Albemarle Inn

The Albemarle Inn is the classic Asheville bed-and-breakfast experience done at a high level. It occupies a stately 1909 Neoclassical Revival mansion in the Grove Park district of north Asheville, a leafy neighborhood of early-1900s homes at the foot of Sunset Mountain, built when a trolley line made it the address of choice for the city's wealthy. Inside, the grand staircase with ornate woodwork sets the tone, and the eleven guest rooms are individually decorated with canopy, sleigh and brass beds and period furnishings. Breakfast is a highlight: a three-course meal served at private tables on a sun porch overlooking the gardens, moving to the dining room by the fireplace in winter. The house has an unusual history. It was a doctor's private residence, then a school, then an arts school, and in the 1940s a rooming house — during which the Hungarian composer Bela Bartok lived here in 1943 and worked on his Third Piano Concerto, sometimes called the Asheville Concerto, said to be inspired by the birdsong in the gardens. It became a bed-and-breakfast in 1980 and has earned a AAA Four Diamond rating. The location is quiet and residential, about a ten-minute drive from downtown and close to the Omni Grove Park Inn for spa visits and sunset drinks on its terrace. Honest notes: as a historic B&B, it suits adults better than young children, rooms vary in size and layout, and you will drive or ride to dinner. Fit: couples above all, first-timers who want a gracious, personal welcome, and art and music lovers drawn by the Bartok story.

The inn's owners have run it as a classic, high-touch B&B, emphasizing breakfast, gardens and personal recommendations — the kind of stay where the hosts help plan your days. The Grove Park neighborhood itself is worth a stroll, with its early-20th-century homes and the historic Grove Park Inn up the hill.