Ground Broken at Townsend, Tennessee
Ofland Hotels broke ground this week on Ofland Smoky Mountains, its second property, in Townsend, Tennessee. The company’s release is dated September 17, 2026.
The ceremony ran on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Founder Charles Tate, Chief Executive Officer Noah Ellis, Head of Development Luke Searcy and Chief Financial Officer Ryan Terracino led a symbolic dig at the site, per Ofland Hotels.
Ofland Hotels describes itself as a Las Vegas outdoor hospitality company. Its flagship, Ofland Escalante, opened in 2021.
Seventy-Five Cabins, Four of Them Accessible
The company lists 75 cabins: 71 standard cabins and four accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Each cabin covers 345 square feet in a studio layout.
The specification runs to a queen bed and a queen sofa bed with premium bedding, a kitchenette, an en-suite bathroom and a private open-air shower. Each cabin exterior carries a wrap-around deck with rocking chairs, a wood-burning campfire ring with a grill and a picnic table.
The property’s own site adds that each cabin sleeps four, that the open-air shower is heated, and that WiFi and cell service are available on site.
The Lodge, the Pool and the Drive-In Screen
The lodge serves as the common area, per Ofland Hotels. It houses the front desk, a general store, fire pits and a food counter serving a Southern-inspired menu for breakfast and dinner.
The company names a heated pool, an oversized hot tub, campfire chef kits and an outdoor drive-in theatre with vintage trucks and seating for up to 150 guests.
The property site describes the drive-in as showing a movie every night of the week with free popcorn.
27.6 Acres Five Minutes From Cades Cove
Ofland Hotels states the site covers 27.6 acres and puts the Cades Cove entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park five minutes away.
The National Park Service reports more than 12 million recreational visits to the park in 2024 and calls it consistently the most visited national park in the country. The service puts the park at 522,427 acres across North Carolina and Tennessee, with more than USD 2.2 billion of economic impact in 2023 and 33,748 jobs in surrounding communities.
Summer 2027, With Reservations From January
Ofland Hotels expects the property to open in summer 2027 and states that reservations become available in January. Bookings will run year-round, per the company.
The company states that the property will take buyouts and special events, including parties and conferences. The property’s own site currently takes a waitlist.
The Firms on the Site
Ofland Hotels names four firms. KDW takes construction management. Boundary Works provides architecture and describes itself as a design studio founded in 2022. Tyson & Associates leads the build of the 27-acre site. Wind River Built, a Tennessee modular manufacturer, builds the cabins off site.
Travis Pyke, chief executive of Wind River Built, states in the release that his firm has worked with Ofland Hotels over several years and that the cabins move from design to completion in a controlled off-site environment.
More Than USD 25 Million, and Around 30 Jobs
Ofland Hotels puts the development at more than USD 25 million and calls it the largest investment in the history of the privately owned group. The company expects approximately 30 new permanent jobs in Townsend and the surrounding area.
The Daytime Inventory the Release Names
A day-use operator reads this release for the shared amenities: the heated pool, the oversized hot tub, the lodge food counter, the campfire chef kits and the drive-in theatre with its 150 seats.
The release publishes no day rate, no hourly window and no pass for any of them. It names no spa, no workspace and no day-room product.
The buyout line is the one commercial term in the document. The company states that the property will host parties and conferences.
What the Record Leaves Open
The release publishes no nightly rate and no rate ladder by cabin type. Hotel Online’s page summary carries a rate of USD 249 a night. The release body carries none.
The company names no general manager, no operator beyond its own brand and no staffing plan for the approximately 30 jobs. It gives no date inside summer 2027 and no booking channel beside the January window.