Today, Grove Park’s once-hushed lobby adjoins a craft-beer pub named after Edison, which, like the Grove’s other eateries, boasts the farm-to-table flavors for which Asheville is known. Indeed, the inn adds to the city’s appeal as an epicurean destination.
Continuing its legacy as a healthful retreat, Grove Park offers modern luxury with a state-of-the-art, subterranean spa. Director Ellen McGinnis explains that the spa’s design, amenities, and signature treatments are driven by the theme of “fire, rock, water, and light.”
The walls and ceiling surrounding the lap and mineral pools echo the mountainous surroundings with stone features throughout. For an added ethereal touch, when one dips beneath the water’s surface, music plays. On cold winter evenings, spa guests can enjoy fireplaces on the heated pool deck.
Grove Park’s abiding message has been delicately painted on the Grand Hall fireplace mantel since its opening: “Take from this hearth its warmth; from this room its charm; from this inn its amity. Return them not—But return.” With romantic walks in the woods, couples’ spa treatments, and evenings of dining and even some impromptu dancing, the Grove Park Inn continues to give visitors every reason to come back.
By Annalise DeVries
Photography by Stephanie Melbourne
Discover more travel destinations by ordering your Southern Lady subscription today.
