Friday, April 9, 2010

What part of town to Stay in and Where?

We are taking a girls trip in April, leaving husband and kids at home. Yeah! We love to shop and eat! I understand that Asheville has lots of shops and artsy stuff. Would you recommend staying in Downtown, is there enough to do, is it an easy walking town? Would love to hear any recommendations? Thanks



What part of town to Stay in and Where?


If you want to shop, stay downtown. We like the Renaissance. It%26#39;s within walking distance to everything. You will LOVE Tops shoes: a 3-story shoe store covering half a city block! :P





www.topsforshoes.com



What part of town to Stay in and Where?


I would 2nd the recommendation for staying at the Renaissance. Higher end would be the Haywood Park Hotel. Downtown is easy walking but we do have several uphills. check out mountainxpress.com for entertainment calendar and chowhound.com for restaurant recommendations.



Spa treatments at Sensibilities....wine tastings....great chocolate at Chocolate Fetish or the Chocolate Lounge...




There are a several downtown hotels, but in Asheville we love to support our small local business people. Try the Princess Anne instead of the Renaissance which is quite high end. The PA is a historic building and you%26#39;ll love it. Many women like the B%26amp;Bs in the Montford area which is also close to downtown. There are a lot of them to pick from. Thankfully, there are not any big stores or chains in downtown Asheville. Instead you will find small boutiques and one of kind of places. Lexington Avenues has several blocks of cool stores. As for lunch, save your appetite for Salsas which is just off Pack Square. And for dinner you and the girls may like Bouchon, a French restaurant. You can walk all over downtown it%26#39;s quite small and very safe.




Thanks for all the tips. We have booked a couple of rooms at a B %26amp; B called Abbington Green in the Monfort area. It looks nice and has some good reviews. Not sure how far it is from downtown. Does anyone know if you can walk to town from there?





None of us has been to the Grove Park Inn, is it worth going for dinner, or would just a cocktail be the enough. I see they have a piano bar...any comments about that, we don%26#39;t want a pick up type place but somewhere that would be fun in the evening.





Suggestions welcome..Thanks




Yes, technically can walk from Montford to downtown. It is about a mile. You will walk down Montford Avenue and pass some interesting older homes and near downtown cross a highway bridge. That said, I recommend you save your feet for the more interesting stuff downtown. There are very reasonably priced parking garages downtown where you can leave your car. Don%26#39;t park on the street unless you have a lot of quarters and are willing to feed the meter often. They do give parking tickets--even on the weekends. The B%26amp;B looks nice from the outside; I have not been in that one. These Asheville places are high caliber; they need your repeat bookings and work hard to make the guests happy.



Now, the Grove Park...I have eaten in almost all their several restaurants. In fact, had brunch in the ';famous'; Blue Ridge Room on Sunday. The hotel is something you may want to see, if you are interested in Arts and Crafts architecture and a beautiful view of the mts., but if you are looking for good food you will be much happier at one of the many independent restaurants in town. If you tell me what kind of food you like, I can give my suggestions. Some people like to restaurent hop: go to one place for a drink, another for an appetizer, another for entree, and someplace wonderful like Old Europe for dessert.



For shopping: definitely visit the Grove Arcade which is a beautiful historic building. For artwork (a lot very affordable) go to Woolworth Walk, too.



I have not gone to the piano bar at the GPI, but a friend went and was disappointed. You may want to take a guided walking tour of downtown called the Urban Trail. The leaders are excellent.




Yes, definitely have a drink on the deck (at sunset) at the GPI. That is an experience...


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