Grand Bohemian Hotel, Asheville, NC:
Tudor Style and Hunting Lodge Aura
The Grand Bohemian Hotel, a Kessler Collection property, boasts a Tudor style and hunting lodge aura, enhanced with touches of luxury, eclectic artwork and pampering service.*
By Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher
Luxury has a new address in Asheville, NC.
Now you may overnight in what’s been called a vision of George Vanderbilt’s hunting lodge -- the Grand Bohemian Hotel (www.bohemianasheville.com).
Better described, make that a hunting lodge on upscale steroids.
Part of the Kessler Collection of hotels, the Grand Bohemian opened in April 2009 in the heart of historic Biltmore Village.
Rustic Hunting Lodge Atmosphere
Hotelier, entrepreneur and art lover Richard C. Kessler worked with his design team to create a rustic but elegant European hunting lodge that's a pampering boutique hotel.
The Tudor-styled Grand Bohemian offers opulence. It's an art-infused, 104-room boutique hotel. With nine-foot ceilings, guest rooms and suites range from 329 to 822 square feet.
The hotel is also home to the cozy Poseidon Spa as well as the Red Stag Restaurant, which offers an eclectic menu featuring everything from elk and pheasant to steaks.
A hunting lodge once existed on the Biltmore Estate. While that's gone, this property represents a vision of what might have existed.
A statue of Diana the Huntress (shown at left*) welcomes guests arriving at a brick-paved porte-cochere beneath soaring chandeliers.
Inside, the Grand Bohemian's interior evokes a woodsy warmth with masculine colors and hues.
Characteristic of the historic hunting culture of the region, the hotel's walls are filled with antlers and taxidermy specimens.
They're well positioned amid twinkling chandeliers, rich carvings and creative paintings.
Warm, Cozy Lobby
Guests enter the hotel through custom, double, carriage-house doors into a stone-floor lobby.
Your eyes immediately focus on two elements of any great hunting lodge -- a massive four-sided fireplace and large overhead antler chandelier.
Many smaller decorative touches also stand out -- antlers decorated with strands of crystals, leather walls, doors commissioned in Bali, columns from India and a lobby bar featuring African petrified wood.
Another highlight? Visitors might check out the hotel’s limited edition Bösendorfer 214 Rosewood Classic piano.
Check-in is at two desks rather than a formal reception area. Nearby is the hotel's antique rifle collection.
At one end of the lobby is a Kessler Collection mainstay, a signature art gallery.
The gallery specializes in American and European original 20th- and 21st century fine art, jewelry, art glass pieces and gift items. (See photos at left and below*)
At the lobby's opposite end is the aptly named Red Stag Grill with red-antler chandeliers.
Architectural features of the 80-seat grill include hand-hewn beams, distressed oak floors and handmade wooden tables.
The Red Stag Grill is hugely popular with the locals thanks to Executive Chef Adam Hayes and his culinary crew.
Chef Hayes comes to the Grand Bohemian Hotel from the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC.
He brings a reputation for creative use of local ingredients and such savory dishes as skillet-roasted mussels, beef goulash with spaetzle and North Carolina smoked ruby trout dip.
The Red Stag Grill offers an impressive 40 wines by the glass; many bottles on the extensive wine list are under $100.
We loved the "light-up" menus with built-in, rechargeable LED lights.
We also enjoyed the chop-house-style dishes - with guests able to order either small or large portions.
Seafood lovers should definitely try the calamari appetizer (see photo at right - calamari is at top, mussels at bottom)*).
Given the appetizer's size, though, be sure to bring some friends and share.
Comfortable Accommodations
The Kessler Collection (www.kesslercollection.com) is experienced both in hospitality and the arts.
It includes upscale properties and art galleries in Orlando, Celebration, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg and Delray Beach, FL; Savannah, GA (two hotels); Beaver Creek and DeBeque, CO; Taos, NM; and Atlanta, GA.
At the Grand Bohemian, 84 main building guest rooms form a U-shape around a center courtyard on the hotel’s second, third and fourth levels. Another 20 rooms are in the Manor House across the street.
