4 Best Hotels in Winston-Salem, Central North Carolina

The former estate of RJ Reynolds executive Bowman Gray and his wife, Nathalie, is now a luxurious inn 2 miles north of downtown, near the Wake Forest campus. The expansive yet welcoming stone building includes many architectural wonders, such as the elaborate ironwork and intricate wood panels imported from Europe during the Roaring Twenties. Most rooms are spacious, stocked with every amenity (as well as a communal ice-cream refrigerator), and well soundproofed. Antique furnishings—in private rooms and the billiards room, butler's quarters, and the library—give the feel of abiding within a living museum. It's like staying in a real-life game of Clue, with all of the luxury and none of the murder mystery.

To understand Winston-Salem in the 2020s, consider that the former RJ Reynolds headquarters—an Art Deco, tiered-top architectural masterpiece that inspired the design of the Empire State Building—is now a modern hotel where (of course) smoking is not allowed anywhere on the premises. Instead, the luxury hotel honors the history of Winston-Salem with tartan fabrics that echo the area’s textile past. Guest rooms exude elegance and masculinity, while the basement-level rec room is all fun, with touches like a two-story slide, bowling lanes, and a small basketball court. There's also a fabulous French brasserie on-site called the Katharine.

No two rooms are the same in this historic, affordable, and very pleasant lodging, built within two former cotton mills dating to 1837. The interior, with its exposed rafters, high ceilings, and brick walls, retains its historic character. A "graffiti wall," where young female factory workers left their mark, has been carefully preserved. There's a wine and cheese reception in the breakfast room each evening, as well as cookies and milk before bed.  The Art-o-mat machine in the lobby is one of the first in the world. Artist Clark Whittington created the concept in Winston-Salem.

Built into the renovated art deco–era Pepper Building in the heart of downtown, this locally owned 2019 addition to the city's lodging doubles as a gathering place—the wide windows overlooking the street beckon passersby into the stunning lobby-level bar and restaurant, Sir Winston. Rooms are spacious and modern, with touches that nod to the building's century-long history.