We've stayed a number of times at
Happy Holliday, in Cherokee, a bit farther west/south from Maggie Valley on 19 (although I don't take 19 to get to it - I stay on highway 74 to 441, north to Cherokee and highway 19, then just a couple of miles back to the east. Much less white knuckle in a big rig/toad combination that 19 between Maggie Valley and Cherokee).
From Cherokee you'll have ready access to Maggie Valley as well as Smokey Mountain National Park - one of the entrances is from Cherokee.