By Carol Gifford
 Ballantyne Resort, The Luxury Collection, is a 126-acre oasis located outside Charlotte’s hectic downtown, the brainchild of Sara Harris and H.C. “Smoky” Bissell, local real estate developers.
The AAA-rated Four Diamond facility opened in 2001 and is the only true resort in the Charlotte area, with a golf course, spa, tennis courts, walking and jogging trails and a 35-room private retreat built on rolling hills and hidden from public view.
Located just 25 minutes from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the resort is on the southern end of Interstate 485, near the border of South Carolina, and just 12 miles from downtown, with its own pad for personal and business helicopters.
Owned and operated by the Bissell Companies, Ballantyne Resort became a member of the Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel in 2005, one of only 80 hotels and resorts in 25 countries. The hotel includes 214 guest rooms, 12 parlor suites and two Presidential suites.
“We know our guests have certain expectations and we try to over-deliver,” says Steve Kalczynksi, general manager. “We distinguish between getting to a destination and being at the destination and we show our guests that Ballantyne Resort is a destination.”
Ballantyne Resort hotel is a contemporary plantation-style Southern hotel with verandas with a soaring two-story Palladian window anchoring the lobby and offering a view of the golf course’s 18th fairway and its sparkling fountain and pond - all framed by the expansive blue Carolina sky.
Polished mahogany wood pilasters flow from floor to a 20-foot high ceiling, interspersed by two-toned creamy wainscoting, creating an ambiance of openness and space. Simple, yet elegant chandeliers and acorn-type lights inspired by a Scottish castle provide subtle and soft illumination. Check-in and concierge areas on either side display large Impressionist pictures of Charlotte from the resort’s exclusive collection. Scattered tastefully about the lobby, lush green trees, plants and fragrant flowers bring a touch of nature inside.
LOBBY
 The center lobby has comfortable couch and chair groupings, hand-loomed rugs from England on a marble floor, and an antique china cabinet, purchased from one of Prince Charles’ offices. A side lounge is a library setting with couches and tables and chairs around a marble fireplace and grand piano for live music around the cocktail hour. Guests can enjoy afternoon English-style tea, served Tuesdays through Saturdays. Another side lounge features a bar with a flat-screen plasma television and tables and leather-backed bar stools for snacks and drinks.
Visible from the veranda that parallels the lobby beyond the golf course is the Lodge at Ballantyne, a rustic, private cedar and stone 40,000 square foot retreat. Designed in the style of a hunting lodge, it has a two-story great room with a stone fireplace, large-screen television and a large balcony with rocking chairs overlooking the golf course. The upstairs loft has two pool tables. Guest rooms, most with private balconies, have custom decors, sitting rooms, and bathrooms with separate jetted Jacuzzi tubs and glass-enclosed showers. Often used for company retreats, it has a 2,000 square foot conference room and four breakout rooms.
BISSELL VISION
The Bissells built Ballantyne Resort, recognizing that Charlotte’s burgeoning growth would follow the expansion and tie-in of two major highways, I-485 and U.S. 521. It is located on land that was part of an almost 2,000-acre hunting preserve formerly owned by Sara Harris’ father. After the highway restructuring, the Bissells decided to pursue a mixed-use development with a residential neighborhood, a golf course, corporate offices, hotels and retail space, all built in a park-like setting named “Ballantyne” to honor an esteemed great-aunt of Sara Bissell.
The Ballantyne Resort anchors the development; the stately white building with a golden-domed cupola has been described as a “Southern plantation on steroids.” Experienced in hotel design and management from their earlier operation of Park Hotel in Charlotte, the Bissells still spent five years planning their new resort, including taking “best practices” trips to five U.S. resorts and exotic locations around the world.
They looked at resort layout, room themes, and appointments, intending to incorporate the best in both the design and operation of their resort. To test and improve the room’s comfort and sophistication, Smoky Bissell first built two “spec” rooms and included all details down to the beds, telephones, electrical outlets and towel holders.
Built in an elongated horseshoe shape, the seven-story resort includes a spa entrance on one end, the hotel main lobby in the middle, and the ballroom and clubhouse on the other end. Each has a separate entrance, linking up inside.
The vibrant colors and rich materials used in the hotel rooms and public areas were designed and chosen by Sara Bissell. She used her interior decorator skills and knowledge and love of antiques to purchase custom furnishings including antique pieces from Paris and England, art and accessories from Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore, and damask curtains.
Exclusive artwork for Ballantyne Resort is also her inspiration; she wanted the artwork to pique visitors’ interest in exploring the city of Charlotte. The collection of Impressionist-style paintings by Vermont artist Thomas Vieth lines the hallways, the culmination of two years’ work by the artist to visit, choose the scenes, sketch, and paint them. It includes 17 oils and 30 watercolors of various uptown Charlotte landmarks such as the Mint Museum, St. Mary’s Church, Bank of America stadium, and the hotel resort. Information on ordering prints from the collection is available in the hotel room guest books.
Original works by French Impressionist artist Yolande Ardissone are also on display throughout the hotel and in the Gallery Restaurant and private dining room. Smoky Bissell purchased the 250-piece collection during a trip to Paris.
