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By Tom Crosby
(June 2008) The Carolina Inn, located next to the campus of the University of North Carolina, exudes a genteel, Southern charm that befits a hotel that has been around since 1924 and seamlessly bridges the gap between history and today.
Located in the city of Chapel Hill and a AAA-rated Four Diamond historic inn since 1990, the Inn and its also AAA-rated Four Diamond Carolina Crossroads Restaurant sit where a small New Hope Episcopal chapel was located more than 200 years ago at a trading crossroads.
The town of Chapel Hill derived its name from that chapel.
Owned by the University since 1935 and managed professionally by Doubletree Hotels Corp., which oversaw a $15.5 million renovation in 1994, the Inn today lives by its founder’s motto - “A cheerful inn for visitors.”
When people come to see the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the first time, they often choose to stay at the Carolina Inn because of its location in the midst of the campus.
 The next time they choose to stay at Carolina Inn is usually because it mirrors the essence of traditional Southern hospitality and charm with a colonial style exterior, crisp and immaculately maintained white trim and woodwork interior and a service minded staff.
The strategic use of natural light, the pale yellow and white-on white contrasts and the brick facade and patio areas create a Southern feel and charm.
The Inn’s style and service have won numerous awards, from the AAA Four Diamond Award, to winning Doubletree’s internal CARE Cup for having the highest guest satisfaction rating of any of the 132 properties Doubletree owns or manages.
“The CARE Cup is a tribute to the consistently friendly, responsive, professional, caring service that our staff provides to each other and to our guests each day,” said General Manager Creston Woods.
And add to the charm light, bright colors and daily fresh flowers that one staffer described as “like a beautiful southern mansion decked out in it’s best spring dress.”
Guests typically enter from McCauley Street, driving up a u-shaped driveway surrounded by the Inn. The self-parking, 200 (?) space paved lot is to the right and a little further on, beneath the beginning of a brick verandah, is a valet parking stand (cost: $7 a day).
Straight ahead is the three-story brick Inn with a covered, two story- high outside sitting area with wicker chairs and benches for relaxation and offset with five two-story high green columns and green shutters bracketing more than two-dozen white-paned windows. It’s an exceptionally warm and friendly scene in the evening.
 LOBBY
Entering the lobby, a large circular table with a bouquet for fresh flowers sits atop an oriental rug underneath an eight-light crystal chandelier.
The massive, rectangular-shaped lobby boasts four other smaller chandeliers that hang above half-a-dozen couches and love seats co mingled with more than a dozen stuffed chairs and half a dozen cushioned wooden chairs in at least eight separate group sitting areas.
White ionic columns break up the lobby into several intimate seating areas. The polished pine floor’s sheen is broken up by lightbrown rugs - rimmed with pink borders and decorated with a red floral design.
Potted plants, small tables with lamps, coffee tables, desks and other classic artifacts are strategically placed up and down the lobby. At the left end of the lobby an octagonal, leather-covered poker-style table awaits players.
Registering guests turn right to reach the marble-topped check-in desk, where everyone receives with their room key a warm chocolate chip cookie that is so good, greedy return guests often ask for seconds.
Behind the desk, a huge metal wall plaque reads:
“The Carolina Inn was built in 1924 and given in 1935 to the University of North Carolina by John Sprunt Hill ‘89; his wife, Annie Watts Hill; and their children: Ceogre Watts Hill ‘22; Valinda Hill Dubose and Frances Hill Fox. This generous gift offers a cheerful inn for visitors, a town hall for the state and a home for returning sons and daughters of alma mater. It is here gratefully recognized by order of the president and the board of trustees.”
Opposite the check-in desk, the concierge desk and a small breakfront stocked with local attraction brochures and magazines provide helpful information.
HALLWAYS
Straight down the hallway past the check-in desk is the gift shop, with national and local newspapers for sale, on the left. At the end of the corridor, a door leads outside to a small semi-circular brick verandah with a waist-high wrought-iron bannister and tables overlooking a carefully manicured green lawn surrounded by a five-foot-high brick wall and shaded by a towering maple tree.
On the right before the exit, is the Sunroom, with a small board room for meetings and card games.
Access to rooms on the right side of the Inn, are through a corridor on the left, past the check-in desk, to the elevator. Vending machines are next to the elevators above the first floor.
The Inn’s guest-room hallways have a floral design on the wall-to wall red and green carpet. On most floors, corners and nooks with bay window areas find couches and chairs, next to an antique circular wooden table with a lamp and house phone.
White-on-white enamel wooden chair railings along the halls divide the softly-diffused, white-striped wall paper. On the walls, you may find concave mirrors in gold and blue nautical frames or numbered prints of flowers or plants. Windows have white-on-white enameled, double-slot, southern-style, wooden plantation shutters.
The hallways on each end of the lobby provide the spine of the hotel.
