36 Best Hotels in The North Carolina Mountains, North Carolina

Sit in the hot tub under the stars—and next to a striking Dale Chihuly glass sculpture—and soak in the rolling mountain vistas at this sumptuous retreat 10 miles out of town. Suites and cottages, all tastefully appointed and art-filled, are spread across the 85-acre riverfront property that includes a horse barn converted into a spa, a steam room and dry sauna, a game room with billiards and table tennis, a dedicated children's play house, and the Silo Cookhouse, the best restaurant south of Asheville on the I–26 corridor. 

These six spacious lofts in downtown Bryson City are comfortable for an extended stay or a large family, with two bedrooms in each unit. Local art, architectural nods like exposed brick, and high ceilings complement oversized bathrooms, plush furniture, and big TVs. 

A handsome downtown bank building from 1905 is now a charming boutique hotel with rooms that have wide-plank paneling and soaring ceilings, creating a rustic atmosphere. You'll feel pampered with comfy beds, high-thread-count sheets, and organic toiletries.

Spread across 1,400 acres on one of the finest properties in western North Carolina, High Hampton exudes casual luxury from the friendly welcome in the gorgeous lodge, where the staff remembers your name, to the leisurely breakfasts and multi-course dinners in the dining room (an optional add-on). Two mountains—both with private hiking trails—frame the view from the fishing and swimming lake, swimming pool, tennis courts, and 18-hole, Tom Fazio–designed golf course. Now a Blackberry Farms property, the resort includes rooms in the historic inn and cottages spread across the grounds.

The mountain hollow that's home to these seven cabins perfectly captures both sunrise and sunset over the creek. Accommodations range from a luxurious treehouse to creekside lodges suitable for an extended family vacation. You may question whether you've taken a wrong turn as you wind up the dirt road to this bucolic enclave, before realizing you're in exactly the place you want to be. 

Black Mountain College closed in 1957, but its impact is still felt today through the legacies of alumni and faculty like Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef and Anni Albers, Buckminster Fuller, Kenneth Noland, and other maverick spirits who helped to shape American art, music, and literature. The campus is now split between Camp Rockmont, a private summer camp, and Lake Eden Retreat, which includes eight cottages and studios, several of which were built by the college. The grounds surround the aptly named Lake Eden, and are still a peaceful place of respite for creatives and lovers of the arts. Each May and October, Lake Eden Retreat hosts LEAF Festival, drawing several thousand revelers for a weekend of workshops, contra dancing, and world and Appalachian music.

Turn back the clock and still enjoy modern amenities at this charming, pastoral inn on the National Register of Historic Places. Accommodations are in the farmhouse or in five rustic cottages, one of which dates to 1818 and is the oldest inhabitable cabin in the state. A restaurant serves breakfast and dinner on weekends. 

Each suite at this tucked-away chalet has a steam shower and a soaking tub, making it a perfect place to recuperate after a long day of hiking or exploring. Some rooms have balconies and views across the mountains, and there's a hiking trail up to a viewpoint. 

Spacious decks and wall-to-wall windows maximize the view at these mountainside luxury cabins. Live-edge tables and nods to the local mountain biking culture add creative flair to the spacious digs. Access to Pisgah National Forest and the Hub, a bike shop and bar, are directly outside the entrance. 

The spectacular setting is the main draw at the rustic Pisgah Inn, perched on a mountaintop at 5,000 feet. Rooms have small porches or balconies with rocking chairs where you can take in the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The restaurant has huge windows facing the tree-clad slopes and serves mountain trout, fried chicken, and other tasty fare.

What was once a dilapidated roadside motel is now one of the most popular bars and restaurants in town—and arguably Boone's new best place to stay. A courtyard between the two primary buildings features firepits and comfy seating, while rooms show off with custom-built beds and built-in desks that continue the furniture-grade plywood aesthetic of communal areas. Canteen, the lobby restaurant, has a pool table, arcade games, and an inspired menu of sandwiches and Appalachian fry bread tacos. 

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Snowbird Mountain Lodge is everything you expect from a rustic inn, with two massive stone fireplaces, solid chestnut beams across the ceiling, and beautiful views across the valley. All 15 rooms in the main lodge are paneled in different woods cut on the property, and newer rooms in adjacent buildings have private hot tubs with horizon views. The restaurant, now open to the public, serves dishes like fresh mountain trout with couscous and sautéed summer squash, and the wine list is the size of a small telephone directory. The property changed hands in 2022 and expansion plans are in place. 

Sitting high atop the Cataloochee Divide on 250 wooded acres bordering the national park, the Swag is a luxurious escape that's truly away-from-it-all. You can hike from the grounds to nearby Hemphill Bald, one of the most stunning vistas in the Smokies, or relax in the spa or at the pool, which has views across the mountains. The gourmet meals here are social events, with an option of family-style or individual seating. 

On a warm afternoon you'll love to "sit a spell" in a rocking chair on the front porch of Hendersonville's oldest inn. The rooms in the 19th-century Queen Anne–style lodge, two blocks from downtown, are named after native flowers and shrubs and are outfitted with antique furnishings. There's a social hour each evening featuring local craft beer, and the cozy library has an array of board games.

The interior of this 1902 Victorian showplace is spacious and filled with sunlight, but it's the big grassy lawn overlooking the mountains and river that let you know you've arrived somewhere special. The two suites and three large rooms in the main house, along with two carriage-house suites, are nicely decorated in a crafty early-American style. You can relax in the guest lounge, lined with windows and featuring a stone fireplace and bar.

Banner Elk lacks a boutique hotel or upscale B&B, so most visitors rent a condo at the ski mountains or a cabin—this local outfit offers six homes fully stocked with amenities, ranging from upscale multi-bedroom lodges with hot tubs and stone fireplaces to smaller historic cottages walkable to Main Street.

