A 3-Day Trip to Asheville & Biltmore, North Carolina

Day 1: We hit the road to Asheville—a smooth four-hour drive. We checked into the Kimpton Hotel Arras, a modern hotel with excellent amenities and a prime location right next to restaurants and the art museum. P.S. IHG members get a $28 daily breakfast credit! 🥐☕ In the evening, we explored Downtown Asheville, popping into cute shops and enjoying local bites and drinks. A friendly reminder: dinner reservations are a must! Despite plenty of dining options, spots fill up fast. We highly recommend Posana—an elegant restaurant perfect for a date night. And don’t miss the cakes at Sweets and Seats… so delicious! 🍰 Day 2: We started the day by visiting the Omni Grove Park Inn. This historic hotel is built into the mountain with a golf course at the front. It has hosted countless celebrities and features a grand stone castle-like exterior. Inside, it’s decorated with gorgeous Christmas trees 🎄 and portraits of famous guests. The multi-level corridors are worth exploring too—highly recommend staying here if you’re curious about the ambiance and facilities! Later, we headed to the 🏯 Biltmore Estate. December is peak season, so be sure to book tickets online in advance. They offer both daytime and evening entries. The estate is enormous—you could easily spend a whole day exploring. We entered early in the morning and began with wine tasting. We ended up buying a few bottles to bring back as gifts—their Chardonnay comes highly recommended! 🍾 We learned about the Vanderbilt family’s history and even spotted some sheep 🐑 and horses 🐎 along the way. Then we drove toward the main house. The nearby gardens are lovely for a short stroll. As night fell, we lined up to tour the interior of the house. Wow—the world of the wealthy is truly something else 😂! The interior is exquisitely decorated and downright luxurious. During the holidays, the mansion is adorned with over 100 Christmas trees 🎄, along with live choir performances and piano music—festive vibes all around! Day 3: A perfect balance of culture and nature! We drove an hour to Table Rock State Park in South Carolina. We chose the summit trail—a 7.2-mile round trip hike that took us about 5.5 hours. The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in late autumn was absolutely breathtaking 🍁. Even in late November, the colors of the Blue Ridge were stunning—way beyond our expectations! P.S. Along the trail, we saw many trees knocked down by recent hurricanes. It was a sobering reminder to respect nature and cherish every life. 🌲💔 After descending, we drove back to Atlanta in about 2.5 hours. P.P.S. My legs were sore for a whole day after… 😅 But it was all worth it—a holiday spent in total joy and relaxation. #Asheville #NorthCarolina #BiltmoreEstate