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We've compiled the best of the best in The North Carolina Mountains - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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 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.
The Harrah's complex now includes two hotels, doubling down on its status as North Carolina's largest lodging. The Cherokee opened in 2021, adding 725 more rooms to the 21-story towers of the existing resort. The comfortable rooms and suites on the higher floors overlook the mountains, and escalators get you to the casino and the extensive restaurant selection that includes a Wicked Weed Brewpub, a Ruth's Chris Steak House, BRIO Italian Grille, Guy Fieri's Cherokee Kitchen, and a food court by Gordon Ramsay that stays open late. The casino is larger than three football fields and has live blackjack, roulette, craps, and poker games along with some 5,000 electronic gaming machines. There's also a bowling alley and a 3,000-seat theater that presents big-name stars like Travis Tritt, Pat Benatar, and Three Dog Night. The lobby and other public areas incorporate traditional Cherokee art themes. Room prices surge beyond $500 on weekends, but are often under $100 on weekdays.
The Horton's sophisticated accommodations right downtown—including a light-filled lobby lounge and a rooftop bar—have a surprisingly cosmopolitan feel. There are still small-mountain-town comforts and charm, like custom wood furniture, comfy bedding, and exposed brick and other nods to the 1920s building. Panoramic views of the mountains at the rooftop bar can't be beat.
The River Arts District finally has a boutique hotel, and it's as funky as the building's history (it's been a cereal factory, a coffee roaster, and an indoor paintball arena). The adults-only destination features rooms with high ceilings and graffiti murals on exposed brick walls. The on-site restaurant, Golden Hour, serves locally sourced, wood-fired fare. There's also a rooftop bar and coffee shop.
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.
