Asheville, North Carolina’s enchanting Princess Anne Hotel and the thrillingly contemporary Element Asheville Downtown – Perfect for the Holidays or Any Season – Really!
By Cathy H. Burroughs, International Travel Writer and Adventure Blogger, journeypod.com 
It has become something of a winter holiday tradition to visit the charming mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina, home to America’s largest private home, steamboat and railroad tycoon George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate.  Asheville is an extraordinary architectural hotbed – a time capsule where time has literally stood still since the pre-Depression 1920’s. Amidst this hip “New Age” urban mecca with its panoply of Art Deco, Beaux Arts, Victorian, Neoclassical and more architectural styles, we found two perfect lodgings. 
 

Together, the essence of these two accommodations celebrate this village-like city’s unique history and legacy: Known for both its environmentally friendly, healing-hub as “The Land of the Sky,” and for its cultural, artistic and culinary refinement as “The Paris of the South.” The two places we were fortunate enough to hang our hats during our weeklong stay were the romantic and stunning 1924 gem the Princess Anne Hotel (hence “Paris) and the dramatic, architecturally-contemporary glass/ light-infused Element Asheville Downtown (hence “Sky”). This is one of the Marriott’s line of ingeniously innovative nature-saluting showplaces.

 
The two hotels represent two diametrically opposed aspects of Asheville’s heart from its history book splendor to its contemporary commitment to cutting edge atonement —the PrincessAnne Hotel and the Element Asheville Downtown equally provide, and exceed, an indelible hospitality experience. 
Both have on offer suites with well-thought out kitchenettes; delectable breakfast spreads and afternoon repasts; cold filtered water stands; affordable rates; impressive workout capabilities (Element’s terrific gym and heated pool! Princess Anne with its free YMCA passes); glorious, albeit quite different, hearths and indoor/ outdoor porch or balcony seating.  Both Element and Princess Anne have outdoor fire pits and Element has an outdoor barbecuing courtyard annex.
    
 
Both have plenty of parking and a dedication to a pro-green agenda and environmental awareness. Together they demonstrate  an exceptional attention to exquisite detail that cover the gamut, displaying a sensory rich and eye-catching sense of design, culinary pleasures,  and notably – an obliging, welcoming and engaging staff. Coincidentally, both venues are pet friendly –  safe havens for pet-lovers and Princess Anne has a beautiful wedding and special event set-up.
 
 
Princess Anne Hotel 
 
Part inn, part boutique hotel, part lodge and part historic B&B, the 16-room (with various types), privately owned* Princess Anne Hotel with its award-winning preservation and fascinating backstory, dates from Asheville’s 1920’s heyday. It is truly one-of-a-kind and not to be missed.
From the moment we pulled up to her elegant glass-paneled entrance, caught sight of the lobby’s classic Victorian holiday tree centerpiece, in and outdoor decorative holiday greenery with soundtrack of French torch songs, we were fully entranced!
 
Met at the front desk reception by the gregarious Jenni, her colorful fashion sense and astute music choices only heightened the hotel’s immediate appeal and allure. The lobby decor is enchanting, and on one side, is the drawing room with piano, fireplace, eclectic and comfortable  furnishings, thoughtfully arranged. The adjoining library has books and games (as did hallway reading crannies) with alfresco circular porch seating. On the other side of the lobby was a cafe-style dining room with all day coffee and tea service. 
 
We were not prepared for the next morning’s gourmet selection of custom-made breakfasts by their very own resident Chef Ness (Vanessa Whidden).  Each guest has their choice and there are many with new specialties each day of sausage quiche, stuffed French toast, pesto flatbread with scrambled eggs, granola plate, breakfast burritos, and all the classics – waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage, fruit, and and even an array of sophisticated craft breakfast cocktails. Each plate is adorned with purple edible flowers, with extra juice, coffees and teas available – some in silver ornate service.
 
That afternoon’s 4:30 pm – 6 pm (and every afternoon) wine and hors d’oeuvres hour exceeded any notion of what such an expansive and generous nosh of this caliber could be. The hotel’s 5-star in-house chef had prepared bacon wrapped figs, stuffed olives, vegetable skewers, shrimp wontons, a charcuterie of honeyed ham, gourmet cheeses delicately sliced and arranged, dried fruits, homemade breads and an array of home cooked cakes and cookies at the ready throughout the day and eve. The wines were way above the standard fare and there were non-alcoholic selections and chiseled glasses of ice unhesitatingly offered up.
 
