The New Inn Crowd
Southern Appalachia’s latest crop of guest retreats deepen the experience of some of the region’s most popular destinations—from the glitz of Dollywood and Biltmore Estate to the rugged allure of Pisgah National Forest and Lookout Mountain.
Sleep Like Dolly
DreamMore Resort • Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Dolly Parton could fill a sprawling resort with all of her one-liners about dreams. In fact, that’s exactly what she’s done. Opened in July, Pigeon Forge’s newest Dollywood property, DreamMore Resort, provides more than 300 rooms and suites and 230,000 square feet to do just that—to “dream more, learn more, care more, and be more,” as the signs in the resort’s elevators instruct.
Out front, a water fountain centered on a swirl of colorful butterflies and musical instruments sets the tone from the moment guests pull up. White rocking chairs line the covered porch, sized for big and little rockers. Inside the lobby and to the left, a “moving mural” showcases screen shots of Smokies scenery from behind the reception desk. Straight ahead, the real thing takes center stage thanks to a three-story-tall picture window that frames Mount Le Conte in the distance.
The style is all Dolly, without the flash. Well, OK, there’s a bit of bling: Her rhinestone-encrusted instruments decorate the board game-stocked “living room.” Downstairs, a colorful grid of Dolly albums light up a hallway to the indoor pool, fitness center, game room, and kids-only Camp DW. Lest you forget where you are, Parton’s signature butterfly motif appears everywhere from the backs of rocking chairs to carpet patterns and mirror etchings in the bathrooms. Staffers in the lobby serve pink lemonade daily from 4 to 6 p.m.
Though the resort is well suited for all types of guests, family perks range from bunk beds alongside king-size beds in many of the rooms to lifeguards staffing the indoor and outdoor pools (with waterfalls and a splash area at the latter), outdoor fire pits that host nightly s’mores roasting, and evening story time for kids in their pajamas. Upon check-in, all guests receive a TimeSaver Pass for line-skipping at Dollywood, and a free door-to-door shuttle connects the resort and theme park.
At the quilt-draped Song & Hearth restaurant, the “family supper” serves a hearty meal for four with soup or salad, a loaf of cheesy bread, a bucket of fried chicken or pot roast alongside mashed potatoes and green beans, and apple donuts for dessert. Those dining à la carte choose from Southern favorites—deep-dish chicken pot pie, smothered pork chops, corn fritters, deviled eggs on toast. Drinks include the likes of cherry pop with Pop Rocks as well as a full list of cocktails and regional craft beer.
Likewise, the spa offers a little something for all ages—from aromatherapy and deep-tissue massages to cotton candy facials for teens and glittery manicures and pedicures for the 12-and-under crowd.
From $179. 2525 DreamMore Way, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. dollywoodsdreammoreresort • dollywood.com
Up in the Air
Treehouse Hideaways • Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Driving south from Chattanooga, Tennessee, a quarter mile after crossing the state line into Georgia, there’s a corn maze and a red barn with “See Rock City” painted on the roof. This is the base of Lookout Mountain, home since the 1930s to Rock City Gardens, a natural wonderland turned kitschy theme park. Garden gnomes dot a trail winding among boulders, a huge waterfall, swinging bridge, and view that delivers seven states on clear days. The barn is a relic from the early days, when Rock City painter Clark Byers traveled the Southeast painting barns for free, in exchange for adding a few promotional words to each roof.
Today there’s a new attraction that has taken root. Across the street from the end of the cornfield, the grounds for Treehouse Hideaways begin. A short path through old-growth forest leads to a Swiss Family Robinson-style suite. Floating some 16 feet in the air around a giant gumtree, the structure is made from reclaimed oak that was pulled from an old Tennessee barn and cradled among the boulders of the Cumberland Plateau.
Backyard play space this is not. An online Kickstarter campaign netted more than $34,000 to help the treehouse create more electricity and water than it consumes. Built mostly from reclaimed materials, the treehouse comes equipped with cozy furniture, romantic string lights, a Bluetooth-enabled Gramophone-style speaker, a lofted sleeping space, and a small bathroom and basic kitchen stocked with Clif bars and quick-brew Mayfly coffee, roasted atop nearby Signal Mountain. The shower is made from the bottom half of a Chattanooga Whiskey barrel.
Lightning-paced Internet from Chattanooga offers a gigabit-per-seconds connection that’s 200 times faster than the national average. A sliding door of heavy window panes—repurposed from an old Chattanooga warehouse—offers a vantage into the woods as well as access to the 90-square-foot balcony. Just beyond the treehouse, a trail connects to a bubbling mountain creek.
“We hope to pull people back outdoors,” says co-owner Andrew Alms, as his pitch slips excitedly from greywater waste systems to the sense of imagination he hopes the retreat sparks among guests. “As a kid, you’re thinking about who you want to be that day—a pirate or an astronaut or whatever—not what tasks you have to accomplish.”
From $275. 576 Chattanooga Valley Road, Flintstone, Georgia. sleepinatree.co.
It Takes a Village
Village Hotel on the Biltmore Estate • Asheville, North Carolina
When George and Edith Vanderbilt lived at Biltmore in the early 20th century, a mix of cottages and farm houses dotted the sprawling estate. Today that convivial atmosphere lives on at Antler Hill Village, which has drawn tourists and locals for shopping, dining, the Biltmore Winery, live music, craft demonstrations, and more activities since its debut in 2010.
Welcoming its first guests December 1, the new Village Hotel is poised to anchor the scene. Connected by walkway to Antler Hill shops and restaurants, the 124,000-square-foot hotel offers 209 rooms and suites as well as its own casual restaurant and bar called The Village Social, where sustainable seafood and regional produce shine at lunch and dinner. For breakfast, guests find classics such as silver-dollar pancakes and omelets. Guests on the move can opt to grab breakfast or picnic supplies at The Kitchen, a grab-and-go counter.
Each room and suite features a window seat for taking in the hilltop views plus built-in furniture and walk-in showers (accessed via sliding barn-style door). Niceties include a Keurig coffee maker and 42-inch LCD-screen TV. Blue painted ceilings in each room nod to the Southern tradition of “haint blue” porch ceilings, while the wallpaper replicates an elegant design from inside the Biltmore House.
In addition to the The Village Social, guests can relax at an outdoor swimming pool and in the courtyard and patio area. Touch-screen information kiosks in the lobby help guests plan their days exploring the surroundings, and a free shuttle provides transportation around the estate.
The Village Hotel adds to the Biltmore’s accommodations, which also include the luxe Inn on Biltmore Estate.
From $129. One Lodge Street, Asheville, North Carolina. biltmore.com.
Betting the Ranch
Reeb Ranch • Hendersonville, North Carolina
In many ways, it’s the story of Western North Carolina: Where dairy cows once grazed, outdoor recreation lovers now flock to ride single-track trails and unwind with locally brewed craft beer. Owned by Dale Katechis, the founder of Brevard’s Oskar Blues Brewery, the Reeb Ranch reimagines Henderson County’s historic Shoal Falls Farm as a playground for beer and bike lovers.
Sitting between Brevard and Hendersonville and Dupont State Forest and Pisgah National Forest, the 145-acre Reeb Ranch provides ride-in and out access, a swimming hole for post-ride cool downs, and an on-site bike park with pump track. Eight miles away is the Oskar Blues Brewery.
Limited accommodations maintain a retreat-like sense of privacy that encourages wedding and special occasion rentals. Sleepover options include an apartment that sleeps six to eight, attached to a milking barn built in 1945 by German prisoners of war to house a herd of prizewinning Guernsey cows. Tucked back into the woods stands a 1940s log cabin that sleeps four to six, within sight of the showstopping twin 43-foot Shoal Creek waterfalls. Finally, a handful of creekside sites host tent camping with access to outdoor showers.
Guests can camp or rent out the cabin or apartment for one night (rates from $250), or book the entire property for a weekend event (starting around $3,500). Camping costs $35 per night.
315 Shoals Falls Road, Hendersonville, North Carolina. reebranch.com.
Staying Power
These hotels and inns offer history as their top amenity.
Martha Washington Inn & Spa • Abingdon, Virginia
Following his victories in the War of 1812, Gen. Francis Preston built this massive brick residence for just under $15,000 in 1832. Over the years, the former family home has taken turns as an upscale college for women in the 1850s, a training barracks and makeshift hospital during the Civil War, and sleeping quarters for actors and actresses in town to perform at the Barter Theater across the street. Since opening in 1935 as a hotel, the Martha—as it is locally known—has hosted a guest list of notables ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt to Elizabeth Taylor in its 63 rooms and suites. Tip: Look for the Dutch-baroque grandfather clock in the Edith Wilson Parlor; the nine-foot-tall antique was shipped here in the 19th century by one of the Preston daughters. themartha.com.
