Christmas comes to Biltmore Estate

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Citizen-Times photo of horses bringing the banquest hall tree

Horses bring the big Christmas tree for the banquet hall to the Biltmore Estate Thursday. Photo by Bill Sanders, Asheville Citizen-Times

 

It’s officially Christmas at the Biltmore Estate, now that even the big trees are in place and decorated. We’ve been busy booking Candlelight Christmas tours for our guests arriving on Nov. 9 or later, but there are still a lot of openings at Inn on Main Street, and plenty of spots for evening tours at the Biltmore.

Our Candlelight Christmas Tour packages are a particularly good deal. The cost for the reservation-only evening tour is only $20 extra on top of the cost of our regular discounted two-day ticket, which is $55. At $75 total, that means two days of visits, plus the mystical evening tour, for less than the gate cost of the evening tour alone.

And there’s still a lot happening in Weaverville and Asheville during the holiday season, not least of which is fantastic gift shopping for unique arts and crafts.

Another reason to think of Inn on Main Street at Christmas is that we offer gift certificates with no markup. It’s easy to buy an entire package for Mom and Dad, and let them pick the date. Or buy a certificate for a certain amount and let them choose the package as well as the dates. Best of all, if they use it from January through March (except Valentine’s weekend), they will get the third night free or half off the cost of their second night. That’s a great way to leverage your Christmas budget.

 

Ultimate Girls Getaway on Wheels

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Womantours cyclists gather at Inn on Main Street

Women from throughout the United States tour from inn to inn, including Inn on Main Street, on a Womantours ride.

At Inn on Main Street bed and breakfast, we like our girlfriend getaways groups. A couple sisters, or mom and daughter, or a few former sorority sisters know how to have fun, and really enjoy the quaint and safe environment of Weaverville.

But each year, we get a girls’ getaway group that trumps all the others. Our B&B is filled with women cyclists from all over the country, from all walks of life, and with all levels of athletic ability. In the past, their ages have ranged from the 20s to 70s, though most appear to be racing up on retirement. We know better than to ask ages to confirm that. The tour tends to correspond with the beginning of the leaf color change, so the women are treated to occasional bursts of orange and yellow as they pedal through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

It’s nice that we’re the last stopover on the tour. By the time the ladies reach us, they’ve become friends and commiserated over sore muscles, wrong turns and occasional rain. The wine-and-appetizer time on the back porch is something of a celebration. Many of these women talk of other Womantours trips they’ve taken, so the tours must be very fulfilling.

We like to think Inn on Main Street is that memory of camaraderie and pampering that lingers for these adventurers.We hope that Womantours keeps returning every year on the way to the Asheville finish line.

Biltmore Candlelight Christmas tickets

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Oddly enough, tickets are already selling quickly for the Biltmore Estate’s Candlelight Christmas tours.

The tours are by reservation only. They’re always popular, but it’s unusual to hear of the reserved time slots filling well before leaf season has begun in the Western North Carolina mountains. Folks are catching the holiday spirit early, I guess.

At Inn on Main Street bed and breakfast in Weaverville, we offer our guests discount tickets to Asheville‘s most popular attraction, with a nominal add-on for the Christmas tickets. We take care of the reservations and pick your tickets up in advance so they’re waiting in your room. No handling fee, no standing in lines at the Biltmore welcome center.

Our discount two-day tickets cost $55 each, with an additional $20 for a Christmas Candlelight upgrade. To put that into perspective, the gate price for Candlelight Christmas tickets at the Biltmore cost $69 to $79, and do not include a daytime visit at all.

Candlelight Christmas tours are held nightly between Nov. 9 and Dec. 31 except Nov. 20 and 22, and Dec. 24 and 25. Earliest tour time is 5:30.  Daytime tours do not require reservations, and are offered daily.

Weaverville Celebrates the Arts

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Art in AutumnArt SafariWeaverville gears up for its annual street arts festival, hosting more than 100 juried artists for the Art in Autumn festival this Saturday, Sept. 15,  from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Activities take place on Main Street in downtown Weaverville, just two blocks from Inn on Main Street B&B. The popular festival includes live music and food booths. We still have vacancies this weekend, so give us a call at 877-873-6074.

Another arts event close to our hearts is the Weaverville Art Safari, this year to be held on the last weekend of October. The preview party on Friday, Oct. 26, promises to be as much fun and rewarding as ever, with dozens of door prizes and a silent auction. This event has been the model for Asheville area arts events since it began more than a decade ago. The tour involves self-guided visits to local artists’ studios on Saturday and Sunday. Again, we still have rooms available at our bed and breakfast.

Labor Day and leaf color

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The dogwoods are among the first to change color each year.

The dogwoods are among the first to change color each year at Inn on Main Street.

Visitors are already asking about the autumn leaf change here in the North Carolina mountains, and the forecast is good for Asheville and Weaverville.

No, we can’t tell you what day will be the leaf peak for any given location. We’ve actually seen some bursts of color already in trees here and there, but I suspect that has more to do with how dry our summer has been.

And a dry summer is a good thing for leaf peepers. Local leaf experts say the drier the summer, the more vibrant the colors. Asheville has had a dry summer, and Weaverville has lived up to its former name of Dry Ridge.

We still have good availability for October, the month in which every day is the leaf peak at some elevation or another. In fact, we still have rooms available for Labor Day weekend. And now that we have pooch-friendly rooms, you can bring Fido for a traipse in the woods now that days have grown cooler.

More zoom at the inn

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Guest Maka rides Navitat's zipline

Guest Maka rides Navitat’s zipline

We are very excited to begin a partnership with Navitat Canopy Tours, named one of the top 10 zipline adventures in America by USA Today. Navitat recently was host to the stars of “The Hunger Games,” which was filmed largely in the woods near the ziplines in Barnardsville.We’ve paired a day of zipping, rappeling and other mountain adventures at Navitat with an old favorite of our guests: a one-hour soak in a private tub at Hot Springs Spa.  Heck, if you book a third night at Inn on Main Street in Weaverville, we can book your whitewater rafting as well.To celebrate our new Zip and Dip package, we’re offering it at the midweek price of $569 per couple for the rest of this year, even on weekends and holidays. That includes two nights in a premium room as well. Of course, Navitat stays busy, so that’s subject to availability. Book early.

Teachers need a vacation, too.

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Being a former teacher (Nancy taught special education for 22 years), we know how important a break from the classroom is for anyone in the profession. It can be a time to renew, refresh and reflect.

We have hosted many teachers over the years at the Inn on Main Street. Teachers truly need a vacation.Some come with other friends, some with their significant others, some solo. Dan and I have heard stories, similar ones from across the country, of the stresses of dealing with more and more paperwork, difficult parents, behavior problems, too much testing, lack of classroom supplies, teacher cuts, low salaries. And yet I hear and feel their love of working with children and making a difference in their lives.

Teachers need to take care of themselves.

I’d like to think that we provide a respite for teachers to get away, relax, destress, and let someone else take care of their needs for a change.
We can suggest a quiet walk to take, a yoga class, a cooling waterfall to sit and reflect by, a zipline to get you energized, a crazy tour to laugh your head off, a filling food tour of Asheville with a little history included or just a porch to sit and relax with a good book and a refreshing glass of herbal iced tea.

The choice is yours, but we hope you’ll choose Inn on Main Street for your last chance at a summer vacation.

Inn on Main Street goes dog friendly

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Small dogs can now experience Inn on Main Street’s charms.

We love dogs at Inn on Main Street. It’s been hard all these years when folks asked if we were dog-friendly to have to say no. We just wanted to cater to guests who wanted a healthy allergen-free environment.

 Our own loveable mutt, greeter dog Tasha, lived outside, and even preferred it on the coldest nights when we tried to make her comfortable in our apartment. The call of the wild trumped confinement.

But we can understand when bringing man’s best friend along to Weaverville feels better than leaving him in a kennel. So we found a happy medium. We’re permitting dogs in the Garden and Forest rooms, while still keeping the main house pet- and dander-free.

 We’ve had to say no to a lot of nice folks who have wanted to stay with us. Now we want to welcome them and their furry friends. Please check out our pet policy if you’d like to bring Fido on your next trip to Asheville and the mountains.

Bele Chere fills Asheville Bed and Breakfasts

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Bele Chere Festival is Asheville’s version of Mardi Gras – music, food, crowds, sun, a giant party scene.  Something for everyone, young and old. Some want to be right near the action, day and into the late night, and so Asheville is the place to be.  But if you want to visit the largest street festival in the Southeast, and then feel you can get away from it all to our quiet relaxing porch in the small town of Weaverville, then Inn on Main Street is where you want to stay. We’ll direct you to the less congested remote lots where you can take a shuttle to and from the festival.

Of course, some want to avoid the craziness of Asheville altogether and have a great place to stay, walk to restaurants without huge waiting lines, and enjoy some of the live music that Blue Mountain Pizza or Jack of Hearts has to offer. Your choice.  Either way, Dan and Nancy will make your stay relaxing, comfortable and peaceful.  Give us a call.

 

 

 

A great deal on an Asheville area B&B

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Loyalty is important to us at Inn on Main Street; we cherish our repeat and referral guests, and want to treat them best. The best deals should go to those who book early and book often.

So here’s our new deal, available only to former guests and those they refer, and those who subscribe to the Inn on Main Street blog or Facebook page.

Stay two consecutive nights or longer between now and October, and take $25 off the cost of each night. Any room, any days of week.If you already booked a stay between July 6 and Sept. 30, let us know and we’ll apply the discount.

Just mention our Loyalty Special when you book, or write it in the notes area if you book online and we’ll subtract the discount. We can’t combine that with the extended-stay discount or other discounts we may offer from time to time, but it does apply to all our packages, such as Soaking Soulmates, Girlfriend Getaway, and Raft and Relax. Also, you must book directly with us by phone or via our web site online .

Hope to see you soon.

If you haven’t seen the fantastic segment UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Weekend” did in Inn on Main Street, see the YouTube version at http://youtu.be/lx7NUvE0THU .