My wife and I planned a motorcycle trip on our Harleys with our close friends Jeff & Liz to Asheville, NC during the autumn of '06. We live in Westchester County, NY and Willow Winds (WW) was the mid-point (and one of the best place we stayed) on our 3,100+ mile (round-trip) journey.
From our initial contact with Patty at WW roughly 8 months before our trip... the team at WW helped define excellence in customer service, attention to details, and overall hospitality. In fact, a couple of weeks before our trip, we got an e-mail from Willow Winds asking us if there anything they could do for us to make the cabin extra special before we arrived, e.g., stock the cupboards, extra pillows (we availed ourselves of this), newspapers, etc.
WW is "motorcycle friendly". While this appellation normally has a negative effect on most, you should know that fewer than 1% of all motorcyclists create the image that impacts the other 99% of us i.e., I am a clinical psychologist who now consults with corporate America on brand development and management.
We stayed in "Mom's Cabin" and though we saw pictures on the net, we were not prepared for how comfortable and spacious the cabin was for the four of us. There is a TV in the living room and another in one of the bedrooms. Beds were comfortable and, most importantly, the showers (there are two full bathrooms!) were hot with lots of pressure. Space in each bedroom is well-planned but just a bit tight. This is by no means an issue since spent only sleeping hours in these rooms. Also, each bedroom opens to the lower deck with the jetted-spa.
The first four days of our journey were plagued with heavy rain (including our stay at WW - each afternoon) so we made good use of the cabib's washer/dryer. Worked like a charm!
All cabins have high-speed internet connects so we could stay in contact with home and office.
If you do not have the staff pre-stock the kitchen, there are coffee filters already in the room. However, you will need to buy all groceries including salt & pepper, sugar, coffee (critical!), eggs, etc.
The overall layout is very comfy and we did spend time in front of the TV.
The view from the deck is relaxing (see pics) and do not be surprised to see parents and their children hiking the trails. Also, do not be suprised to hear the the sounds of children laughing and having fun on the putting green.
Oh, Mom's cabin does have one special feature that the four us found particularly charming - a 'special' visitor each morning - "Squirrely Dude"! This adorable furry creature visited us each morning, tapped on the sliding door to the deck and 'asked' for breakfast. (See pics) Clearly this creature has trained many historical cabin guests and accordingly has his own routine that we humans need to accommodate. He likes cereal (Special K) and fruit.
WW is conveniently located less than 8 miles from the airport . We rented a car since it was raining. (We may be bikers but "we be smart-bikers".) We toured the Biltmore Estate - VERY (perhaps too) EXPENSIVE ($50pp) and, on the weekends in the summers, VERY crowded. If you do go... don't miss having lunch at the winery. Almost worth the cost of entry.
Breakfast was always at the cabin. Dinners included - Harbor Inn Seafood (*** - loud but very good food and service), La Caterina Trattoria (**** - good service, good food), and Rezaz Mediterranian Cuisine (***** - GREAT service - ask for Mythrun as a waiter - superb food!).
If you cannot handle starry skies and SILENCE at night...do not stay here.
One major tip - if Bele Chere festival is not your primary reason for being in Asheville, DO NOT PLAN TO BE IN THIS CITY DURING THIS EVENT!!!!!! If you have a fantasy that motorcycle events are loud and overwhelming, this major arts and music festival fills the city to over-capacity, closes down the downtown area to all motorized traffic, and makes getting around problematic. Oh, and some of the folks are louder than the pipes on a Harley! *LOL*
In conclusion, not only do we HIGHLY recommend WW, we are planning a return trip in summers to come!