17 Best Hotels in The North Carolina Mountains, North Carolina

These six spacious lofts in downtown Bryson City are comfortable for an extended stay or a large family, with two bedrooms in each unit. Local art, architectural nods like exposed brick, and high ceilings complement oversized bathrooms, plush furniture, and big TVs. 

Spread across 1,400 acres on one of the finest properties in western North Carolina, High Hampton exudes casual luxury from the friendly welcome in the gorgeous lodge, where the staff remembers your name, to the leisurely breakfasts and multi-course dinners in the dining room (an optional add-on). Two mountains—both with private hiking trails—frame the view from the fishing and swimming lake, swimming pool, tennis courts, and 18-hole, Tom Fazio–designed golf course. Now a Blackberry Farms property, the resort includes rooms in the historic inn and cottages spread across the grounds.

Sit in the hot tub under the stars—and next to a striking Dale Chihuly glass sculpture—and soak in the rolling mountain vistas at this sumptuous retreat 10 miles out of town. Suites and cottages, all tastefully appointed and art-filled, are spread across the 85-acre riverfront property that includes a horse barn converted into a spa, a steam room and dry sauna, a game room with billiards and table tennis, a dedicated children's play house, and the Silo Cookhouse, the best restaurant south of Asheville on the I–26 corridor. 

The mountain hollow that's home to these seven cabins perfectly captures both sunrise and sunset over the creek. Accommodations range from a luxurious treehouse to creekside lodges suitable for an extended family vacation. You may question whether you've taken a wrong turn as you wind up the dirt road to this bucolic enclave, before realizing you're in exactly the place you want to be. 

Black Mountain College closed in 1957, but its impact is still felt today through the legacies of alumni and faculty like Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef and Anni Albers, Buckminster Fuller, Kenneth Noland, and other maverick spirits who helped to shape American art, music, and literature. The campus is now split between Camp Rockmont, a private summer camp, and Lake Eden Retreat, which includes eight cottages and studios, several of which were built by the college. The grounds surround the aptly named Lake Eden, and are still a peaceful place of respite for creatives and lovers of the arts. Each May and October, Lake Eden Retreat hosts LEAF Festival, drawing several thousand revelers for a weekend of workshops, contra dancing, and world and Appalachian music.

Spacious decks and wall-to-wall windows maximize the view at these mountainside luxury cabins. Live-edge tables and nods to the local mountain biking culture add creative flair to the spacious digs. Access to Pisgah National Forest and the Hub, a bike shop and bar, are directly outside the entrance. 

The spectacular setting is the main draw at the rustic Pisgah Inn, perched on a mountaintop at 5,000 feet. Rooms have small porches or balconies with rocking chairs where you can take in the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The restaurant has huge windows facing the tree-clad slopes and serves mountain trout, fried chicken, and other tasty fare.

What was once a dilapidated roadside motel is now one of the most popular bars and restaurants in town—and arguably Boone's new best place to stay. A courtyard between the two primary buildings features firepits and comfy seating, while rooms show off with custom-built beds and built-in desks that continue the furniture-grade plywood aesthetic of communal areas. Canteen, the lobby restaurant, has a pool table, arcade games, and an inspired menu of sandwiches and Appalachian fry bread tacos. 

Banner Elk lacks a boutique hotel or upscale B&B, so most visitors rent a condo at the ski mountains or a cabin—this local outfit offers six homes fully stocked with amenities, ranging from upscale multi-bedroom lodges with hot tubs and stone fireplaces to smaller historic cottages walkable to Main Street.

Recent renovations have brought this celebrated resort back into focus, including overhauls of the spacious lodge rooms that now sport attractive wood paneling and new furniture. Choose between Chetola Lodge, the eight-room Bob Timberlake Inn, or from the collection of rental condos on the tranquil property. There's an on-site restaurant and pub, a stocked lake (with free fishing rods to rent), a kids' room with toys and crafts, and a spa, a sauna, and a gorgeous indoor pool. An Orvis outpost within the lodge has the gear—and the guides—needed to target trout in the nearby private-access streams. There's also a sporting reserve that includes archery and a clay-shooting course. 

Fontana Village bustles during summertime with vacationing families here for activities like hiking, mountain biking, mini golf, disc golf, a small water park, and, of course, Fontana Dam. The resort's lodge is comfortable but shows its age. Some rental cabins around the resort are a bit newer, and all are an excellent value as a base camp to explore the nearby access points into the national park. 

The 10 off-the-wall accommodations at this "glampground" range from a renovated double-decker English bus to a super hero–themed tiny house. Each space has a different theme, and several are large enough to accommodate families. The grounds are beautiful and include a small pond and creek. 

The 2023 renovation of this former Super 8 is so impressive—a stone fireplace in the lobby, shiplap walls in bathrooms, attractive mountain scenery on the walls—that it feels like new construction. Breakfast is equally stellar: locally roasted coffee, bagels and scones from Boone's Stick Boy Bread Company, and a full buffet of fresh biscuits, scrambled eggs, and country ham. There's free parking, and you'll need a car—it's a few miles from downtown. 

This folksy friendly mountain inn on 55 acres on a hilltop near Bryson City, operated by the same family since 1969, is the kind of place where you can relax in a rocking chair, catch up on reading, or play a game of Scrabble. The family-style meals are prepared with regional foods.

This midcentury-modern lodge was designed by a Frank Lloyd Wright devotee, abandoned for decades, and is now restored to glory. Forty rooms all feature porches or patios, and an exemplary restaurant, Oak Steakhouse, offers views across the valley below. Perks of the modernization include heated bathroom floors and the gorgeous Butler's Bar speakeasy, featuring a small library, a fireplace, and a wall of windows to soak in the mountain vista. 

Like an oasis after miles of driving remote roads, Tapoco Lodge offers large stylish rooms in a lodge that's on the National Register of Historic Places. Exposed brick, hardwood floors, and king-size beds make for comfortable digs in the original lodge (built to house workers during the construction of the nearby Cheoah Dam in the 1930s) and cabins scattered throughout the property. 

Walkable to the Village Green and with its own on-site brewery, this polished option features single rooms, suites, and luxurious cabins, making it suitable for any travel party. Canopy beds, shiplap, black exterior stain, and sapling trees used in porch construction lend thoughtful, boutique appeal. The property also includes Whiteside Brewing, which offers a full lunch and dinner menu, and a breakfast food truck.