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Staying in the Mountains of WNC
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items Sometimes a room is simply where you sleep between adventures. Other times, where you stay becomes part of the adventure itself. Across Western North Carolina, old roadside motor courts, forest retreats, welcoming inns and grand resorts offer very di...
Map
Sections
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Retro Motor Inns: More than Remembrance
Stay Among the Mountains: Lodging & Cabins
A Little Mountain Hospitality: B&Bs & Inns
The Grand Getaway: Luxury Mountain Stays
Beyond the Usual Mountain Stay
Retro Motor Inns: More than Remembrance
Five kids packed into a station wagon, luggage strapped to the roof, and Mom inspecting roadside motels before giving her approval, family road trips looked a little different then. These restored motor inns bring back some of that roadside nostalgia...
A stay here took me straight back to childhood road trips, when our family of seven piled into a station wagon and Mom judged each roadside motel by the most important standard: cleanliness. Restored with its 1950s motor-court character intact, this ...
Historic Blue Ridge Tourist Court - Boone
My sister’s stay here first put restored motor inns on my radar. With vintage roadside style and cabins in Maggie Valley, it added a little retro character to a family gathering in the Smokies and ultimately inspired my own motor-court stay in Boone....
Route 19 Inn - Maggie Valley
Chosen by my great-niece during a family visit to Brevard, this colorful mid-century motel was an unexpected pick—and one she loved. I stopped by while they were there, and its playful retro personality made an ordinary college-visiting trip feel jus...
The Sunset Motel, Brevard
Stay Among the Mountains: Lodging & Cabins
When the mountains are the reason for the trip, where you stay can be part of the experience rather than simply where you sleep after exploring. These stays keep the woods, views, and mountain atmosphere close—even after the day's adventures are over...
Highlands is the kind of mountain town where the surroundings are as much a part of the trip as the destination. Skyline Lodge brings a touch of retro character to that experience, making it an intriguing base for exploring this beautiful corner of t...
SKYLINE LODGE - Highlands
After a day spent hiking, I'm not sure I'd want to leave the forest behind. Pilot Cove offers the comforts of a mountain retreat while keeping you among the trees of Pisgah Forest—a way to come back from the trail without feeling as though you've com...
Pilot Cove Forest Lodging
My niece stayed here before I was living in North Carolina, and I've thought ever since that I wouldn't mind trying it myself. With treehouses and tree tents tucked into the mountain setting, this is definitely glamping—and the rare kind of lodging t...
Tuxedo Falls Luxury Camp - Zirconia
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My brother is the skier in the family, so I’ll happily defer to him on this one. Hatley Pointe offers another way to experience the North Carolina mountains—on skis in winter and, increasingly, on two wheels when the snow is gone. A mountain stay doe...
Hatley Pointe - Mars Hill
A Little Mountain Hospitality: B&Bs & Inns
Sometimes it's the hospitality, history and connection to the surrounding community that make an inn memorable. These stays offer a more personal way to settle in and get to know a little of the place beyond your room.
I may not have stayed at The Henderson, but Harvey’s has become one of the places I take my own visiting guests to eat. I’ve met the owner and chef, while neighbors whose guests have stayed here have given the inn high praise. Add a walkable Henderso...
The Henderson B&B - Hendersonville, NC
It amazes me that Echo Mountain Inn has been part of Laurel Park since 1896. I pass it regularly on the way toward Jump Off Rock, one of my favorite local stops, and it strikes me as a beautiful combination of mountain history and hospitality—just a ...
Echo Mountain Inn - Hendersonville
The Grand Getaway: Luxury Mountain Stays
Sometimes the getaway itself is the destination. Add a little pampering to mountain scenery, remarkable history and places worth exploring, and these stays offer plenty of reasons to linger long after check-in.
For my niece’s family, staying at Biltmore has become something worth repeating, with a different experience added each time—from the house and gardens to their latest adventure, archery lessons. I’ve explored the estate with them, but an overnight s...
The Inn On Biltmore Estate - Asheville
I’ve admired the Grove Park Inn from afar, dined there up close, and heard about staying there from my brother and sister-in-law—so yes, I’m a little envious. Its remarkable history and unmistakable presence above Asheville make this one of those hot...
The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa - Asheville
Another recommendation courtesy of my brother, who has been escaping to Highlands for nearly two decades. Even with plenty of travel farther from home, he and my sister-in-law still return to the North Carolina mountains—and Old Edwards is their more...
Old Edwards Inn and Spa - Highlands
Beyond the Usual Mountain Stay
Not every mountain getaway fits neatly into a category—and that's part of the fun. Sometimes where you stay leads to an unexpected experience, and sometimes the experience is exactly what leads you there.
Casino resorts tend to be a little more glitz than I need, but this one has something else going for it: Cherokee. Beyond the resort is a destination rich in Cherokee culture, history and mountain scenery, making this an intriguing base for exploring...
Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort