My wife and I along with grandson, Ben, made a quick trip to Asheville to visit the family and check out the remodeling progress at Applewood Manor. The stately bed and breakfast is a hundred and nine years old. Her years have given her class, and she is looking pretty darn good. The guest rooms and common areas have all been upgraded and renovated while retaining the estate’s historic character. New furnishings and rugs are period appropriate. The art, much of it original, is quite impressive. To accommodate the culinary talent of the Collins’s (especially Robin’s), the existing kitchen has been completely rebuilt as a commercial quality facility. This week, workers will put the finishing touches on the restored porches (my favorite feature) and balconies. When that is done, rocking chairs and other weather appropriate furniture will be returned. Owners Stephen and Robin, have great plans for improving the outdoor space as soon as the porch work wraps up.

Unfortunately, the Manor was fully booked so we stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel on the corner of Montford and Haywood Street. Until recently it was known as the Hyatt Place prior to being purchased by DoubleTree. Its restaurant, called Montford on Top, was featured in my story about Asheville’s roof top bars and restaurants. To read the story go to: https://www.applewoodmanor.com/stories/our-rooftop-views.

The watercolor by Tom Trebing of the Applewood Manor pictured in this post was used for the cover of my book, Stories from Applewood Manor.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Check out the latest book by Tom Collins, Stories from Applewood Manor, that explores Asheville, North Carolina’s History, Mysteries, Ghosts, and Tall Tales.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.