We took a little family vacay to Asheville, North Carolina a few weeks back on my spring break, it was a few of the sweetest, most memorable days we have had and I am so excited to (finally!) share a little bit about our time there. Asheville came highly recommended by so many of our friends, we heard it was laid-back and kid-friendly with some beautiful landscaping – and that was certainly the case for us!! We loved how charming everything was, especially the people, the overall vibe of the entire city was just the best and both my husband & I agreed that it was somewhere we could live if we didn’t already call VB home.
The cutest boutique hotel, The Bunn House, was so kind to offer for us to come stay with them and we were excited looking at all the pictures the weeks before we got there. Funny story though, we had a little miscommunication about the trip and they did not realize we were bringing our four & one-year old. They are very much catered to adults, the site is quiet and serene, perfect for relaxing – none of the words I would use to describe a trip with two kids. 😉 The owners were SO GRACIOUS about it though, we ended up staying the first night and they found us another hotel (that was kid-friendly!) for the following night. The property there is absolutely gorgeous, perfect for a weekend parent getaway, it had the most charming rooms complete with a mini-fridge stocked with wine (!!!) and a steamed shower, plus a beautiful rooftop terrace. We can’t wait to go back in a couple months for our anniversary!
The first day there we pretty much just explored the downtown area, which we loved! It was within walking distance of The Bunn House, we had so much fun just looking at all of the scenery and even found a few cute toy shops for the girls. There was so much to see (and tons of restaurants), but after traveling in a car for so long, both Waverly & Avalon got over it pretty quickly. We were able to come back a couple more times over our trip, my biggest tip to families traveling to Asheville and going downtown with little ones, bring a stroller!!!! 🙂 We kept our girls in our double one the entire time we were on the sidewalks because they were so narrow, otherwise we definitely would have been nervous about them running out on the street.
That night we went to Salvation Station for dinner and drinks with our friends who were also in Asheville for the week, it was the best atmosphere and absolutely perfect for kids! It was on a ton of land and they had hammocks, cornhole, and balls out for the kids, our girls were so happy there and would have easily stayed for hours. We definitely recommend this place, especially for families!
We went back & forth on whether we would go to the Biltmore while we were there, and ultimately decided to go for it on the second day. We weren’t sure how much the girls would love it (or how long they would last on a tour … ), but they ended up loving it and we were SO HAPPY we decided to spend the money on the tickets. The mansion is absolutely beautiful, unbelievable even, my favorite part without a doubt was the costume design they had out in each room while we were there! After the tour, we let the girls explore the gardens, went to the petting zoo, and then did a wine tasting that came with our tickets (which ended up being a complete circus, we lasted through two samples before both girls were over it!). We were all so exhausted by the end of the day that we ended up ordering pizza in the room, but it was definitely our best day of the trip and my only complaint is that we didn’t have enough time there to get to do everything we wanted to do.
Some other restaurants that we tried while we were there and loved were the Early Girl Eatery & the Over Easy Cafe, the first of the two actually brought out a basket of little toys for the kids to play with while we waited, which we very much appreciated!!
It really was the best few days, though I won’t pretend like it was seamless or perfect. We are very much a routine-driven kind of family, and taking both girls out of their element and completely off their schedule definitely had its challenges. There were lots of tears and meltdowns (sometimes from both girls at the same time), but much like parenthood, the magical, special moments made up for it ten times over. I will never forget how excited little Miss Avalon Elle was when she realized bedtime was happening the same room as us and her big sissy, and at the end of the trip, Waverly said that “Asheville was the best country she had ever been to in her entire life”. Thanks for the memories, Asheville.
Our stay was complimentary of The Bunn House, their boutique hotel is absolutely beautiful and we definitely recommend it for an adults-only trip.
What a fun spot for a family vacation! Jealous this is driving distance to you. It's totally on my bucket list.
We went to the Biltmore last summer while in the Smoky Mountains with a toddler and a baby! I was a little hesitant if I wanted to spend the money for tickets, but it was well worth it! I'm jealous you got to see the costumes exhibit–it looked so cool!
Chelsey– thesmalltownrose.blogspot.com