The individual rooms were designed to anticipate and accommodate the needs of visitors.
Special details include 13” firm pillow-top Sealy Palatial mattresses, the official bed of Starwood Luxury Collection hotels, Bose CD/radios with remotes, illy Italian espresso coffee machines, and soft, thick robes and slippers. The rooms have 10-foot ceilings, Crown moldings, custom furnishings and two phones and phone lines. The day’s forecast is listed on a small card signed by the housekeeper and left in the room. Room keys and door-hangars have a colorful Vieth print of the hotel. Guests choose to receive either The Wall Street Journal or Charlotte Observer newspaper outside their door in the morning.
Large bathrooms include separate soaking tubs and glass-enclosed showers. The custom two-tier marble vanities were modeled on styles Sara Bissell saw in Europe to allow for extra storage space without massive countertops. Special amenities include lighted, magnified make-up mirrors, marble accessories and Gilchrist and Soames hair, bath and body products.
Suites feature flat-screen plasma televisions, some outdoor balconies, and original artwork. Presidential suites include full-stocked kitchens, dining room seating for eight with antique breakfronts, living rooms with gas fireplaces, and fresh flowers. One suite includes an original painting over the fireplace by Donald Regan, former U.S. Secretary of Treasury and Chief of Staff to Ronald Reagan.
Business and vacationing travelers will appreciate some extra services. Room service dining is available 24 hours a day. Morning coffee ordered weekdays between 6 and 11 a.m. is guaranteed for delivery in 10 minutes. Guests can schedule in-room Swedish or deep tissue massages from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The indoor grotto pool, including a whirlpool and two resistance pools, and the fitness center with Cybex equipment, are both open 24 hours daily.
Other exercise options include outdoor jogging trails ranging from one to three miles long and three tennis courts with instruction by resident tennis pro Peter Marmureanu.
Conference facilities include 20,000 square feet on two levels, including 18 meeting rooms, all with audiovisual and Internet access. A 6,500 square foot ballroom with 16-foot ceilings is available for large events.
“We offer individualized service and can meet the needs of our guests and the demands of meeting planners,” says Kalczynksi, who came to the resort from the St. Regis in Los Angeles and has worked at several luxury hotels.
GOLF
 The par-71, 18-hole Golf Club, designed by Rees Jones, spans 6,735 yards and is located in the resort’s 32,000 square foot clubhouse section. Designated a “Great Golf Resort of the World” by PGA Magazine, it includes a driving range, putting green and a pro shop with custom fittings. Former LPGA pro Dana Rader, ranked by Golf Digest as one of the top 50 instructors in the country, founded the Dana Rader Golf School at the resort. Named by Golf Magazine as one of the top 25 golf schools, it annually attracts about 16,000 students. Visitors could see PGA pros on the course in May when Wachovia Championship pro golfers and teams stay and practice at the resort.
SPA
 Ballantyne Resort’s spa was named one of the top 10 spas in North America by Conde Nast Johansens. The 20,000 square foot facility has 21 treatment rooms and a lounge that overlooks the golf course. Under the direction of Bill Toth, it features massages, facials, pedicures, manicures and body exfoliations; guests can choose from more than 60 spa experiences or ask for a custom treatment. Beau Visage offers guests a photo image of facial skin to analyze the true age of skin, blood flow, and possible skin damage. A full-service hair salon includes three choices based on individual preferences of years of stylist experience. The spa, open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., also offers service to men and couples.
RESTAURANT
The Gallery Restaurant, under the direction of Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert from the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, offers breakfast, lunch and dinner daily and holiday brunches. The eclectic cuisine features market-fresh and regionally influenced fare in artistic presentations, including hamburger from local Baucom’s Farms in Monroe, N.C. with 100 percent grass-fed cattle, and USDA 100 percent graded prime beef from Smithfield Farms in Pennsylvania. The Gallery hamburger has been ranked “the best hamburger in Charlotte” by Charlotte Magazine. Guests can choose to dine privately in the Ardissone Room and select customized menus.
The Gallery’s adjoining bar was renovated in 2007 and includes a custom white onyx bar in dark mahogany wood with a 50” plasma flat-screen television. The bar has an extensive single malt scotch collection of 40 whiskies and recently introduced a Flight School with half-ounce tastings. A cigar collection and extensive wine list is also available. Cigars and cigarettes must be smoked outdoors; beginning in 2008, the entire Ballantyne Resort became a smoke-free facility.
Shops at the resort include the Just B boutique featuring women’s fashions in sizes extra small through extra large, Sara H. Bissell Antique Store specializing in 18th and 19th century antiques with a wide variety of English and continental pieces, the spa shop featuring Vera Bradley accessories, a gift shop with the Vieth Charlotte collection note cards, and the pro shop.
The Bissells often walk around the resort with their Dalmatians looking for ways to improve the facility and several things are planned. A new outdoor swimming pool connected to the indoor grotto pool will open soon. New guest packages with the U.S. National Whitewater Center are available. Cooking school classes offered by the executive chef are underway, and the resort has teamed up with Savannah Shaw, an etiquette and protocol consultant, to offer business etiquette classes for companies and individuals. |