Going left from the entrance beyond the lobby, the elevator for this side of the hotel is found on the left.
Continuing down the hallway, past the elevator is the windowed, garden walkway with black and white checkered tile floor. The wall of white-paned windows on the right of the walkway gives it a sunroom glow, aided by potted plants and cushioned benches. On a sunny, but cold, winter day, it is a great area to sit and chat or read a book.
On the non-window side is a gallery of photographs of UNC Chancellors and a breakfront with antique dishes and wedding photographs. Further along on the right are entrances to various meeting rooms and the two grand ballrooms.
Returning to the main hallway and continuing down the corridor, there are historic photos of the Inn on the walls and a written history of the evolutionary changes at the Inn.
One series shows that lobby and ballroom were built for the Inn’s cafeteria which has been in three different locations within the Inn during its 78-year existence and now is known as the AAA-rated Four Diamond Carolina Crossroads restaurant.
 Along the corridor, additional meeting rooms are on the right host weddings, receptions and special events. At the corridor’s end, a right turn takes you to narrower hallway with the Carolina Crossroads Restaurant on the left, the Carolina Bar on the right.
A breakfront along the wall holds cups, saucers and plates previously used in the restaurant. After having an original Asian influenced floral design, new china was purchased in the late 1940s with a romantic view of the front of the Inn intentionally resembling “Tara” from Gone With the Wind.
A second “pine” design and the Tara design were eventually replaced with the current china introduced in 1994 (?).
Further down this hallway are the north and south parlors with hallway walls decorated with famous Zuber wallpaper outdoor scenes, including one of Niagara Falls.
PUBLIC ROOMS
Originally known as the Reception Room and Ladies’ Parlor, the Reception Room (North Parlor today) was “masculine” for all-male gatherings (the university was all-male in 1924) and the Ladies’ Parlor (South Parlor today) was for ladies and being sensitive to that era’s mores, the power room was discreetly located to the left of the fireplace and blended with the rooms French Louis XV and XVI decorative style. These are the only two rooms in the Inn to retain their original size, shape and fireplace surrounds.
Other public rooms with their own unique history are the Club Room, designed for informal faculty meetings in 1940 and now a small meeting room boasting some of the most elegant architectural detailing at the Inn; the Old Well Room, once the Inn’s original ballroom and backdrop for a television show and now a meeting room for medium sized events; and the lobby, which once was the Carolina Inn Cafeteria and a popular student dining spot with good food at low prices until the cafeteria was moved in 1940. The current lobby conversion occurred in 1969, when the main entrance moved from Cameron Avenue to Pittsboro Street.
 GUEST ROOMS
Some of the most interesting rooms, however, are the 184 unique and idiosyncratic guest rooms (some have hosted U.S. Presidents) and individual temperature controls.
A typical room might have a light brown carpet, stuffed chair and floor lamp, glass covered desk with lamp, a phone and Guest Services Directory. The desk also contains Inn logo stationery, envelopes, postcards and guest survey. A dataport, two telephone lines and voice mail in every room also makes it convenient for business travelers.
Beds have headboards and drapes usually match the bed cover design.
Overlong pillows are the norm but smaller pillows can be found behind the closet’s louvered doors, along with bathrobes, an extra blanket, ironing board and iron.
On the bedstands, next to the radio or phone, are notepads with the Carolina Inn logo.
Walls most often have a lightly dusted yellow patterned wallpaper.
Windows use pull curtain rods and some rooms and suites have window seats.
Most of the armories have three clothes drawers, a shelf area for ice bucket, glasses and cups and a coffee pot. (The hotel supplies two Diplomat coffee bags; one regular and one decaffeinated). A television set occupies one part of the armoire and gets 12 free channels, plus pay-for view movies. A video game keyboard is available.
Bathrooms have pedestal sinks, chrome hardware and wall make-up mirrors. Sink mirror illumination comes from wall-mounted lamps. The typical tub/shower combination has a two level soap dish attached to shower wall.
Bathroom amenities are Institute Swiss - Chamomile shampoo and conditioner, Comfrey and Ginsing clarifying soap bars, shower cap and tissues.
With its history, the Carolina Inn is a true college Inn history, but it has the feel of a luxury, destination resort.
Special amenities: Public rest rooms have hand towels with the Inn’s logo and scented “Holly of Bath” bottle soap dispensers; a private Card room allows guests to play cards, watch TV with others or just meet fellow travelers; the garden hallway outside the ballrooms always adds a touch of cheerfulness; delivery of a free copy of USA Today Monday thru Friday; a smoking areas on the brick verandah outside the Carolina Bar where you can watch outside fraternity house activities and the traffic flow along Cameron and Columbia streets; a CARE phone line for special guest requests; the walking and jogging maps available at the front desk, the smallish and usually uninhabited fitness room open from 6 am - 11 pm or the complementary membership at a nearby gym. (Updated June 2008)
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