Posted July 31, 2009 by Jamie Moore
You know you're in the right place for romance when your destination has an entire 200-page guide with activities dedicated to the subject. And, in Asheville, many of these won't break the bank. Hold hands strolling through downtown (the Paris of the south), fall for each other on a waterfall hike, and get cozy at a 19th-century Victorian bed-and-breakfast.
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Downtown Asheville: Wandering through a European city is the perfect way to spend a romantic afternoon. Downtown Asheville has European charms without the expensive transatlantic flight. Brick-lined alleyways meander past art deco architecture, boutiques, and European-style sidewalk cafes, including an authentic chocolaterie. Downtown's lively street scene—with buskers, street festivals, and art galleries galore—will woo you two for free.
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Waterfall hike: Refresh your romance on a waterfall hike in the North Carolina mountains just outside of Asheville. Start small with a rainforest walk to the 120-foot Rainbow Falls, then head over to the highest waterfall east of the Rockies—the Upper Whitewater Falls, where water plummets a heart-stopping 411 feet. Hickory Nut Falls may be slightly smaller (404 feet) but the trail to get there—the dramatic Skyline-Cliff Trail—has views to inspire and complement any number of romantic moments.
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A Bed of Roses: A romantic weekend needs the right accommodations, and this Victorian bed-and-breakfast has it all—beautiful gardens, sumptuous rooms, private baths (some with whirlpool tubs), and a gourmet Southern breakfast. Heat things up and ask for a room with a fireplace, or book the "Romantic Retreat" package. The inn is located only five blocks from Asheville's vibrant downtown and world-class restaurants and cafes. The best part is it's priced to suit every budget with rooms ranging from $109 to $209.
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(Photo: Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau)
Posted August 29, 2008 by Zak Patten
Who says eco-travel has to mean wearing mosquito netting while avoiding quicksand in a Central American rainforest? Certainly not Hilton Hotels, which is about to have a pair of properties with greener roofs—and last time I checked, neither Asheville nor Baltimore is anywhere near Costa Rica.
What's most interesting about these two projects is that they achieve eco-positive status in two completely different ways. According to Green Lodging News, Asheville's new Hilton Hotel in Biltmore Park Town Square is focused on cutting emissions and fuel costs by installing a "large-scale solar water heating system" on its roof. The new system is expected to supply the 165-room hotel with over 2,000 gallons of hot water per day, and save an estimated $10,000 per year in energy costs, all while giving the hotel a much smaller carbon footprint. In doing so, the Hilton Asheville is set to become one of the first major hotel s in the country to use the sun's energy to heat its water. Combined with "an energy optimization program, the use of recycled, nontoxic and local materials, and the installation of Low-E materials throughout the entire hotel," the fancy solar roof may make this one of the greenest big hotels in the U.S.
The new $300 million, 757-room Hilton Baltimore is also going green, but instead of solar panels, the roofs on its east and west buildings will be home to a 32,000-square-foot garden. With six species and tens of thousands of plantsthis won't look like Grandma's backyard. As The Green Meeting notes, such roofs "are used to provide urban habitat to wildlife, reduce storm runoff, improve air and water quality, lower temperatures and boost aesthetics." So while you may not be able to take an environmentally friendly shower at the Hilton Baltimore, at least all those plants are a lot nicer to look at than a roof full of solar panels. Either way, it's nice to see Hilton blazing an eco-travel trail—without all the bugs.
(Photo: dvorak.org)
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