North Carolina · 12 Hotels Listed · The Southern Highlands' Crown
Highlands
Four thousand feet up, where Atlanta old money summers in cashmere even in July. The South's most refined small town — and one of its most quietly luxurious.
Four thousand feet up, where Atlanta old money summers in cashmere even in July. The South's most refined small town — and one of its most quietly luxurious.
Ranked by overall occasion score. Every property verified, priced, and visited in 2025–2026.
"Forbes Travel Guide's only Five-Star property in the Southern Appalachians. Main Street's stone-and-timber flagship — and the reason Highlands has a luxury map at all."
"Old Edwards' adults-only sister farm. Fourteen acres, a private pond, all-inclusive rates — the most romantic address in Western North Carolina."
"A 1929 lodge reborn in 2021 with a designer's eye and a Frank Lloyd Wright pedigree. Oak Steakhouse and an infinity pool over the gorge."
"The 2022 boutique reinvention of a 1930s lodge — eighteen rooms, a tavern called The Ruffed Grouse, and the right amount of plaid."
"Main Street's classic mid-priced address — a wraparound porch, walking distance to the bookshop, and a clientele that has summered here for decades."
"Open since 1880 and still on Main Street — the town's oldest hotel, with rocking chairs older than most of Atlanta's law firms."
"Family-owned, family-run — the unfashionable answer to a luxury question. Cottages with kitchens, a creek, and rates that haven't kept up with Main Street."
"A small, quietly modern hotel for travellers who'd rather not be at Old Edwards. Mountain rooms, an honest breakfast, no fuss."
"Walking distance to the shops, parking that's actually possible, and balconies pointed at the right side of the ridge. A working hotel for working budgets."
"Ten minutes south in Cashiers — a 1922 family resort renovated by Beall + Thomas. A lake, a golf course, and a dress code that still applies at dinner."
Highlands earned its honeymoon reputation honestly — a four-thousand-foot elevation, a single walkable Main Street, and a luxury hotel with the only Forbes Five-Star spa in the Southern Appalachians. The choice is essentially three: Old Edwards Inn for the iconic in-town flagship, Half-Mile Farm for the adults-only rural sister property, and Skyline Lodge for couples who want the design-led, hidden-on-a-mountain alternative.
Forbes Five-Star spa. Madison's restaurant. Main Street. From $750/night.
Adults-only, all-inclusive, fourteen acres of pond and pasture. From $650/night.
A 1929 lodge reimagined for 2021. Infinity pool above the gorge. From $480/night.
Cool air, mountain water, and an elevation that does the work for you — Highlands is a wellness destination by geography before it is one by design. Old Edwards Inn operates the region's only Forbes-recognised spa and is the obvious starting point. Skyline Lodge sits on Flat Mountain Road with infinity views and trail access. High Hampton in Cashiers offers the most complete restorative resort programme in the region — Hampton Lake swimming, hiking to Rock Mountain, and meals that respect the kitchen garden.
The Spa at Old Edwards — Forbes Five-Star, the only such rating between Atlanta and Asheville.
Our ranked list, with the one-sentence verdict on each.
The only Forbes Five-Star property in the Southern Appalachians — the address that made Highlands a luxury destination.
The adults-only rural sister to Old Edwards — fourteen pastoral acres and the most romantic inclusive rate in the South.
A 1929 mountain lodge reborn in 2021 — Oak Steakhouse downstairs, an infinity pool over the gorge.
The 2022 boutique reinvention of a 1930s lodge — eighteen rooms, a tavern, and the right kind of plaid.
The classic Main Street address — a wraparound porch and a clientele that has summered here for forty years.
Family-owned cottages with kitchens — the unfashionable answer to a luxury question.
A small, quietly modern hotel for travellers who'd rather not be at Old Edwards.
A working hotel for working budgets — walkable to Main Street, with the right ridge in view.
Ten minutes south — a 1922 lakefront resort with a renovated lodge and a dress code at dinner.
Highlands is a seasonal town — and not seasonal in the European sense, where everything stays open and rates merely fluctuate. Winter genuinely closes much of it. The proper season runs Memorial Day through Labor Day for the family summer crowd, who arrive from Atlanta and Charlotte to escape the heat in cashmere weather. At 4,118 feet — the highest incorporated town east of the Mississippi — Highlands routinely sits twenty degrees cooler than the cities below. September and October bring the second peak: Blue Ridge fall foliage at its Southern best, with rates that match the leaves. May is quieter, greener, and the rhododendron bloom is genuine. November through March, much of Main Street shutters; serious visitors come anyway, for the empty hiking trails and the rates at their annual floor — but expect closures and limited dining.
Main Street is the obvious answer for first-time visitors — the village runs about four blocks long, and the best of Highlands is walkable from any address on it. The Old Edwards campus stretches across both sides of Main with the inn, restaurants, and spa all within a hundred yards of one another. Wade Hampton Golf Club and Highlands Country Club sit a few minutes east of the village, in private-club country where the houses get larger and the gates more discreet. Whiteside Mountain and Devil's Courthouse are fifteen minutes east as well — the natural Highlands, with serious hiking and the kind of clifftop views that explain the elevation. Cashiers, ten minutes south on Highway 107, is the peripheral alternative — quieter, slightly more low-country in feel, and home to High Hampton on Hampton Lake. For a first Highlands visit, Main Street wins; for a second, the rural compounds are the better choice.
Old Edwards Inn rooms run $700 to $2,000+ per night depending on season and category — fall foliage weekends and the Memorial Day/Labor Day shoulders are the peaks. Half-Mile Farm rates include meals and run $600–$900 per night per couple in season. Skyline Lodge and Highlander Mountain House occupy the boutique tier at $400–$600. The classic Main Street properties — Park on Main, Highlands Inn — sit at $250–$350. Off-season rates (mid-November through mid-April, where hotels remain open at all) drop 25–40%. Cottage rentals and family-owned properties like Mitchell's Lodge offer the most honest value for longer stays.
Book Old Edwards Inn and Half-Mile Farm at least six months ahead for fall foliage weekends in October — they sell out earlier than any property in the Southeast. Summer weekends from late June through Labor Day require similar lead time. There is no major airport in Highlands. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) is the most common gateway at roughly 2.5 hours by car; Asheville (AVL) sits 1.5 hours north and is the better choice if direct flights work; Charlotte (CLT) is approximately three hours east. The drive in from any direction is part of the experience — winding two-lane Highway 28 from Franklin or Highway 107 from Cashiers — but the grades are steep and snow occasionally closes the road in winter. The Spa at Old Edwards books out before rooms during peak season; reserve treatments simultaneously with accommodation. North Carolina occupancy and sales taxes total approximately 13%.
Standard American tipping applies and is expected. Bellman and porters: $3–5 per bag. Housekeeping: $5–10 per night, left daily rather than at checkout. Concierge for a difficult dinner reservation or activity booking: $15–30 depending on effort. Spa treatments: 18–20% of the treatment cost, often added automatically at Forbes-rated properties; check the bill before tipping again. Restaurants: 18–20% on pre-tax total is standard; many groups now add automatic gratuity for parties of six or more. Valet parking: $3–5 on retrieval. Drivers and shuttle services arranged by the concierge: $5–10 per trip.
Other Southern destinations worth your consideration.
Tell us your occasion and we'll narrow it down. Honeymoon, wellness retreat, fall-foliage anniversary, family summer — Highlands has the right address for each.
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