Overlooking a 640-acre lake rimmed with trees providing cooling shade in summer, brilliant colors in fall and a sense of quiet seclusion year-round, The Greystone Inn, a six-level stone mansion sequestered in North Carolina’s mountains, is recognized as a world-class romantic getaway.
When it opened in 1985, the Greystone Inn received AAA’s coveted Four Diamond Award, the first country inn in the state to do so. The Inn won it every year since, making it the second longest Four Diamond recipient in the state. (The Carolina Inn in Pinehurst has won every year since 1981.)
“We are a small, quaint, comfortable inn with a rich, romantic history and lots of personality,” said Clark Lovelace, general manager. “However, we have world class amenities and service.”
Recent awards include a 2006 Reader’s Choice Award from Conde Nast Traveler’s magazine rating the inn the 15th best stay in the United States, a Southern Magazine choice as one of the eight “Most Romantic Spots,” and one of the “500 Best Hotels and Resorts in the World” by Travel & Leisure magazine in 2005 and 2006.
Near Cashiers
Tucked away inside the Lake Toxaway community near Cashiers, the Swiss-style mansion was built as a second home in 1915 by Savannah, Georgia native and socialite Lucy Camp Armstrong Moltz, who was attracted by the spectacular beauty of the mountains and the gathering of the rich and famous.
Across the lake at that time, the Toxaway Inn hosted people like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, John D. Rockefeller and other elite members of society and business. Lucy often was hostess to friends staying at the Inn.
The Lake’s dam broke in 1916 and the Toxaway Inn closed but Lucy lived in her Swiss-style mansion until 1963, two years after a second, modern dam was built and the man-made lake restored.
The 16,000 square foot Inn, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, today holds 19 guest rooms, each individually furnished with antiques, reproductions and unique appointments that may include a porch, fireplace or stunning lake view.
Below the mansion is Hillmont, a modern, three-story facility with 12 luxury rooms, each with a private porch overlooking the lake, gas fireplace to ward off winter’s chill, and spacious bathroom with oversized Jacuzzi.
Finally, two lakeside suites in a cottage next door can hold families or multiple traveling companions. Huge, private screened-in porches are perfect for afternoon drinks. Below, Sothys Signature Spa offers pampering, European treatments.
Hammocks and Hikes
At more than 3,000 feet above sea level, seasons are clearly defined with light winter snows, spring flowers, summer sunsets and dazzling autumn foliage.
Summertime attracts golfers to the private Kris Spence golf course available to guests, cooling hikes on mountain trails, lazy swinging on lakeside hammocks, frolicking in the lake or pool, roaming nearby tennis courts, kayaking, fishing or just rocking in wooden chairs on the stone patio overlooking the lake.
Anytime of the year, Miss Lucy, a 26-passenger wooden boat with removable windows, is launched on a Lake Toxaway evening champagne cruise with the pilot regaling riders with local tales of the area’s history and romance..
The Mansion’s huge front sun porch hosts afternoon tea and cakes, hors d’oeuvres are enjoyed in front of the lobby’s wood-burning fireplace, and dinner is a six-course meal served in the jackets-required Lakeside Dining room. Breakfast and dinner are included in the room price.
“Seeing is believing,” gushes Lovelace. “We have so many pluses, we couldn’t make them up. Trust me, you’ll have a good time.” – Tom Crosby |
