FamousDave

Hello All, I'm Dave, I read a lot of your posts and I admire all the people that take the time on guiding us travelers to the right path, so before I begin.. Thank you!

My last post was in the Japan forum which is where I went on my last vacation, I had a great time and saved a lot of money thanks to the advise of all the forum members; this year my girlfriend and I (we’re 26 & 27 respectively) are planning a road trip from Miami which is were we live to Asheville, North Carolina. We will be staying for one week starting on December 3rd until December 10th. We have heard wonders about Asheville but we need your wise advise in a couple of issues.

We want a nice cabin (one room is enough) preferably in a high area (snow would be great!), hot tub would also be nice but not required… so far, the best price we have gotten is $674.10 (p/week) for a Cabin called “Cozy Creek cabin”, we got this from http://www.asheville-cabins.com . Although that would be a nightly rate of $96.30, we think it’s a little high for our budget. Do you know of any other cabin in that area that we could look into?

Do you have any recommendations on the Asheville area, things to do, places to visit, etc.. I was also thinking of taking one or two days and visiting Nashville in Tennessee… but we’re not sure yet…

As I said before, THANK YOU very much, your help is immensely appreciated.

Best regards,

Dave

leahinsc

Dave, that seems a bit high for that time of year. Have you done more searches. Do you know where the cabins are? If you want to be higher up and want to be assured of snow that time of year you probably want to be up towards Boone. You might also want to check out a community called Wolf Laurel past Mars Hill which rents houses and is less than 1/2 hr from Asheville right on the TN border. You might also look into the town of Hot Springs as they do a lot of cabin rentals out there. About 40 minutes from Asheville and right on the AT. Another area that might have cabins nearby would be the town of Black Mountain - about 20 min from Asheville.
There really aren't any cabins per se within walking distance of downtown Asheville.
That time of year things are fairly quiet here. Always of course hiking, the Biltmore, wandering around downtown, brew pubs, music, art galleries, taking day trips to smaller towns...

bonniebroad

FamousDave, I looked at the Cozy Creek Cabin, and noticed four things: no fireplace, no washer & dryer, no cable TV, no dishwasher. If I were staying a week in the mountains, out where that cabin is, I believe I would like to have those things for the price they're asking, especially that time of year. Maybe they're not important to you, but I think you could do better ...

bonniebroad

FamousDave, look at this listing on vrbo.com for a cottage in Boone. Don't know anything about it, but was just perusing the listings for what I'D like if I were in your shoes:

http://www.vrbo.com/54407

I agree with leahinsc that you're more likely to get snow near Boone ...

xrae

Dave, Your best bet for snow in December is to stay slopeside on Beech or Sugar Mountains (Beech Mtn., N.C., or Banner Elk, N.C.) and hope it's cold enough to blow snow. Wolf Laurel as previously mentioned also has ski slopes. Winters have been on the warm side here the past few years and you can't really expect snow at a certain time anymore. Then when it does snow, it doesn't often "stick" around for more than a day. www.highcountrywebcams.com is a favorite of mine in the winter, it shows many NC High Country areas and you can peep in on the weather -- snow, rain, sleet, or nice. I believe there are Asheville webcams linked from there as well.

That said, the High Country is an hour or so from Asheville. What activities do you prefer? City stuff or outdoorsy stuff? If you're willing to stay an hour away from Asheville, you could also check the Maggie Valley, Hendersonville, or Bryson City areas.

So much for "narrowing" down your options! ~ sorry ~

leahinsc

Dave - don't think that cabin sounds like that great a deal for a week. You still have plenty of time to keep searching for something that has what you want i.e. altitude, hot tub, better chance at seeing snow. If you care less about snow, which is probably only likely at the higher elevations - over 3000 ft(Asheville is only 2000) at that time of year - then go to www.exploreasheville.com to the accomodations page which lists a number of cabin/cottage options.
Xrae mentioned Hendersonville, while a nice town and near the Nat'l Forest is even less likely to see snow and has more of a retirement community feel to it.