Asheville, North Carolina.
Calling all East coast leafers! A leafer is a tourist, mostly from urban and suburban areas, visiting rural places in the fall such as New England and Northeast Pennsylvania to see the leaves change color.
Justin and I however went south to Asheville, North Carolina last November.
For those who do not know, Asheville is located in Western North Carolina. While it was not a good year for leaf changes because of a dry year, we still had a great pre-wedding trip!
We stayed at the Omni Grove Park Inn and I highly recommend staying here. The resort is about a 5 minute drive to downtown Asheville and a little piece of paradise! The views, the drinks, the fireplaces, the award winning spa, all made me never want to leave the hotel property.
Upon pulling onto the property I felt like I was at Hogwarts, with an amazing view, incredible stone work and a ton of history. I mean F. Scott Fitzgerald stayed here in the summers of 1935 and 1936!
Go for the spa alone. 43,000 square feet of peace and quiet, 18,000 of which are amenities for you to enjoy before and after your treatment. Featuring two therapeutic waterfall pools and a lap pool blanketed with 6,500 fiber-optic stars and underwater music. Featuring men’s and women’s exhilarating contrast pools, inhalation rooms, saunas and eucalyptus-infused steam rooms. Three fireside lounges with comfortable, oversized chairs topped off this experience! See all the spa has to offer here!
Biltmore Estate
In Ashville, a must see is the Biltmore Estate. You can also stay on the Biltmore property at The Village Hotel or the Inn at on Biltmore Estate. I personally wouldn’t recommend staying on the property. It is very busy and filled with tourist buses and touristy shopping and activities. If you have kids, this might be a good option.
Biltmore House, the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet of floor space (135,280 square feet of living area). Still owned by George Vanderbilt’s descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age. (Wikipedia)
The estate and property are huge and feel straight out of a movie! We found ourselves walking around saying “can you imagine growing up in a house like this?” The answer always came back “no”.
The house was fully decorated for Christmas, which made the massive estate seem a bit more inviting. We spent hours walking around the house and reading all the history. It was quite amazing.
Other things to see on the property include the Biltmore gardens and the Biltmore winery.
Downtown Asheville
Stroll through a vibrant entertainment hub in the heart of Asheville, brimming with independent shops and a remarkably distinctive mountain vibe. Be sure to stop into The Asheville Bee Charmer, a local honey store featuring a famous honey tasting bar with 50 varieties of honey.
We ate at two mentionable restaurants, well three if you include Tupelo Honey Café, while not native to Ashville, did feature yummy southern dishes!
The first is a lunch we had at Gan Shan Station. Gan Shan Station offers dishes inspired by the cuisines of Eastern Asia. Housed in a repurposed mid-century gas station on Charlotte Street, creates a casual and convivial atmosphere. With a menu that includes house made dumplings, ramen, Mapo Doufu, Asian style ribs, and imaginative daily specials makes Gan Shan Station a must while in town.
The second is a dinner at Cucina 24. This Italian restaurant was recommend as a favorite Italian spot. The atmosphere was charming, farm to table food, friendly staff and amazing pasta made for a great end to our trip!
We didn’t check out any breweries (and there are a ton in Asheville) but were told by locals to visit Wicked Weed, which is near the Biltmore Estate.
Cheers!
Looks beautiful! Great tips!