My wife and I (mid-forties, adventurous, on-our-own type of travelers) just completed a short two day / two night trip through the Asheville area and thought we'd provide a short trip report. Sorry for the length, wasn't sure if I should break it up or not.
Day One: Drove the BRP from Fancy Gap to Asheville. Beautiful drive, not much traffic, leaf color well past peak, but spots of terrific deep reds, burnt orange, and gold. We liked Bluff Mountain and Prince Lake overlooks the best. Took about 4 - 5 hours w/ stops for viewing. Checked in to the Inn at Biltmore Estate after dropping off our little Havanese doggie at "At Play with Sparky" kennel and daycare. To be honest, we had our reservations about the place when we walked through it, but the proximity to the Biltmore tipped the scales. Haven't picked her up yet, so not sure how to rate the place (will do so later). Got a smokin' rate at the Inn at Biltmore ($199 / night), and we'd say we're satisfied with the place but all the extras are very pricey (food and drink especially). Would probably choose to stay off-property next time to save a few bucks, because being on property added some inconvenience to seeing the rest of Asheville (driving to town, finding restaurants, etc.). Dinner was at Zambra's and Limone's. I would highly recommend both. Zambra's is a cool, hip, dark Tapa's spot. Sat at the bar, had a few tapas and a glass of wine. Get the pan-seared scallops and butternut chipotle soup. Terrific. On to Limone's. Totally different vibe, small, casual, packed, nouveau Mexican fare. Had a little rocky start, but moved to the bar area (again!) and enjoyed everything. The BBQ Duck confit taquitos are out of this world good. Make sure you eat the chipotle peppers buried in the sauce!
Day Two: Toured Biltmore House and Winery after breakfast at Mickey-D's (see above!). Didn't want to pay $20 for an egg and bacon at the Inn, and McD's is right across the street. Oh well... Tour of the house was great, would advise getting Audio Guide. We got one for the both of us, and it seemed to work out well. House tour took about 2 hours or so. We also walked the Gardens and to Bass Pond, which took another hour or so. Wouldn't change a thing about that part. We then went to the winery. IMO, this was very disappointing. First, lunch at the Bistro was very disappointing. $30 for a sandwich, salad, and a Coke, which I could live with if the food was noteworthy. But it wasnt;. So, IMO don't waste the money here. On to the winery itself. Not much of a tour really (compared to anyplace in Napa, WA, Italy, etc.), seemed out of place and more like a "what can we do to make a buck". Wine was disappointing too. So, again, I'd say skip the winery all-together. Called it quits and took off towards downtown. Short side-trip to Grove Park Inn. You have to check this place out. Great location, tremendous views, go out back and sit on the rockers and have a drink. Now downtown. Shopped a little, but finally made it to some brew-pubs! Barley's was okay, great selection, good bartender, not a lot of character to the place though. Was very crowded and popular though. On to Asheville Pizza and Brewery based on a local store owners recommendation. Again, not much on the character side to the bar itself, but the staff there were terrific. Spoke with the GM (Chris) at length, great guy. Try the Ninja Porter, or the IPA. Good stuff. Dinner was at Rezaz in Biltmore Village and was by far our best meal. Kind of a quirky set-up w/ Italian on one side, Mediterranean on the other. Go to the Mediterranean side, sit at the bar (the bartender was fantastic) and order the sweet potato gnochi and butternut squash ravioli. Gnochi was the best I've ever had. Try this place out, it's excellent.
Summary: Great couple of days, didn't really need any more time here to soak it in. Biltmore Estate should take you about half a day. Use your time to explore downtown Asheville. Very funky, Bohemian feel, w/ street musicians everywhere and tons of restaurants, brewpubs, and funky shops to try. Hope this helps.
