One thought you might consider for your next trip to Asheville is to stay at a bed and breakfast or country inn instead of a large hotel like the Grove Park Inn, or some generic chain hotel. Almost all B&B’s offer numerous free amenities, including free Wi-Fi, free bottled water, and other amenities that other places charge you for. Innkeepers can give you personalized attention and hospitality absent from the large places, and can also point you to some of the hidden treasures within Asheville for dining, shopping, or entertainment. They can also provide you with discount tickets to the Biltmore Estate and custom packages that include admission the the Biltmore and other popular attractions.

Also, don’t assume you can bring your kids with you. While some Asheville B&B’s don’t allow children, especially those that are smaller, single-building homes where all of the rooms are off a single hallway, there are a number of Western NC Bed & Breakfast inns that not only allow, but welcome families traveling with their children. You can seek out properties that have several buildings or rental cottages and cabins. Many of these properties are kid friendly B&B’s and some of the NC Country Inns have restaurants that are happy to provide family friendly dining options. Some even have kid-friendly videos and games and on-site activities to keep your kids entertained when you are not out seeing the sites.

If you are interested in the personalized, true Southern hospitality that only a family-owned Asheville Bed and Breakfast can provide, give your local Western NC Innkeeper a call.

I had no idea about the Go Blue Ridge card either. I may have to do that when the baby is a little bit older and ready for some major sightseeing!

Don’t forget, I am heading your way next week! Hope to see you somehow. I really want to get back to Boone one of these days. We’ll see how it all fits in. Let’s touch base when you get back from vacation.