Zelda Dearest

Zelda Dearest is the South Slope's most romantic boutique stay, a hotel built around a literary love story with real Asheville roots. F. Scott Fitzgerald spent long stretches in Asheville in the 1930s, and Zelda Fitzgerald was treated at a hospital here in her final years; the hotel, named for her, channels the Jazz Age through rich colors, patterned wallpapers, vintage-inspired furniture and a moody, intimate design that feels more like a stylish private house than a chain property. It is a small hotel, and that is the point: personal service, a quiet atmosphere and rooms designed for couples. The location is ideal for an evening-focused trip. The South Slope is Asheville's brewery district, with many of the city's best-known taprooms and brewpubs within a few blocks, The Orange Peel music venue nearby, and downtown's restaurants a short walk up the hill; the Grove Arcade and the Basilica of St. Lawrence are close too. The hotel is part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, bookable through Hilton, which brings loyalty points to an independent experience. Practical honesty: on-site self-parking is available for a daily fee, but there is no valet; the property is not designed for families with young children; and South Slope streets can be lively on weekend nights. Fit: couples above all — anniversaries, proposals, girls' trips — plus beer travelers who want to walk home from the taprooms and first-timers who want a stay with a strong sense of place.

The Fitzgerald connection gives the hotel its personality: F. Scott wrote and recuperated in Asheville in the mid-1930s, and Zelda spent her final years in treatment at Highland Hospital, where she died in a fire in 1948. The hotel honors her as an artist and writer in her own right, with literary and Jazz Age touches throughout rather than heavy-handed theming.