We received a complimentary stay at Windsor Boutique Hotel in Asheville in exchange for this post. All opinions and our love for travel remain our own.
I spent my first day of 49 in Asheville, North Carolina, at the Windsor Boutique Hotel. Asheville, North Carolina, is located in western North Carolina’s the Blue Ridge Mountains. Growing up, it was the “big city” from my hometown of Marshall.
Asheville is known for its arts scene, historic architecture, and the Biltmore House. Downtown Asheville offers an Art District of galleries and museums.
We moved to North Carolina in 1982, shortly after my mother remarried. We often traveled to Asheville, and I loved to hear Grandma Fran share stories about growing up here. She had a connection to the Henry Ford Family and played with Gloria Vanderbilt in the Biltmore House as a little girl. Her stepfather, Henry Westall, was the first person to fly an airplane over the Blue Ridge Mountains and into Asheville. The year was 1919.
In the photo above, Henry Westall sits in the cockpit at Baird’s Bottom, present-day Beaver Lake. He flew the plane into Asheville once from Morganton, North Carolina, and again in 1920 from Greenville, South Carolina. He had planned to do some fancy flying on the trip from Greenville. However, one cylinder quit working, and he hovered over Baird’s Bottom for half an hour while his mother rounded up boys to shoo the cows out of the field for him to land.
When he landed, he kissed the plane’s wing, marking the last time he went up in the plane alone.
Twelve years before this historic flight, in 1907, the JD Nelson building was built. Initially, it was built as apartments, but it was a paint store, a drug store, a plumbing company, a grocery, a boarding house, and a hotel through the years. It is a building rich in history and important to the development of Downtown Asheville.
Time crippled downtown Asheville with unsavory characters, and many buildings, including the JD Nelson building, fell into disrepair.
The community has rallied together to restore Asheville, and today, the city is rich in diversity and a hot spot for tourists and locals.
Today, the JD Nelson building stands as the Windsor Boutique Hotel after an investment firm bought the JD Nelson building, did a historical renovation.
Their mission was to keep as much of its architectural detail intact, down to the railings and staircases.
It boasts 14 new luxury suites, each with unique character and charm. Located in the heart of downtown Asheville, on the same block as boutiques and cafes, it’s a destination.
The hotel is on the corner of Walnut Street and Broadway. Step inside, and you’ll be transported to a time combining a historical past and present.
Boutique hotels started in New York in the decade of 1980. They break the rules of traditional accommodation. They aren’t large standardized chains. Instead, they are an added attraction to the traveler.
The Windsor Boutique Hotel magnified our time in Asheville. My husband and I were blown away by the attention to detail. From its location right in the heart of Asheville to the time I spent time engaged in an honest conversation with the front desk people, discussing growing up, the evolution of Asheville, and our appreciation for travel.
It was the perfect stay for introducing my family to the destination, like meeting up with a friend who makes a great tour guide—the location housed in a historically significant building, where history meets elegance.
If you’re new to Asheville, the Windsor also offers their picks for what to do and see.
The beauty of it all seamlessly blends into the property, where it celebrates Asheville’s local flavor and incorporates locally-sourced materials and the city’s heritage through color and art.
We spent time exploring the hotel’s unique personality. It is a fun, quiet, and eccentric hotel. No two hallways were alike. There were common things, like clocks and the art period.
With a mix of modern furniture and antiques, the Windsor Boutique Hotel’s personality is warm and feels like home.
The atmosphere here is intimate. It’s welcoming and warm. It feels like home.
You can enjoy watching people come and go on Broadway Street or tune the world out and read The Wall Street Journal.
You won’t find cookie-cutter decor at the Windsor Boutique Hotel. Its beauty is unique and independent.
I received a call from the hotel the morning of our staff telling me they were excited about our stay, and they asked what our arrival time and plans were for the day.
While we drove the three-and-a-half hours from Martinsville, they prepped and prepared our room to make our stay extraordinary.
My children were in awe of the lobby. There is so much beauty here. They made themselves comfortable.
MacKenzie stated that the Windsor Boutique Hotel had the makings for her to be a Master Instagrammer.
William watched the slideshow of the various rooms while I visited with the staff. He pointed out features that he hoped our room would have when we went upstairs to see it.
My family has a thing for clocks, which seems to be the hotel’s running theme.
One hallways even has this collage of different watch faces that my son couldn’t wait to point out to me.
With a mix of modern furniture and antiques, the Windsor Boutique Hotel’s personality is warm and feels like home.
My children asked me about the unique items and pointed out pieces that fascinated them.
There was plenty of seating.
From the hotel lobby, you can step into Desirant through a wrought-iron gate.
The charm of both the hotel and the boutique shop complements the other.
Desirant is an upscale boutique full of unique items.
Here you’ll find antiques, jewelry, accessories, home decor, apparel, and international and local art.
