- Children's programs for ages 3 to 12
- 50,000-square-foot sports complex
- Indoor and outdoor pools
About The Grove Park Inn
Asheville, NC
Arriving at the mountaintop resort that is Grove Park certainly is impressive. The granite boulder-covered resort stands majestically before sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. One of the Historic Hotels of America, Grove Park broke ground in 1912 and flourished in the 1920s in a time when guests were not allowed alcohol and were discouraged from bringing children. F. Scott Fitzgerald took up residence in the hotel's halls in the summers of 1935 and 1936, and the resort languished in the golden age of the 1950s. Through a number of restorations and renovations, the resort remains an old-fashioned yet luxurious destination resort, albeit it one that now welcomes children wholeheartedly. Today, the children's programs keep kids 3 to 12 outdoors and having fun, while parents enjoy the slope-side golf course, the beyond-believable spa, or a quiet drink from the sunset terrace.
During the resort's long history, 10 presidents and countless celebrities have stayed in the very rooms your family can stay in today. Doors are fastened with small plaques announcing which famous person rested their head inside the room, and what year. Guests have included magicians Harry Houdini and David Copperfield; actors Anthony Hopkins, Danny Glover and Gene Hackman; writers F. Scott Fitzgerald; dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov; Olympians Dorothy Hamill and Viktor Petrenko; presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Franklin D. Roosevelt; and even a beloved mouse by the name of Mickey.
The hotel's mascot, Major Bear, is featured everywhere in Grove Park Inn, from children's books sold in the resort's stores to stuffed bears kids will want to take home to appearances from the fuzzy bear himself.
Written by Lissa Poirot
Best Other Southeast Family Hotels
- Tots (0-2)
- Kids (3-6)
- Kids (7-9)
- Tweens (10-12)
- Teens (13+)
- Golf
- Hiking
- Skiing
- Children's Program
- Cribs
- Family Room 5+
- Kitchenettes
- Onsite Dining
- Refrigerator
- Pool
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