and decorated by Vern and Lisa Hippensteal. The large porches invite you to come and relax in the rocking chairs under ceiling fans to watch the Great Smoky Mountains as they change minute by minute. Inside, the black-and-white tiled floor of the lobby, relaxing wicker furniture, and ambient lighting make the visitor feel he or she has stepped into the past. The large stone fireplace is a monument to taking time out. The breakfast room is upscale, with marble-top tables, wicker chairs, and fine linen, situated so guests can dine while watching the clouds dance across the mountains or the flames in the great stone fireplace. The kitchen is spacious; during morning hours, the aroma of breakfast wafts through the Inn. The Hippensteals are famous for breakfast, which includes dishes like sausage pie, cheese souffle, homemade bread cheese melts and sausage pinwheels. Lisa's fresh apple-raisin breads and pumpkin-chocolate breads are wonderful. The innkeepers are Lisa and Vern Hippensteal. Lisa grew up at the original Mountain View Hotel, bringing both the experience from that hotel background plus a natural warm hospitality to the Hippensteal Mountain View Inn. Vern Hippensteal is one of the area's leading watercolorists, and the Inn also serves as a gallery for Vern's works (in addition to his two other galleries in Gatlinburg).