Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate — Hotel in Asheville

We recently stayed at the Village Hotel with two consecutive reservations. We were able to keep the same room for both. We had asked for a quiet area and were given a room quite far from the elevator. Little did we know that some irresponsible parents would allow their little hellions to race, scream and whoop it up and down the halls for hours. Not the ‘quiet’ we were hoping for. Finally called to complain and said we would move to another room if noisy family was staying more nights. We were told they had already checked out but we said they were still in the room. Renee from the front desk offered apology and a bottle of wine for our inconvenience. Not the quiet we were expecting for sure!

We encountered many other disappointments during our 5 night stay.

We were not given our complimentary ornament which was part of the candlelight package when we checked in. We called after returning home and Nate graciously offered to send us the ornament, which we prompty received.

We were not advised in advance that housekeeping was not done daily and that we would have to call to have service. Due to no housekeeping a request for items was placed before 7 am to be completed In the morning. 1:45pm still not done. Talked to manager who apologized and offered a bottle of wine for the inconvenience. Housekeeping arrived within minutes of call to complete the request. However he did not do as we asked and we had to remake the bed ourselves. Housekeeping really need to lightly service the rooms daily. Fresh towels and empty garbage. Add more coffee pods and clean coffee mugs. For the price we were paying, this just shouldn't have been!

We were charged for wine that was compensation for glitches during our stay after check-out, despite reminding the front desk when we checked out that we took the wine as offered. This charge was reversed after we noticed it on our credit card statement and made a call. Several days later we received the credit.

Keys were not made for the entire stay, leaving us locked out of our room. Joe, a FD agent, acted like he didn't care and offered no apology.

Horrible desk chair.

Window seat is a great idea. What isn’t so great is that the vent blows directly on it. '

Bathroom fan made continual popping noise. Not sure reporting it to FD had any effect.

No shuttle service around property, just from parking lots to estate.

Nice Adds -

Safe in room.

Umbrella in room.

Walk-in shower. Would be nice to have a night light availability as bathroom light also turns on a noisy fan. We took the lamp from the counter in the room and put it on the bench in the toilet/shower room.

Keurig coffee maker.

Dining -

Stable cafe - Definitely could see that it was a stable; we ate in a stall. The horses were definitely treated well at Biltmore! Disappointed that the hot cocoa was really just hot chocolate water. Biltmore has vineyards in California therefore that is what they serve. Did not enjoy pork chop which was one note or the chicken that was mushy. A Manager came over to make amends. Offered one of each dessert which we declined. Final Bill had a 50% discount when received. Our server gave us two Bilmore pens

Hotel Lobby Cafe - Food is expensive no matter the outlet. Hotel kitchen cafe needs additional help and should stay open later than 7 pm as there were long lines in the morning and weary travelers were looking for something fast and simple later at night.

Bistro - no waiting; seated immediately. Good lunch; friendly service. One of our better meals on the estate.

Great Service Awards Kevin lot B shuttle driver was awesome. As was Bob, at the information booth at the train display. It was a pleasure meeting them both.

Unfortunately when all was said and done, we did not feel that we received great service from the Village Hotel for the price paid. As we drove to NC, we could have stayed less expensively off property and drove in daily. But, now we can cross the Bilmore off...

Thought there would be a “Biltmore”experience, but from check-in to the room with a view ……of an alley…..it was more of a Schitt’s Creek experience. There was no assistance at the door when we arrived….that’s ok……. but then thoroughly disappointed with the lobby! I guess we were expecting something more “old world” than 3 check in counters and empty counters and cases which I assume will be set up for breakfast fare in the morning! We then stood in line while the 1 receptionist explained to another guest (already checked in) about the time of sunset, where to go, how to sit and other details to ad nauseam. Isn’t there a Concierge for this??! Check in was swift and then we were told to remove our luggage and then have the car moved from the front of the hotel to the parking lot. The rooms are small and upon walking to the window, expecting a view of some of the 8000 acres……maybe the blue ridge mountains…. instead a roof top and alley greeted us! I immediately went back to the desk, where a young lady, Gabby, wearing a mask ……around her chin (don’t bother if you’re not going to wear a mask correctly), was very challenging to communicate with. It took 3 times to explain I did not want a room with an alley view! She finally understood, said she would speak with management and disappeared behind doors!!………for 10 minutes!! I guess she got her desired results, I left and returned to “the alley” room. My husband was waiting with the luggage on a cart…..when the room phone rang and Jason (management perhaps?) called to ask about our dissatisfaction. He offered to move us to a room with a partial view of mountains and pool. We agreed as this being the only option!

