We recently celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary by joining a tour group by the name of ‘Author Fan Travel’ in which my favorite historical fiction author, Laura Frantz and her friend and fellow author Pepper Basham were along for the trip. This trip took us to the grand Biltmore Estate for 2 full days of touring and wonderment. What a great way to start the Holiday season!

 

 

We decided to get down there a day early, so we booked a stay at the ‘Princess Anne Hotel’ in Asheville. This beautiful hotel was built in 1924 and was giving me Titanic vibes. When you first walk up there is a covered porch with boho inspired swings and a gorgeous front door. Inside and through the vestibule you are greeted by the beautiful foyer and main circular staircase. Wine along with a wonderful cheese plate is offered 4-6pm and there are complimentary goodies on a nearby table with at least five options. Water is always available and is infused with fruit. The guest sitting room has an inviting fireplace during the colder months. You can make use of the turn of century gated elevator to transport your luggage to and from your room. The rooms offer a little kitchenette, Nespresso machines, a little sitting area (in which my husband made use of to submit an offer for real estate client that evening). The sink and bathroom are separate and the bed was a beautiful sleigh bed with a little box of chocolates sitting there upon your arrival.

 

 

In the morning, we ate a complimentary cooked and served breakfast with a choice of juices, coffee, tea and espresso. Breakfast served was nice and fast but delicious and wonderfully plated, although we enjoyed our stay, we were ready to get take our luggage and get settle in our room at the Village Hotel on the Biltmore Estate.

Our Journey Begins…

 

We met up with our group around 11 and drove over to the mansion. We ate lunch with our group on the top floor of the Stable Cafe. This cafe is highly recommended by several people we talked to. The booths are located where the horse stalls used to be. That afternoon, we were scheduled for a self-guided tour of the Biltmore Estate gardens, conservatory, lagoon, bass pond and shopping in the Carriage House shops. The gardens were beautiful and I’m sure even more so in the summer when all the flowers and plants are in bloom. The grounds are just gorgeous with amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

 

There are walking/hiking trails all around the property for you to enjoy. All in all our walk around the terrace and gardens took probably around 1.5 hours. The Bass Pond features the brick built bridge featured in the movie, ‘Last of the Mohicans’. There are walking paths around there as well. The lagoon is down the road and offers amazing views of the back side of the mansion and with the Fall colors all around is just breathtaking. 

 

 

Candlelight Home Tour

We were scheduled for the 6:30 Candlelight Tour of the mansion. I highly recommend this tour! It definitely puts you in the Christmas mood with all the 55+ hand decorated Christmas trees. The huge Norfolk pine Christmas tree in the banquet hall is brought in around November 4th by carriage/wagon on their long drive from the village- a 125+ year tradition.

 

 

 

We were lucky enough to have local author Pepper Basham (check out her books Hope Between the Pages and Between Stairs and Stardust, both of which take place in Biltmore, and The Mistletoe Countess– which was inspired by Biltmore) with us as our own personal tour guide. She shared some great little tidbits throughout the house. We were also given the audio tour device, which I recommend for any historical home tours. We were also lucky enough to get a front row seat for the beautiful slow burn of the Blue Ridge sunset on the veranda. 

 

 

The Parkway and Black Mountain

The next day, we set off for a drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were planning to go check out the grounds where Buck Springs Lodge once stood. Sadly, the approach we were going to use was closed due to storm damage. Going the other way would have really cut into our itinerary for the day. So we drove up to Craggy Gardens, a great Blue Ridge overlook. We headed into Black Mountain for lunch. We ate at the Veranda, which has great food. We stopped in a few cute stores and then headed for Sasafrass on Sutton. This is a fantastic bookstore with an entire toy store on the second floor. This was a great place to get ideas and make purchases for Christmas.

 

 

When we got back to Antler Hill Village we were scheduled for a wine tasting. I can not stress this enough- reserve your space head of time. You will not get in if you just show up. This can all be done online here. We left with a few bottles (mainly picked by the husband). I picked the Christmas Red Wine. This was a pleasant surprise because the notes in the description make you think it’s going to be a dry wine but it has a hint of sweetness that I like! 

 

 

That evening we had a great meal in the upstairs floor of the Village Social. It’s got a country farmhouse vibe that I love. We were able to access this from the second floor of the Village Hotel where we were staying. It was so nice to sit down for one final dinner with our tour group. I would have loved to stay longer. I would have loved to explore more of the property but we got a nice crash course of the area. I can not recommend coming here for a trip enough, especially at the holidays. 

 

 

All the lodging includes access to the Antler Hill Village and a complimentary wine tasting (like stated above, you must book in advance or check online to see if there are any slots available. Unfortunately, it does not include a house tour ticket. The ticket however provides you access to the Biltmore Grounds, Antler Hill Village, complimentary wine tasting, shopping, dining and outdoor activities. In order to come onto property, you must have either a ticket to tour the house, lodging reservations or have a guest staying on property. You must make a tour reservation in advance and it is highly recommended to do so seven days in advance.

 

 

There also the working farm area- check out the antique farm equipment on display, the blacksmithing, the farm animals, etc. (of  course, I had to say hello to the chickens). This is located beyond the Antler Hill Village. In the cooler months there is even an outdoor campfire going to warm up by as you tour around the grounds. 

 

Tips for your trip and stay at Biltmore:

We recommend using the shuttle to get to the house if you are not with a tour group. 

Allow yourself 2 hours to leisurely walk around the grounds/gardens and pond.

We highly recommend the candlelight tour

The Village Hotel is wonderful if it’s within your budget and you want to stay on property.

Stable Cafe located next to the mansion in the carriage house area is delicious.

We recommend using the shuttle/trolley to access the mansion. 

Allow yourself half a day to tour a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are overlooks galore near Asheville and the views are spectacular. 

Check out Grove Park Inn, a spectacular historic hotel on the opposite side of Asheville.

 

This trip was truly amazing! I don’t want to say once in a lifetime because I would love to go again! 

I hope this post and the tips are helpful to you! 

Enjoy,