Fancy a romantic sojourn through the South? If you’re ready to sweeten your life with your sweetie with loads of Southern charm, scenery and history, then you’ll find myriad grand resorts dotted across the countryside from Tennessee and North Carolina and down to Alabama and Georgia and everywhere in between.
A few that have immediate name recognition are the Greenbrier in West Virginia, the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, the Biltmore in Coral Gables on Florida’s east coast, the Williamsburg Inn at Colonial Williamsburg and Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. Over the years, my husband and I have driven thousands of miles crisscrossing the South and have discovered several other resort gems worth checking out.
High Hampton in Cashiers, North Carolina
The High Hampton Inn is one of those wonderful old family inns that harkens back to the golden age of travel. Think of the resort, nearest to the small village of Cashiers in the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, as similar to those in the Adirondacks or Catskills but with a Southern twist.
Couples, and families as well, return year after year to soak in the quiet beauty of the historic 1,400-acre resort that was originally a Hampton family hunting lodge dating to the early 1800s. Wade Hampton, a Civil War general for the Confederacy and once governor of South Carolina, was perhaps the most famous member of the family.
Set at a comfortable altitude of about 3,600 feet, the elegant and recently refurbished High Hampton is a gorgeous complex of lodges, cabins, wraparound porches, sapphire-hued lakes, vivid gardens, mountain scenery that in spring brings of miasma of mountain laurel and rhododendron, and for the ultimate in relaxation, a small yet excellent spa. You’ll have plenty of time for romance, as the guestrooms have no televisions.
High Hampton Inn, 1525 Highway 107 South, Cashiers, N.C. Telephone 1-800-648-4252 or visit www.HighHampton.com.
Whitestone Inn in Kingston, Tennessee
There is a place, almost magical, in Tennessee where earth, sky, water and mountains are choreographed in perfect harmony with nature. That wedge of land is in East Tennessee, centered by Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains and then threaded together by a mélange of small towns and communities that are reminiscent of Mayberry and Aunt Bee. This place beckons you to explore old churches, stay at a country inn, rummage through antique shops, fish the sparkling lakes or picnic in a meadow surrounded by nothing more than freshest of mountain breezes.
Against the backdrop of the gentle blue mists of the Smokies, there is one of those country inns, a place of absolute quiet, and that’s at the luxurious Whitestone Country Inn, a AAA 4-Diamond bed-and-breakfast that’s set on 50 sprawling acres near the town of Kingston. The inn, a true sanctuary for the soul, is surrounded by forest and lake and is perhaps the most peaceful and serene place in Tennessee, with its grounds visited daily by herds of deer, flocks of geese, bald eagles and scores of songbirds to welcome you into their fold.
The fare at Whitestone is Southern to the core. Think shrimp and grits, buttermilk fried chicken or a simple burger and fries, with its bacon coming from nearby Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams, one the more renowned country markets in the U.S. for all things pig. The New York Strip is served with grits.
For Tennessee charm, cuisine and country scenery, cuddle up at the Whitestone for your next romantic getaway.
Whitestone Inn, 1200 Paint Rock Road, Kingston, Tennessee. Call 865-376-0113 or visit www.whitestoneinn.com.
The Willcox in Aiken, South Carolina
Not very long ago, hubby and I were in Aiken, one of the cluster of communities, small towns and counties that make up a South Carolina travel region called Thoroughbred Country. There we were, rambling the back roads South Carolina-style, in search of a piece of Americana, a vintage Bunting metal porch glider.
Here’s how Thoroughbred Country stacks up. The four counties of Aiken, Allendale, Barnwell and Bamberg make up the 2,462 square miles of Thoroughbred Country in a region between Augusta, the Georgia home of the Masters golf tournament, and Columbia, South Carolina’s capital city. At its heart, Thoroughbred Country is the mishmash of small towns and their galleries, pottery shops, antique shops, roadside produce stands with baskets of fresh peaches and strawberries, festivals, plantation homes and historic sites dating from Colonial America to the Civil War to Reconstruction and beyond.
