Sara, <BR>My mother lives in Asheville, and have gone to visit on a few occasions. Can't help you with accomadations but here are some restaurant ideas. Sinbad's down the road in Hendersonville, fantastic Mediterranean food and the place is in a converted Victorian house, very nice and the owners usually wait on you. The Mellow Mushroom is downtown. Very eclectic atmosphere and decor. There have outside seating facing the street with trees covering the seating. Fine Friends is in a strip mall on Merrian St. by the Grove Park Inn. Wide range of food but very good. Next door is The Fresh Market, a gourmet food store. Very large with a wide selection of items. If you are planning a picnic I would get your things from there, lots of organic items and a fresh deli. Gabrielle's is the restaurant at the Richmond Hill Inn. It's a price fixe menu of either $56 or $85 per person. It's a six course meal with drinks included. Very elegant and sophisticated. Try to get a table on the patio which is enclosed. They have a website richmondhillinn.com which will show you the menu. All the other restaurants mentioned above are also excellent. If your looking for breakfast, go to Cornerstone's on Tunnel Rd. Doesn't look like much, but they do it the best. For crafty towns I would head up to Boone. On the way up stop by Blowing Rock and Grandfather Mountain, and then take the BRP back down to Asheville. Hope this helps.

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Hi Sara. I live here in Asheville and think I can help you out a bit. All major chains are located here, but if you are looking for something a little more budget minded than the Grove Park Inn, try the Comfort Inn and the Biltmore Estate. There is also a Howard Johnson's around that area. They are both located close to the Biltmore House and just minutes from downtown. IF you can go a little more expensive than a chain, I would look into the Haywood Park Hotel downtown. We have an amazing downtown here and the Chamber offers tours. We have been called the "little San Francisco" due to our ecclectic nature. We have amazing mountains to climb and some wonderful shopping available. I don't think you'll be disappointed!<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip