I will never forget my first visit to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville North Carolina. I was a young sales engineer for a radio station computer company. It was 1969, I was working the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters state convention. As I drove up the winding road through the forest of the Blue Ridge Mountains I actually thought I must be on the wrong road. How could a resort hotel be up here? After a 10 minute drive I came upon this beautiful granite stone 1913 vintage building perched on the mountain side. I knew the moment I saw this hotel I would be back again and again.

You enter through the large old wood double doors into this expansive high ceiling great room with two large, no, not large, huge wood burning fireplaces at each end of the lobby on the right and left. I think these fireplaces are the largest I have ever seen. Straight ahead is a large porch that overlooks the golf course and way down in the valley to the left is the town of Asheville. The porch is where they serve dinner and cocktails in the evening. What a great view, what great weather. Everything is perfect at the Grove Park Inn.

To the left of the front doors is the original wood check-in desk and just to the right is a very small elevator to take you to you rooms or suites in the original main building, not so great but a piece of history. When I was first there in 1969 they had added a wing to the left of the building as you are facing it from the front. This was really awful. I looked like they had tacked several old super 8 buildings on to this great Hotel. Fortunately that wing has been replaced with new rooms and suites as well as restaurants and large convention facilities.

All the suites have most of the amenities of a five star hotel, for the most part they are well done, but do reserve a Mountain View Suite, it's worth the extra few dollars. Of course there is high speed internet, wireless no less, refrigerators, microwave, CD players. On the Club Floor they feature Theme Suites. Read more below or check the web site.

The Grove Park has grown into a large convention resort facility, 512 rooms and suites, 50,000 square feet of meeting space with 42 conference rooms and two ballrooms. Sometimes they have trouble deciding if they want to be a "Five Star Hotel or a upper middle class resort. If Ritz Carlton had this place it would be a lot different. Unfortunately they don't operate this property, but Grove Park does charge like they are the Ritz Carlton. Again, unfortunately all the "my pleasures" don't come along with your stay. There is a genuine inconsistency in the operations here. The Views cannot be duplicated anywhere, the historic atmosphere and nostalgia is definitely five star. Checking in and our can be a challenge. The checking in part sometimes makes you feel like you are at the Hilton in Las Vegas during the CES Convention and the checking out part seems like a lifetime to get your bags to your car. The restaurants are a hit or miss proposition. Sometimes the food and service is excellent and other times they can't get either right at the same time. The same goes for the bar and room service. They also have a 50,000 square foot sports complex with two indoor and three outdoor tennis courts, and large fitness facility. The sports complex seems to work well.

Now, I am going to do some back peddling. If you are a traveler and enjoy trying different hotels and resorts, do come to the Grove Park Inn. I am sure you will enjoy it. Don't expect Five Star everything. You might get it and then you just might not, but you do need to put this place on your destination list at least one time. My most favorite time is in the fall when the leaves change. This is one of the best spots in the Blue Ridge Mountains to witness the splendor of this annual event. Although the fall is my favorite time here at the Grove Park Inn, this is a marvelous idea to visit in the summer to get away from the heat. There are many options for things to do: Visit the Biltmore Estate, America’s largest home, hiking, tennis, spa, horseback riding, swimming, or just relaxing and breathing in that great mountain air.

Now, my adult children and grandchildren are continuing the family tradition of visiting the Grove Park Inn each year again bringing the grand kids to camp. Please check out the Grove Park web site by clicking below web site