The Best Hotels in Highlands

Perched in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the tiny, slightly-too-charming town of Highlands, Old Edwards Inn is a Forbes Four Star hotel where every room arrives with antiques, fine Italian linens, and complimentary champagne, which sets a tone the rest of the stay works hard to maintain. A 25,000-square-foot spa draws on its own herb garden, and a heated outdoor mineral pool handles the altitude nicely. Cottages are available for guests who prefer their elegance with a front porch.

Fourteen rooms with record players and hand-sewn quilts sit just a short walk from downtown Highlands, where the Blue Ridge does its best to look cinematic. Outpost Inn is a small motel that plays like a summer camp for adults, with campfires, screened porches, and a wood-paneled lobby that invites lingering. The vibe is mid-century mountain, deliberately unhurried, and the Michelin Guide has it among its selected hotels.

A Nordic spa on wooded Blue Ridge grounds, with a cold plunge, sauna, and hot tub, sets the tone at this mountain retreat outside Highlands. The log cabin supper club serves Southern cooking, renovated rooms lean into local character, and the property sits close enough to town that you don't feel stranded. Hikers, fly fishers, and rock climbers tend to fill the place, returning to the spa with the particular satisfaction of having earned it.