A fall road trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway

A hybrid road trip itinerary for the Blue Ridge Parkway
The parkway begins 20 miles southwest of Charlottesville, VA, where hotel options are limited (especially if the University of Virginia is playing a home game). For a wider selection, head to Richmond, the state capital and home to a great music scene and nightlife in the historic Shockoe Bottom district. The Jefferson Hotel, provides easy access to Shockoe in a century-old setting, replete enough charm to make this hotel the destination of choice for hundreds of honeymooning couples annually. As one of only 27 hotels in the country to have earned both carry both a Mobil Five Star and AA Five Diamond rating, there is a certain elegance that the staff works hard, and quite successfully, to maintain.

Among the largest cities situated directly off the parkway, Roanoke is a good choice after the first day of driving. The Hotel Roanoke is located right across (by a glass enclosed pedestrian walkway) from the downtown shopping and entertainment area. The hotel itself was constructed in 1882 by railroad tycoon Frederick J. Kimball, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The front desk keeps freshly baked cookies warm and ready to present to guests upon check in.

For a less urban experience, try spending a night in Blowing Rock, N.C. This mountain town has been attracting visitors since the late 19^th Century, when it gained renown for its cool summer temperatures and fresh, cleansing air. Innkeepers Scott Seaman and Christopher Brantley do an impeccable job with their Blowing Rock Victorian Inn, an intimate Victorian home turned Bed and Breakfast. Many of the rooms have fireplaces and hot tubs,  and Scott has devised his own breakfast specialties. For a more private experience, the same innkeepers also run the Roaring River Chalets, private riverside cabins perfect for two.

The city of Asheville is famous as the forward-thinking, musical and cultural center of the region. Among the town slogans: “Asheville: Where it’s weird to be normal.” Along with this quirkiness comes a range of bed and breakfasts, perhaps none as unique as the 1900 Inn on Montford, where Ron and Lynn Carlson have converted the second floor of a rear house into a 1300-square-foot citadel, complete with projection screen, 12-jet Shiatsu massage hot tub and a walk-in steam room. Local Bluegrass musician Ben Scales makes regular appearances in the inn’s main parlor, where he regales the guests with stories of an unlikely life as a tropical lawyer. For a more time-honored Asheville elegance, try the Grove Park Inn, a labyrinthine granite hotel constructed in 1912 that has hosted no less than eight U.S. presidents. Some of the specialty suites are indistinguishable from trendy urban art galleries, and the sweeping mountain views from any of the hotel’s massive rear balconies are art displays in themselves.

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After a few days in the mountains, it’s natural to yearn for a breath of seaside air, and Asheville is only a four hour drive away from the celebrated ports of Charleston, S.C. The Planters Inn is something approaching the epitome of Southern charm. The guest room windows overlook the city’s Old Market area, where dozens of shops, restaurants and cultural attractions, not to mention the scenic waterfront, are in easy walking distance. Most convenient is the hotel’s in-house restaurant, the Peninsula Grill, where a sumptuous menu includes sophisticated takes on regional delicacies like Lowcountry oyster stew and lobster-basil hushpuppies. The bartender also mixes a mean “Dixie Manhattan,” like the original whisky Manhattan, but with added Southern clout in the form of Wild Turkey Honey Liquor mixed into the bourbon.

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