Omni Grove Park Inn

Travelogue

The Omni Grove Park Inn, tucked amid North Carolina's spectacular swath of the Blue Ridge Mountains, can name drop with the best of them. Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Henry Ford, Jack Nicklaus, President Obama, F. Scott Fitzgerald and James Taylor have all graced the property. The first thing you'll notice is the original hotel, a vestige from a bygone era. The exterior walls were wrought with granite boulders, some weighing 10,000 pounds, and are five-feet thick. Two modern wings flank either side of the hotel, and under it all is a see-it-to-believe-it 43,000-square-foot subterranean spa. For those who prefer the great outdoors, check out the 6,400-yard Donald Ross-designed resort layout. Diminutive by today's standards, the course still oozes character and is in impeccable condition. What it lacks in distance it makes up for in strategy, creativity and unapologetic fun. The tee box on the 332-yard 15th hole is an ideal spot to soak in the mountain views and crack open a beer from one of Asheville's myriad craft breweries.