We stayed in the main building accommodations. With nine-foot-high ceilings, these guest rooms and suites (see ours in the photo above*) have a spacious feel. Accommodations range from 329 to 822 square feet.
You'll appreciate the luxury bedding and linens; flat-screen television; coffee maker; and in-room safe.
A high-tech Roomlinx system provides for wireless Internet, television, free movies and more. You might even receive online access to your hometown newspaper!
As for the bathrooms, they feature a glass-enclosed shower, separate soaking tub, stone flooring and high-end fixtures
Pampering amenities include room service and on-site concierge services.
Poseidon Spa & Fitness Center
For those who want to maintain their exercise regimen, the Grand Bohemian features a 24-hour, state-of-the-art fitness center.
A highlight for us was the small Poseidon Spa with stand-out treatments like the 80-minute Privai Anti-Aging Massage and the 80-minute Rebalancing Ritual.
We sampled both side-by-side in the couple’s room, one of three treatment rooms. Oversized massage beds are a nice touch.
(Check out the friendly spa staff, shown at left with one of the spa's artistic pieces*).
The Poseidon Spa lacks a locker room and shower facility, but since it is primarily marketed to hotel guests, the ease of access to luxurious in-room facilities more than makes up for it. Just wear your room robe.
Kelly Fisher, the spa's director of operations, says day guests who need changing/shower facilities may utilize a hotel room set aside for that purpose.
Group Options
If you're interested in booking the hotel for a wedding reception or family reunion, you'll find elegantly appointed meeting and event space.
For example, the hotel offers a 2,200-square-foot ballroom; a rooftop courtyard artfully landscaped with perimeter gas lamp lighting; and a year-round covered pavilion.
Area Attractions
While you might be tempted to just relax in the hunting lodge aura of the Grand Bohemian (again, the hotel's lobby area is shown at left*), many visitors seek out local activities and sights.
Most first-time visitors head for The Biltmore Estate (www.biltmore.com). At 17,500-square-feet and with 250 rooms, the Biltmore is the largest, privately-owned home in America.
Another local highlight is the Thomas Wolfe Memorial (www.wolfememorial.com), a historic boarding house run by the author’s mother. It was also Wolfe's childhood home -- depicted as "Dixieland" in his novel Look Homeward, Angel.
In addition, Asheville is in the shadow of the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains. Outdoor adventurers enjoy hiking, biking, mountain climbing and scenic views along the rambling Blue Ridge Parkway (www.nps.gov/blri).
Speed isn't the goal along the parkway as the speed limit is 35 mph. But you'll enjoy flora and you may spot deer, birds and other fauna.
Shopaholics will likely enjoy the shops of Historic Biltmore Village (www.biltmorevillage.com). Or, head for downtown Asheville (www.exploreasheville.com), popular for its art renaissance with renovated gallery spaces and locally-owned boutique retail shops.
Getting to the Grand Bohemian
If you're arriving by car, the Grand Bohemian Hotel offers valet parking in an on-site garage.
One nice perk upon hotel departure? We discovered that after check-out the efficient attendants will clean your windshield, dispose of your garbage and offer complimentary bottled water for the road.
Three major airports serve the area. In North Carolina, Charlotte Douglas International (www.charlottedouglasintlairport.com), a major airport and US Airways hub, is 122 miles from the hotel.
Greenville-Spartanburg International, SC (www.gspairport.com) is 59 miles away. The smaller Asheville Regional Airport (www.flyavl.com) is just a 15-minute drive.
Travel writers and romance novelists Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher live in Raleigh, NC, where they operate www.yournovel.com and www.yourspareport.com. They are also reporters for www.examiner.com/raleigh covering luxury travel and international travel. They’ve visited every continent on the globe in their 15 years as travel journalists.
*Photos are owned, copyrighted and used courtesy of the Grand Bohemian Hotel, the Kessler Collection and J.S. Fletcher. All rights reserved. Do not link to nor copy these photos. Thank you.