General Morgan Inn • Greeneville, Tennessese
Built in the 1880s to serve the new train depot in town, this marble-trimmed brick hotel began life as the elegant 60-room Grand Central Hotel (with rooms costing around $2 in the early days). In the mid-20th century, the hotel added the General Morgan Room, which earned a regional reputation for supper club-style dining. But the 1960s and 70s proved hard on downtown Greeneville, and the hotel fell into disrepair. As part of a Main Street campaign beginning in the 1980s to revive the historic downtown, the hotel reopened in 1996 with 51 modern rooms and suites that evoke its former glory. Tip: Peek at the hand-carved, blue glass bas-relief etched mirrors behind the mahogany bar in the lounge area. Completely restored, the mirrors date to 1948. generalmorganinn.com.
Westglow Resort & Spa • Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Landscape painter and writer Elliott Daingerfield fell for Blowing Rock in 1886, returning every summer to follow. In 1917, he built this Greek Revival manor house in the shadow of Grandfather Mountain as a seasonal retreat, where he soaked up and painted the mountain light and “slumberous air” until his death in 1932. The gardens and grounds appear in such works as The Sisters, one of his most well-known works. In 1978, fitness guru Glynda Valentine purchased the estate and ultimately turned it into a wellness retreat. Restored and renovated in 2006, today the luxe resort offers fireside upscale dining, fitness classes and activities (from hiking to Pilates to meditation), and a full spa and salon. Tip: Take in the unparalleled mountain views that so inspired Daingerfield from the floor-to-ceiling windows of the all-white relaxation lounge. westglowresortandspa.com.
Mast Farm Inn • Valle Crucis, North Carolina
Three generations of the Mast family lived in the 1810-built log cabin—now called the Loom House and considered among North Carolina’s oldest inhabitable log cabins—facing the main house at the Mast Farm Inn in historic Valle Crucis. By 1896, the family had completed the main farm house, which began operating as an inn after the turn of the century. Guests kept the beds full until closing in 1964; the inn reopened in 1985 after a painstaking restoration. In 2012, the inn was inducted into Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Today, guests choose from 15 unique lodging options including seven rooms in the 19th-century farmhouse and eight cottages and cabins. Chef Andrew Long elevates home-style cooking at Simplicity and its more casual sister restaurant, Over Yonder. Tip: Go back in time with a stay in the log Blacksmith Shop, post-and-beam Woodwork Shop, or restored Loom House. themastfarminn.com.
Grove Park Inn • Asheville, North Carolina
First Edwin Wiley Grove built a fortune on his tasteless tonic, a household staple of the late 19th century. Then he moved to Asheville, began buying up property around town, and built the Grove Park Inn. Often called the Father of Modern Asheville, Grove opened the hotel on Sunset Mountain in 1913—less than one year after breaking ground—to a crowd of 400 Southern gentlemen that included Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, who declared the inn “built for the ages.” In its first century, famous guests have counted ten U.S. presidents, Harry Houdini, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, who spent two summers here writing and attempting to shake tuberculosis while his wife, Zelda, lived across the valley at a psychiatric hospital. Today the Omni Grove Park Inn offers 513 guest rooms, an 18-hole Donald Ross championship golf course, a subterranean spa, and multiple restaurants. omnihotels.com/hotels/asheville-grove-park.
More historic stays: Several favorite Southern Appalachian inns close for winter. Overlooking Lake Santeetlah and Cherohala Skyway on a secluded mountaintop in Robbinsville, North Carolina, the Snowbird Mountain Lodge (snowbirdlodge.com) will open for its 75th season on February 5. Stays include a hot breakfast, to-go lunch, and four-course seated dinner daily. Reopening in April in Cashiers, the High Hampton Inn (highhamptoninn.com) has welcomed guests since 1922, retaining a throwback sensibility complete with dress code. Sitting on 1,400 acres in the Blue Ridge foothills, the mountain resort features 116 rooms and suites, cottages, a private lake, hiking trails, dining, golf, tennis, and family activities. Old-world charm has been the hallmark of the Switzerland Inn (switzerlandinn.com) since it first opened in Little Switzerland in 1911. Its other big claim to fame: closest proximity to Mount Mitchell on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The historic inn will reopen for the season in mid-April.