Last weekend I took a mini road trip up to Asheville, NC and although it was a very short (less than 48 hour) trip, it was a much needed getaway! This post will not be a full Asheville review because there is SO much to do there and I barely scratched the surface of my to-do list, but I believe we made the most out of our time there! Before I get into what all we did, I want to share a review of where we stayed: the Omni Grove Park Inn.

Omni Grove Park Inn Review

The Grove Park Inn is a historic resort that was opened in 1913 and it’s truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The entire building is covered in stone and overlooks the Blue Ridge mountains as well as downtown Asheville. They have undergone renovations over the last few years to upgrade the rooms and amenities, while maintaining the historic feel and experience of the hotel. There are endless things to do at the Grove Park Inn – golf, tennis, fitness classes, spa, history tours, bars & restaurants, shops, just to name a few. It really is a destination in its own.

Room

We stayed a Mountain View Premium room on the Samson wing and it was really nice! The room was spacious and clean, and we had a beautiful view overlooking the golf course with the mountains in the background. The bed was comfortable, and the bathroom was nice! The room had a mini fridge and a Keurig which was very convenient. I also loved that complimentary WiFi was available in the room and throughout the resort, which was seriously impressive considering the amount of stone in the building!

Dining

There are several bars and restaurants at the Grove Park, however a few of them were closed while we were there (since we arrived on a Sunday.)  We spent some time at the Edison Craft Ales + Kitchen bar as well as the Great Hall bar and really enjoyed both. I would have loved to visit the Piano Bar, but unfortunately it was closed! We had dinner at Edison on Sunday and I had the wild mushroom tart topped with a fried poached egg – it was incredible! We also got warm chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream for dessert. So good!! I will say that the food and drinks are pricier than what I normally spend, but I knew that going in and budgeted for it. All of the menus are available on their website if you’re interested!

Spa

The Grove Park Inn’s 43,000 square foot spa might be my favorite part of the entire resort. We purchased day passes our second day there and spent the entire morning hanging out at the pools, and honestly I could have stayed there all day long. I wish I could have taken photos, but they have a strict no electronics policy! You need to check out their website to see pictures so you can see what I’m talking about.  It was actually really nice to unplug and relax completely for half the day though – I can’t tell you the last time I’ve been without my cell phone for more than a couple hours! The spa has multiple pools as well as saunas, eucalyptus infused steam rooms, and a cafe. My favorite part of the spa was the outdoor pool, which was heated since it was freezing outside! It felt like a hot tub (even had jets going!) and it was so refreshing to sit in the hot pool with the cold air blowing on my face.

Location

What I also love about the Grove Park Inn is the location. It’s located on the side of Sunset Mountain (part of the Blue Ridge Mountains) so you definitely get the “mountain escape” feel and views, but it’s very easy to get to! It’s also a super short drive into downtown Asheville if you’re wanting to explore the city.

What do Do in Asheville

Like I mentioned earlier, we really only had half a day to spend in Asheville (partly because we were happy at the spa haha) but here is everything that we squeezed into the afternoon:

Sierra Nevada Brewery: We actually stopped at Sierra Nevada Brewery on the way into Asheville and I was blown away at the size and architecture.  I’ve been to a lot of breweries, but have never seen anything like this place. The taproom was massive as well as the back porch area, which had plenty of tables and outdoor seating. There was an amphitheater with a band playing live music, which I believe happens every Saturday and Sunday. The beer was great, and the food was delicious. We tried the pizza, wings, and (my favorite) the duck fat fries. 10/10 delicious! If you are ever in the Greenville or Asheville area, I would absolutely recommend making a day trip to Sierra Nevada.

Wicked Weed Brewing: This was our first stop in downtown Asheville and it was a really cool place! I’ve heard that it can get extremely crowded, but luckily we were there on a Monday mid-afternoon, so it was pretty quiet at that time. They had a great beer list, and I loved the beer I ordered – wish I could remember the name, but I know it was an IPA. We ordered a soft pretzel and french fries to snack on and both were delicious! The pretzel was halfway gone before I remembered to snap a pic.

One World Brewing: We found this place on accident because we saw someone with a dog walking in, and it was SO cold outside that we decided to go in and check it out (and warm up.) The beer list wasn’t huge (and they were out of IPA’s – my favorite) but we ordered Pale Ale’s which were actually really good. We ended up having a great time meeting people at the bar and exchanging dog pictures haha – is anyone surprised?? Anyways, definitely worth a visit if you’re in Asheville!

5 Walnut Wine Bar: Of course I had to find a wine bar 😉 And I really loved 5 Walnut! We stopped in to grab a drink before dinner and I really could have posted up at the bar for the rest of night. I definitely appreciate a good craft beer, but wine will always be my favorite I loved the atmosphere and they had a great wine (and beer)  list. I really wanted to try a cheese & meat board (they looked incredible) but like I said, we were on the way to dinner and I was planning to eat a lot there.

Strada Italiano: After all the beer and wine, we had dinner at Strada to load up on the carbs! We ordered the garlic knots and buratta as appetizers and both were delicious,  although the buratta was so small I probably could have eaten it in one bite. For dinner we ordered a pizza and grilled florentine ravioli – both were great! I’ve never had grilled ravioli before and it was really good. Overall the food, service and atmosphere were all wonderful and I would recommend trying this place if you’re in the mood for Italian.

Now since I didn’t get to experience that much of Asheville on this trip, I want to share a list of places that were recommended to me and are on my list to try for the next visit:

Breweries:

• Burial Beer Co.
• French Broad Brewery
• Highland Brewing Company
• New Belgium Brewery

Food:

• Benne on Eagle
• Curate
• Bouchon
• White Duck Taco

If you have any additional recommendations for things to do or places to eat/drink in Asheville, please leave a comment below!