We could take the hotel’s original-appearing 2-3 person miniature elevator up to our rooms or walk the sweeping, curving staircase that offered a tantalizing lobby view while ascending. Our room also is eclectically furnished, the perfect combination of vintage and comfort with original woodblock prints, a seating area with comfy leather couch, comprehensive kitchen with Nespresso machine and ensuite tiled shower/ bath with high end toiletries. Some suites have original claw foot tubs as well.
 
We got special dispensation to extend the fireplace time and warmed by the toasty fire late into the night where we met a delightful young couple who had flown in from Brooklyn for a last minute getaway. We were all entirely beguiled, and wholly captivated. 
 
Element Asheville Downtown
 
It was painful to depart the Princess Anne Hotel but we would not be disappointed long and would soon enough surrender to the Element Asheville Downtown: its buoyant and airy contemporary multi-leveled architecture; outdoor fire pit; all glass top floor seasonal patio;  free any time and for as long as you like two bicycles (sculpturally disassembled in the lobby window – surprise!); its Blue Ridge Mountain vistas and best skyline view in the city! This hotel with its extended stay feature is the gift that just keeps giving.
 
There are many nooks where you can gather in large or intimate groups, coffee, tea, filtered water station throughout the day and a Monday through Thursday Happy Hour craft wine and beer with charcuterie platter reception. Breakfast is included and a lively affair with cool soundtrack, in a dining area next to a posh multi-seating, sun-drenched, over-sized living and seating area. 
 
The yummy, mini-omelet eggettes, breakfast wraps with avocado, pancakes, waffles, sausage; yogurt, bagel and cereal bars; granola and fresh fruit are all there. This buffet and continental hot breakfast varies daily and is definitely prepared with both tastiness and health in mind. The areas fun vibe is a place where hotel guests may gather in a shared space with fellow inhabitants. There are highly convenient laundry facilities  on this level as well.
All 100 rooms (there are four types) are suites with living room and kitchenette (it even has a dishwasher and pink smiley face sponge for good measure), and some have a privacy door that separates the bedroom from the living room (as ours did!). There is a wall-sized custom, state-of-the-art computer tv screen that is etched with your name as well as original prints on the walls. Even the dogs have custom name magnets so housekeeping can call the canine guests by their proper names, making them feel right at home as well.
 
We highly recommend our sixth floor corner two room suite handsomely and compactly furnished with uber comfortable beds and sublime bedding. Notable features were its breath-taking balcony with surround glassy, unsurpassed views from every angle: You have before you the entire city and skyscape that inspired hometown literary giant Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel. From this vantage you can glimpse the country’s largest freestanding elliptical domed basilica, evoking Florence, Italy’s famed Duomo.
 
We arrived during the Yuletide holidays with the soaring 14 and 20 foot decorated trees, wreathes and aqua and lime color festoons, but the hotel is invigorating and exhilarating any time of the year. Its eco-friendly, contemporary sunshine-filled structure and original earth and sport-themed sculptural, installations and terrariums all serve as a beacon to our planet’s well being as well as our health and vitality, the region’s sportiness, biodiversity, and considerable natural and rugged beauty.
The list of singular features go on and on: heated pool, original bike seat, and imaginative out-of-door themed art installations on its walls and surfaces, its open concept meeting/breakfast area with gorgeous furnishings, epic raw wood conference table, extra computers, the best selection of conscious coffee table books and theatrical, multiple style large orb lighting .
 
Element definitely exudes its own stylishly exuberant and life-affirming spirit – all totally and joyfully infectious!
Princess Anne Hotel
An Eden Property
301 East Chestnut Street
Asheville, NC 28801
866-552-0986/ 828-258-0986
Check on their special events schedule 
and their wedding planning as well.
 
Element Asheville Downtown
62 College Place
Asheville, NC 28801
828-575-5881
Fun Things To Do in Asheville coming up:
                   GraylineAsheville.com
LaZoomTours.com
 
Big thank you to Mike and Colleen Eden and Elizabeth Ross, owners and the Princess Anne Hotel’s outstanding team and to Scott Kerchner, General Manager and the fabulous reception crew at the Element Asheville Downtown.
Travel writer/ blogger Cathy H. Burroughs loves to travel throughout the SE, the US, Europe and the world. Her articles have appeared widely in the international supplement of The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, Backstage Magazine, Dance Magazine and many others. Visiting Asheville, NC is a special holiday treat and its history, local color and culture are so plentiful, she uncovers more and more each visit as new layers are excavated. She is the staff Adventure Writer and Blogger for www.journeypod.comand many of her blogs can be found on this site and elsewhere.