Hi,
I'm planning a vacation and also looking to buy some property. I was wondering if there are any hotels in any of the small towns near Greenville, and any suggestions on a good place to eat? Thank You!

The Hyatt in downtown Greenville.

I HIGHLY suggest you rent before you buy.

I live in Greenville and would be glad to help, but your post is too vague. Where do you want to stay? Define "small towns" and define "near" and I'll give it a whirl.

Thanks Litespeed. I was wondering if there was something in taylors or greer, maybe travelers Rest?

There are tons of hotels in Taylors and Greer. If you are just looking for something basic like Days Inn, etc., then I would just suggest looking them up on Expedia. Neither of these areas are quaint, small towns. Taylors does not have a downtown at all and Greer does have one, but no hotels (that I can think of). Both are pretty much indistinquishable from each, they are stops on the way from Greenville to Spartanburg.

Traveler's Rest is a little farther away from Greenville. There is a Hampton Inn on Hwy 25, plus some others I don't know the name of. I'm sure Expedia would help you with TR as well.

Now if you are looking for something more upscale, there is La Bastide, a faux French Inn north of TR, right off 25, as you head toward the NC line. It's part of an upscale development that's going very slowly. I think (but would not swear to) it is now owned by Jim Anthony, the developer who did the Cliffs properties. If you are the person whose husband was in construction, you might find it interesting to look at those developments.

OH, I forgot, good place to eat:

This area is restaurant-poor, although chain-rich. Don't move here if you are a foodie.

That said, in TR, Thaicoon is good.

In Greer, Gerard's Italian is adequate, although by no means deserving of the popularity it has. Lakeview Steakhouse is so-so but a very popular Greer institution.

I 2nd Litespeed Chick's mention of Thaicoon (THai food) in TR. He has another downtown and this is a smaller venture that caters to Furman students and area businesses. It is good, fast and inexpensive. There are some good restaurants in downtown Greenville. Just ate at a great Noodle Place off of Pelham Rd near the TJ Maxx.

Hi Leah -

I like Pho Noodleville on Orchard Park too!

I just saw a post of yours from a long time ago asking about my handle. Yep, that's my mountain bike and my road bike. The mountain is a 1996 model...you just can't upgrade perfection. ;-)

Litespeed - just bought hubby new $$ fork for his Litespeed Roadbike...
What places do you especially like for lunch or dinner in downtown Greenville?

None of these are glowing recommendations, mind you, but places I WILL eat are:

Island Dream (Carribbean for casual lunch)
Bistro Europa for their dried cranberry salad
Lemongrass Thai for their curries.
Coffee Underground, nice people
Tsunami for (usually)good sushi in an unfortunate ambiance.
Sprouts for a decent quick salad
Chicora Alley for decent burritos

Where do you guys live? Does your husband ever ride at Donaldson on Tuesday nights?

Litespeed
Island dream - haven't tried - Main St?
BistroEuropa - liked it
Tsunami - fair sushi - place across from the mall is better
Lemongrass Thai - not a curry fan but have liked their food there but actually think Thaicoon is better
Sprouts and Chicory Alley not familiar with..where?
Soby's didn't make your list? There's another place across the river that I've eaten - I'm miserable w/ names.
We live in Asheville w/in walking distance of downtown. Hubby usually rides out towards Weaverville/Mars Hill - I think he's contemplating during the Bridge to Bridge again...

Island Dream - yes, Main st. right across from Port City Java. I prefer Sushi Koji (across from mall) as well, but Tsunami is one of those frustrating places where you go once and the fish is FANTASTIC and then you go back and it's barely average. I have a friend who knows the owners and if I go with him (he only goes on certain days of the week, too) I get awesome sashimi.

Sprouts is just off Main on ...ummm...Washington maybe. Don't get me wrong, no destination, I just mentioned it for anyone else who works downtown and needs a quick,healthy,decent salad. Chicora Alley is above spill the beans ice cream (there is no good ice cream in Greenville, save your calories for Ultimate)...if you get a window seat in nice weather it's worth going. It looks out over Main St. toward the Reedy Falls Park.

I don't like Soby's. I can tolerate pretention, and I can tolerate average food, but not together. O (Soby's owned) is a pretty space and they seem to have a nice wine service, but again...average and even more pretentious than Soby's and expensive. It's where Lance ate when he and Sheryl were in town.

Latitude (West End) should be good because the chef there used to be at Pheonix Inn's The Palms, which had some really good, if heavy, French food for awhile. I suspect he (Donald Hires) realized that the tastes in Greenville were so underdeveloped that he could get by with serving crap if he did it in a nice enough building.

Good news, 33 Liberty may move to Main St., near Coffee this fall.

Sorry, I know all that was boring.

Leah - Bridge to Bridge! Wow! such suffering. If he decides to race the Town Mtn Hill Climb, tell him to look for me on a Ghisallo.

If you're looking for personalized attention I'd suggest a B&B. Candleberry Inn in Greer, The Garden House in Simpsonville, Walnut Lane Inn in Lyman, etc.

Yvette