Are you still with me and reading……you guessed it……we had another view of a roof top, quarter view of an uninviting pool (really a pool ladder) and if we looked real hard, above the roof and pool, a sliver of a mountain top. Not the personnel fault that the hotel was designed to Not have views of 8000 acres! Or if so, our $350 room rate wasn’t worthy of a view! Exhausted, we stayed and then proceeded to find some great food! I asked the unenthusiastic clerk about restaurants, who then directed us to Cedric’s……yep, only to arrive and find it closed on Sunday night! With only 5 or 6 restaurants, one would think the staff would know hours of operation. On our own we found the “Village Social” ….only other option was the Bistro, 5 or 6 entree options being primarily steaks. We waited 35 minutes. Not a long time, but again, seems poor planning and design as the restaurant had no one for those waiting to sit…or stand…..inside or outside! Finally, the one highlight of our stay was “Marcus”. I believe he is one of the managers…..or certainly should be! He greeted us as we danced around the entrance trying to stay out of the way…..we asked if we could order a drink while waiting? He quickly responded and himself went behind the bar to make the drinks and serve us! Polite, well spoken and asked about our stay and how he could make our dining experience better! He checked on the wait list and soon we had a table! Service was good and the food 4.5 out of 5. Again, ambience is a little stark, loud and nothing like we expected from a Biltmore experience! We realize now, all that died with the Vanderbilt’s! We should have stayed in town and driven onto the estate for the tour. We found no reason to stay on site and pay...

We just returned from the Village Hotel and I can not say enough about how wonderful our experience was. We were there to celebrate our 45th anniversary. On the property itself there is so much to do (some of which was not in season yet). If you are a walker, there is a trail right in front of the hotel with miles of lovely scenery including fields, ponds/lagoons, trees for miles, bird chirping, and just a beautiful experience. The little village next to the hotel has several restaurants, but again, they were not always open at the same time due to us being there in off-season. They tend to get busier (as we witnessed) from Thursday on. The Biltore Estate is across the vast acerage and on the same property (the Vanderbilts obviously owned most of the city..LOL) - a lovely drive - we went for a tour of the house but had to keep going back to see the gardens, and the beauty of this massive home. We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel - about $40 for 2 plus add tip. If you are with kids, there are places off the property. We enjoyed the winery - the lines get long for the free wine tasting, but we got lucky and were 2nd in line. 10 min wait max. We ventured off the Biltmore property into Asheville - parking is very unusual - you have to download apps - and pray you park in the correct spot (some were very confusing). Tons of breweries in Asheville. We visited Sierra Nevada which is a MUST see even if you go just for lunch and do NOT drink alcohol (okay, maybe that is a bit much). Just a beautiful atmosphere. Our final day we drove to Pisgah National Forest - you must stop at the ranger station along the Blueridge Pkwy to see the gorgeous valleys. We visited Looking Glass Falls, and Sliding Rock (although, again, they were closed) but we were able to walk around. There was another falls (can't remember the name), but it has a more difficult path up, but once you are there, it is glorious. We were lucky - had a cold front the first day, and beautiful weather thereafter. At night we sat around the Village Hotel fire pit and met many ex-miliatry folks (most retired). They had a little farm (mainly chickens) and a playground for the kiddos. They also have bike rentals, horse/carriage from what we saw (it was closed). The small bar was open and we enjoyed the company of our 2 bartenders (and I wish I could remember their names) - I wrote it down on a napkin and it disappeared. I am sure if they check our bar tab they can find out and give these guys a pat on the back. The grounds are immaculate, it was quiet during our visit, but we heard that summer can get very busy (and around Christmas time). Overall, it was everything we wanted in a vacation. (some of my photos are around the hotel, near the Biltmore Estate and at Pisgah National Forest (kids would love...