1. Stay at the Grand Bohemian Hotel!
From the minute you check into the Tudor-style hotel in quaint Biltmore Village, you will feel warm and cozy. Grab some complimentary apple cider or hot chocolate and sit by the stone fireplace before you even check into your room.
Check out the gorgeous paintings throughout the hotel as well as a variety of antlers and stuffed animals (not the children's kind), which will make you feel like you just stepped into George Vanderbilt's hunting lodge. The hotel offers an interesting juxtaposition of rustic and luxurious, and the rooms are modern and spacious. I, for one, am a fan of the gigantic bathtub.
2. Dine at Rezaz. There are so many excellent restaurants in Asheville to choose from, and one of them happens to be right across the street from the Bohemian. For a more casual meal of smaller bites, eat in the wine bar. I recommend the assorted Mediterranean dips, which comes with olives, feta and pita. For a finer dining experience, eat in the main dining room. We enjoyed the Butternut Squash Ravioli on the regular menu, and the striper and steak from the specials that evening. Here's the striper special:
3. Visit the Biltmore House which is all decked-out for Christmas!
This trip coincided with my daughter's 7th birthday, so we decided to bring her along and take her to the Biltmore House for the very first time. You can purchase tickets online or at 800-411-3812. If you are within a few days of your visit, I recommend calling the 1-800 number.*
Tickets vary in price based on the season (other times of the year, I saw tickets for $39 and $47). I paid $63 for my ticket, and my daughter's was free. Youth 10-16 have a lower ticket price than adults. We paid $10 each for an audio guide, which was well worth it. There is a special guide just for kids "voiced" by Cedric, George Vanderbilt's St. Bernard! I picked up the kid's audio guide as well, just so I could hear what my daughter was hearing, not because I wanted it for myself :) But it was really interesting, and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed it. Along the way, Cedric pointed out his picture, secret doors, and other hiding places of interest to children. Occasionally, I suggested skipping an audio portion, but my daughter was so into it she wouldn't allow it!
The Biltmore is always beautiful, but during Christmas it is even more spectacular. The home, which took six years to build, actually opened on Christmas Eve in 1895. There are 250 rooms in the home (although not all of them are on the tour), and there were nearly that many Christmas trees and decorations. From the two-story tree in the Banquet Hall to the poinsettias and greenery in the Winter Garden, the home was decorated to the nines.
Until January 3, you can also tour the Biltmore at night during the Candlelight Evenings. These tickets cost more, but I imagine seeing the lights, candles, and fireplaces burning would be a beautiful sight.
A few more pieces of information for your visit... It took us at least an hour and a half to walk through the entire house. Use the restrooms before you enter. You can't take pictures in the house or use your cell phone. Crowds are lighter in the morning, so get in and get out in time for lunch.
We skipped the wine tasting, although they said they do have a grape juice tasting for kids which sounded cute. I have enjoyed the winery, Bistro, and Antler Hill Village with my husband before, but it was a chilly 39 degrees so we checked out one toy shop (bought another stuffed animal we don't need) and declared it done.
I have discovered that after having my second child, it is nice to share experiences with them individually occasionally, plus my two-year old would have been climbing under the velvet ropes and touching everything in about two seconds flat. Seven seemed like a really good age for my daughter to appreciate the beauty of this real "American castle." It was a special trip we will always remember.
4. Enjoy breakfast or lunch at the Corner Kitchen. In our case, it was lunch and the chicken pot pie hit the spot on the chilly day.
5. Stop by Just Ducky, an adorable children's boutique in Biltmore Village. If you have time, there are plenty of specialty shops along the cobblestone sidewalks.
If only we didn't have to rush back, I would have spent several hours at the Antique Tobacco Barn, which is just around the corner from Biltmore Village. There's always next time... and I'm sure we will return soon. I hope you are enjoying some special Christmas moments with your family this month!
*I went to buy tickets online two nights ahead of time, which I thought was thinking ahead, only to see that there were no tickets available! How did I let this happen? We had been telling our daughter for 3 weeks that we were going to do this for her birthday! This was a terrible "mommy moment." I called the hotel in a panic to see if they could provide tickets and they said they couldn't do anything until the next morning, although the concierge pointed out to me that this was the Biltmore's busiest time of year so they probably were sold out. Ugh. The Biltmore office wouldn't open until 8 a.m. the next morning. I tried to sleep. As I sent my daughter off to school the next morning at 7 a.m. she was all excited about our Biltmore tour the next day. One little voice in my head, said don't tell her... maybe it will work out. We can beg someone at the gate... The other little voice said, go ahead and tell her... maybe we shouldn't even go. The second voice won, so I suggested maybe we should and just go see the house in all its grandeur from the exterior and then go shopping or something. She looked at me like I was nuts. "Why wouldn't we go INSIDE the house, Mommy?" Oh, because Mommy is a moron and didn't buy tickets three weeks ago! Anyway... at 8:01 a.m. I called the ticket office (800-411-3812), and they had plenty of tickets available so all was well :)
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