The setting is a vintage Parisian flea market.
Windsor Boutique Hotel guests get 10% off.
Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy a beverage or snack from the open beverage bar in the lobby.
It’s included in your stay.
We walked up to Windsor’s Room 204, which we would call home for the evening.
The details here were impeccable.
The Windsor Boutique Hotel is a keyless entry hotel.
Instead, you use a four-digit code assigned at the front desk to enter on the keypad of your door.
Step into your room, and you’ll feel you belong.
Our suite was decorated in rich chocolate browns, beige, and pops of color throughout.
The Cottage to Castle custom-made couch was comfortable, and furniture was arranged where you could engage and interact with one another.
The kitchen is small but offers full-size service.
The staff has placed glasses in your freezer should you enjoy some of the local breweries’ offerings or another drink of your choice.
Bringing the local offerings in the room will also be found at the coffee maker.
Each room is stocked with a freshly ground coffee bag from Dynamite Roasting located in Black Mountain, just a few miles up the road.
On top of the fridge was a beautiful box.
I admired it from afar.
My son and husband are better explorers and took it down to investigate
. Inside they found an old painter’s tools.
We marveled at the contents, and created stories about who the painter was, whether they painted people, landscapes, or a particular scene.
It was such a fun find.
The floors are salvaged wood from North Carolina Barns (NC Pedia).
They add so much character to the room; some even wear their original paint.
Western North Carolina is rich in agricultural heritage.
Much of North Carolina was economically based on agriculture, with tobacco being one of the major crops.
The architecture of the barns and outbuildings scattered throughout North Carolina tells this story of the hard-working people and the progression of building techniques through the years.
My son mentioned he didn’t bring enough clothes when he opened the closet to discover a full-size, stacked LG Washer and Dryer.
The bathroom is modern, with a full shower/tub.
The bathroom accessories are by Julie Merrill of JL Merrill Metalworks.
Visitors can find her studio in Asheville at 15B Domino Lane.
The Bathroom Toiletries are Mistral Soap.
The name means a strong, cold northwesterly wind that blows through the Rhône valley and southern France into the Mediterranean, mainly in winter.
It fits in perfectly with the Parisian theme of the hotel, and they smell incredible.
If you love them as much as we do, you can pick up your favorite scents at Desirant, next door to the hotel.
Mistral Soaps are crafted according to a time-honored French soap tradition.
Made with a special mélange of natural and organic ingredients and original perfumes from Grasse, France, these quadruple-milled bar soaps are super dense, long-lasting, luxurious, gentle, and exquisitely fragrant.
The bathroom is spacious, and the towels are plush and absorbent.
We spent time at the clever table made with a clock face, looking at maps and reading through Asheville’s books in the room’s living area.
Our room was a double queen room.
The beds were placed for easy access.
Each room is outfitted with heavy-duty blackout curtains by Housedressings.
They not only add elegance to the room but also keep the city lights out so you can close your eyes and rest comfortably.
My kiddos were delighted to discover the Chocolates next to Chocolate Gems’ pillows across the street from the hotel.
Chocolate Gems, which offers decadent handmade chocolates and gelato, is a few storefronts away.
The hotel does not have its parking, but street parking is available, and there are several city garages nearby, including a new one on the block.
There are two more within two blocks.
After our exciting day discovering Asheville, we threw back the covers and welcomed the comfort of the Colton Mattress Artisan Series “Windsor.”
It was a great night’s sleep.
The closet is filled with luxury.
Black cashmere robes by Kashwere (you can get your own at Desirant next door) await.
You’ll also find a room safe and shelves with more plush towels and luxurious slippers.
There is also a foyer with a mirror and welcoming table and decor.
The Windsor Boutique Hotel doesn’t miss the details in between the building.
The view is tranquil on the other side of the curtains in the bedroom.
We left our room to explore and get a glimpse of this tranquil space, which was even more beautiful than we imagined.
It was a collision of art and nature.
The tree trunks are gracefully swaying outside the windows, the well-groomed rock pathway embellished with moss.
There were beautiful paintings and art on display.
Even the light fixtures seemed part of the art tour as they cast light beams to the ceiling.
We walked Asheville during the cooler evening, and as I received a phone call, the gentleman at the front desk exited the hotel.
He said hello to me by name.
He asked if I was enjoying my stay.
It was exceptional, personal, five-star hospitality.
It made me feel I belonged.
The children had SOL testing the next day, so we checked out early.
The hustle of the city had silenced as we departed.
Our time here was well spent and enjoyed by all of us.
A hotel should be more than just a place to stay.
It should convey a strong sense of place.
It should reflect the area’s heritage.
The Windsor Boutique Hotel in Asheville expresses its personality with guest service, room details, and sharing local offerings with its guests.
These are the qualities that delight and the touches that make you want to return.