 Tar
Heel Travels
Right: The Fearrington House near Pittsboro gets
five stars from Triple A and Mobil
Best Inns and
Restaurants
Some surprising omissions mark
this year's rankings
By Bill F. Hensley
In
other parts of this magazine, readers can find out where their
favorite golf courses rank in the annual poll of the state’s top 100
courses. Since sleeping and eating well are vital to an enjoyable
trip, let’s take the ratings game a step further and talk about
North Carolina hotels and restaurants and how they are perceived by
two rating services.
The American Automobile Association (AAA), in its newest ratings,
lists one Five-Diamond hotel, 18 Four-Diamond properties and 11
Four-Diamond restaurants. The Mobil service, however, is less
generous, naming one Five-Star inn and restaurant, only five Four-Star
inns and three Four-Star restaurants.
Without a doubt, the state’s most highly regarded inn and restaurant
is the Fearrington House near Pittsboro, which rates Five Diamonds and
Five Stars, the only Tar Heel property to do so.
Richard Delany, general manager of the Fearrington House, explains
that to reach the top in both rating services, it took “an acute
attention to detail throughout the hotel. From the quality of the
linens, to the soap, feather beds, fresh flowers in the rooms, the décor,
and the cleanliness of the rooms and grounds. Everything must be
flawless.”
But Delany says the most important factor is service. “Great food
and great service separate one hotel from another. Our staff provides
the inn’s personality. … We try not to overlook even the smallest
detail.”
Tim Lovelace, owner of the Greystone Inn at Lake Toxaway, has seen his
hostelry receive Four Diamonds each year for the past 16 years. “I
was a novice when I got into the accommodations business, so I
listened a lot,” he says. “I mingle with the guests every day at
afternoon teas and on the boat ride I host. Whatever a guest wants, we
try to provide.”
If there is a flaw in the rating process, it shows up in the case of
the Sanderling Inn, one of the nation’s best-known resorts in Duck
on the Outer Banks.
Since its inception, the Sanderling has established an impeccable
reputation for luxury, and it has an enviable annual occupancy rate.
The inn has been named America’s 20th best resort by Condé Nast
magazine and received national acclaim from Travel and Leisure
magazine, Successful Meetings, Wine Spectator and the Washingtonian.
Yet the Sanderling gets only Three Diamonds from AAA. “Ratings are
mysterious, in a way,” says Sanderling general manager Tina Berger,
a 16-year veteran at the Outer Banks property. “I understand that we
are penalized for not having 24-hour room service and 24-hour bellman
service, and some other minor factors that we feel are not essential.
We know what we have and what our guests expect, and our track record
is exemplary.”
In looking over the list of Four-Diamond and Four-Star properties,
several of my favorites are missing, such as the Holly Inn, Pine
Needles and Mid Pines in Southern Pines, the Hound Ears Lodge near
Blowing Rock, and the Esmeralda Inn in Chimney Rock. Those places, to
me, are truly outstanding.
Surprisingly, the Angus Barn near Raleigh, one of the state’s most
popular restaurants for years, is not an AAA Four-Diamond facility,
although it received Four Stars from Mobil. Other highly regarded
restaurants that missed out are Nobles, which operates in three North
Carolina cities, the Palm in Charlotte, and the 42nd Street Oyster Bar
in Raleigh.
Here are the AAA listings:
 Five-Diamond —
Fearrington House, Pittsboro (inn and restaurant).
Four-Diamond — Inn on
Biltmore Estate, Richmond Hill Inn and Grove Park Inn, Asheville;
Lovil House, Boone; Carolina Inn and Sienna Hotel, Chapel Hill; Omni
Hotel, Park Hotel and Hilton Towers, Charlotte; Washington Duke Inn,
Durham; Innisfree Victorian Inn, Glenville; Grandover Resort and O.
Henry Hotel, Greensboro; Greystone Inn, Lake Toxaway; First Colony
Inn, Nags Head; Carolina Hotel, Pinehurst; Pine Crest Inn, Wilmington;
and Greystone Inn, Wilmington.
Four-Diamond restaurants
— Gabrielle’s at Richmond Hill; Horizons, Asheville; Il Palio
Ristorante, Chapel Hill; La Bibliotheque, McNinch House and
Etienne’s Townhouse, Charlotte; The Fairview at the Washington Duke
and Four Square, Durham; Di Valletta, Greensboro; 1895 Room,
Pinehurst; and The Pine Crest Inn, Tryon.
Five-Star inn (Mobil) —
Fearrington House.
Four-Star inns — Eseeola
Lodge, Linville; Park Hotel, Charlotte; Pinehurst Resort; Richmond
Hill; and The Swag, Maggie Valley.
Four-Star restaurants —
Fearrington House; Angus Barn, Raleigh; Carolina Crossroads, Chapel
Hill; LaVecchia’s, Charlotte.
Now you know where to stay and where to eat. But don’t ignore a lot
of great places that didn’t make the all-star lists. Just as in
golf, some of your favorites may have been overlooked … the same as
in golf.
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