Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa

Description:

• This resort, built in 1913 on the side of Sunset Mountain at an elevation of 3,100 feet, is one of the oldest and most famous in the South. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it's a favorite year-round destination, providing old-world charm and panoramic views of the city's skyline and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its great-hall lobby is flanked by 14-foot fireplaces; comfortably padded chairs and sofas create a feeling of coziness despite the size of the 120-foot-long room. Twenty-eight of the guest rooms are oversize and contain extras such as whirlpools. The resort has hosted some famous names, including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald stayed at the hotel while his wife, Zelda, spent her nights in a sanitarium nearby, hence the hotel's "romantic" getaway package called the Great Gatsby.

  Horizons Restaurant, featuring an innovative but classic cuisine, is the finest in the area. Guests can also dine in the moderately priced Blue Ridge Dining Room, which has a legendary outdoor dining veranda. The Carolina Cafe also overlooks the mountains. Elaine's has reopened as a dueling piano bar.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010

Other features:

Amenities include golf, tennis, two pools, indoor sports complex, 18-station paramount fitness center, shops, spa, fine dining and children\'s programs.