Near Aiken, we found the glider, and it’s also where we found The Willcox, a landmark Colonial Revival hotel built in 1898 that’s posh, pretty and pleasant. Our room had a fireplace, but the day was too warm to even think about lighting a fire. The style is elegant, the cotton candy-soft beds are four-poster, the linens posh and the bathrooms luxurious.
The lobby of The Willcox, with its exposed beams, dark wood and upholstered furniture, is reminiscent of a study of a fine manor house. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, but Sunday brunch, with its caramelized brioche French toast and country ham and eggs Benedict, is the perfect time to sample the cuisine. At the spa, you can get the usual treatments, but I splurged on a pedicure with paraffin treatment that left my tootsies happy for days.
Visit Thoroughbred Country Travel Region at www.tbredcountry.org or call 888-834-1654. The Willcox is at 100 Colleton Avenue S.W., in Aiken. Call 803-648-1898 or visit www.thewillcox.com
Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia
Something is always blooming, even in winter, at Callaway Gardens, a spectacular 2,500-acre preserve and resort complex that’s akin to a Southern-style Garden of Eden. Its centerpiece is the Azalea Bowl, 40 acres of nonstop azaleas that at their blooming pinnacle in the spring, is complete sensory overload with honeyed nectar and flamboyant colors of fuchsia, red, orange and pink.
The world-renowned four-seasons Callaway Gardens, which opened in 1952, isn’t just another run-of-the-mill resort. In addition to the lodge and dozens of cottages and villas, the complex includes several restaurants that feature everything from fried chicken to fancy gourmet fare, beaches, lakes, a butterfly center, biking and hiking trails, wildlife and birdlife. At Christmas at Callaway, the dazzling Fantasy in Lights display is its centerpiece and is noted as one of National Geographic’s top 10 light displays in the world.
Rock gardens and verdant woodlands are hallmarks of the AAA Four-Diamond award-winning lodge, but it’s a blend of the 2,500-foot elevation of Pine Mountain and natural elements of air, soil and light provided by Mother Nature that make it so special and beautiful.
The entrance to Callaway Gardens is 17617 U.S. 27, Pine Mountain, Georgia. The resort and lodging entrance is at 4500 Southern Pine Drive, Pine Mountain. For gardens and lodging, call 844-512-3826 or visit www.callawaygardens.com.
Grand Hotel Golf Resort and Spa
On the edge of Mobile Bay, in the tiny hamlet of Point Clear and practically as far south as you can get in Alabama, is the Grand Hotel that blends history, tradition and quiet Southern beauty. Built in 1847 and enveloped by ancient oaks whose heavy branches sweep to the ground, the hotel still is permeated with notes of antebellum ambiance.
The now luxurious Grand Hotel is historic in that it served as a hospital during the Civil War for wounded Confederate soldiers from the Battle of Vicksburg. More than 300 of the men who died there are buried at nearby Confederate Rest Cemetery adjacent to the hotel grounds. It also became a military training facility during World War II. For tradition, the hotel honors its military history by firing a cannon each afternoon in a ceremony that’s both solemn and heartrending.
One reason guests come to the Grand Resort is the cuisine. The resort’s nine drinking spots and restaurants include Southern Roots for fresh Gulf prawns and grouper and the snugly Bucky’s Lounge with its piano bar. Each restaurant overlooks Mobile Bay or flower-filled gardens with their towering magnolias and stately oaks.
The Grand Resort is on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, with two 18-hole championship courses aptly named Azalea and Dogwood. The courses and fairways, as you might expect with their flowery-sounding names, are drizzled with Spanish moss and lined with real azaleas and dogwoods.
Known as the “Queen of Southern Resorts,” the Grand Hotel is a member of the Historic Hotels of America and Marriott’s Autograph Collection.
The Grand Hotel Golf Resort and Spa is located at One Grand Boulevard, Point Clear, Alabama. Call 251-928-9201 or visit www.grand1847.com.
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