The two-acre grounds at this B&B feel like a private estate within walking distance of downtown. Period furnishings, a crystal chandelier, and a grand piano add to the grandeur of the 1926 stone-built home. 

Recent renovations have brought this celebrated resort back into focus, including overhauls of the spacious lodge rooms that now sport attractive wood paneling and new furniture. Choose between Chetola Lodge, the eight-room Bob Timberlake Inn, or from the collection of rental condos on the tranquil property. There's an on-site restaurant and pub, a stocked lake (with free fishing rods to rent), a kids' room with toys and crafts, and a spa, a sauna, and a gorgeous indoor pool. An Orvis outpost within the lodge has the gear—and the guides—needed to target trout in the nearby private-access streams. There's also a sporting reserve that includes archery and a clay-shooting course. 

Fontana Village bustles during summertime with vacationing families here for activities like hiking, mountain biking, mini golf, disc golf, a small water park, and, of course, Fontana Dam. The resort's lodge is comfortable but shows its age. Some rental cabins around the resort are a bit newer, and all are an excellent value as a base camp to explore the nearby access points into the national park. 

At this century-old stone house turned boutique inn, 2 miles from downtown Blowing Rock, you can take in breathtaking views of the mountains from the gardens and stone terraces or relax with a book by the fire in the library. Most of the 10 guest rooms and suites have gas fireplaces, and all are nicely furnished in a country-home style with updates like flat-screen TVs and modern showers. A full breakfast is included, as is afternoon tea. Guests are guaranteed a reservation at the restaurant, which is reason enough to stay here. 

The 10 off-the-wall accommodations at this "glampground" range from a renovated double-decker English bus to a super hero–themed tiny house. Each space has a different theme, and several are large enough to accommodate families. The grounds are beautiful and include a small pond and creek. 

The 2023 renovation of this former Super 8 is so impressive—a stone fireplace in the lobby, shiplap walls in bathrooms, attractive mountain scenery on the walls—that it feels like new construction. Breakfast is equally stellar: locally roasted coffee, bagels and scones from Boone's Stick Boy Bread Company, and a full buffet of fresh biscuits, scrambled eggs, and country ham. There's free parking, and you'll need a car—it's a few miles from downtown. 

The Harrah's complex now includes two hotels, doubling down on its status as North Carolina's largest lodging. The Cherokee opened in 2021, adding 725 more rooms to the 21-story towers of the existing resort. The comfortable rooms and suites on the higher floors overlook the mountains, and escalators get you to the casino and the extensive restaurant selection that includes a Wicked Weed Brewpub, a Ruth's Chris Steak House, BRIO Italian Grille, Guy Fieri's Cherokee Kitchen, and a food court by Gordon Ramsay that stays open late. The casino is larger than three football fields and has live blackjack, roulette, craps, and poker games along with some 5,000 electronic gaming machines. There's also a bowling alley and a 3,000-seat theater that presents big-name stars like Travis Tritt, Pat Benatar, and Three Dog Night. The lobby and other public areas incorporate traditional Cherokee art themes. Room prices surge beyond $500 on weekends, but are often under $100 on weekdays.

This folksy friendly mountain inn on 55 acres on a hilltop near Bryson City, operated by the same family since 1969, is the kind of place where you can relax in a rocking chair, catch up on reading, or play a game of Scrabble. The family-style meals are prepared with regional foods.

Sophistication with flair (like the portrait of the Rolling Stones over the stone fireplace) defines this playfully elegant inn built in an 1885 farmhouse directly on Main Street. In the rooms, high-end fixtures and furnishings are framed by artistic floral wallpaper. On the ground floor, the Ruffed Grouse tavern serves a simple, excellent menu of pheasant, trout, steak, and duck meatballs that matches the English hunting lodge feel of the restored manse.

The Horton's sophisticated accommodations right downtown—including a light-filled lobby lounge and a rooftop bar—have a surprisingly cosmopolitan feel. There are still small-mountain-town comforts and charm, like custom wood furniture, comfy bedding, and exposed brick and other nods to the 1920s building. Panoramic views of the mountains at the rooftop bar can't be beat.

With a stone staircase in the entry hall, colorful gardens, Arts and Crafts furnishings, and chestnut paneling and bark siding, it's no wonder that this 1900 manor-style house in the heart of Blowing Rock gets many return guests. All rooms have fireplaces, and some have private balconies. The Best Cellar restaurant, inside the main lodge, serves a seafood-focused menu that includes their signature tuna and a pan-seared mountain trout. Two adjacent cabins allow pets. 

Service at this posh inn is first-rate, starting with the complimentary champagne in the lobby and extending to elegantly furnished guest rooms in the main building, with period antiques and European linens, and more rustic but still luxurious accommodations in the lodge. You can also choose to stay in one of the inn's cottages or rental houses. Reservations should be made far, far ahead. The outstanding spa has won national awards, and golf is available at the nearby Old Edwards Club. The same company owns a chic motel, 200 Main, and a deluxe rural retreat, Half-Mile Farm.

The River Arts District finally has a boutique hotel, and it's as funky as the building's history (it's been a cereal factory, a coffee roaster, and an indoor paintball arena). The adults-only destination features rooms with high ceilings and graffiti murals on exposed brick walls. The on-site restaurant, Golden Hour, serves locally sourced, wood-fired fare. There's also a rooftop bar and coffee shop. 

These six treehouses, with the Cheoah River running below, are the best place to stay in Robbinsville proper. They're technically raised tiny homes, but they do put you closer to the treetops, and each includes everything needed for a cozy overnight.