The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge

We loved our first stay at The Ballantyne. The hotel, rooms and grounds are lovely. The staff is gracious, friendly and helpful. The restaurants are terrific. The Ballantyne is a gem!

The resort itself is lovely. Every employee I encountered was friendly and helpful. The meals we had there were excellent, particularly the burgers at the pool. Ah, the pool. They make it look like a big, beautiful oasis. It's not. We arrived at the resort at about noon on a Friday and the pool was PACKED. There were no chairs available. They have about 200 rooms and maybe, MAYBE, 80 chairs. We decided to try the 'indoor' pool. This would have been somewhat enjoyable had there been some chairs available on the deck area outside the indoor pool, but no. So we basically sat in our room all of Friday afternoon because the pools were full. We got up early on Sat and secured 2 chairs at about 830AM. Mind you, the pool was already 75% full at 830AM. There were the usual rude a-holes who put a towel down at 8 and then go back to bed. This practice needs to be policed IMO. I will say they did have 2 people taking names and trying to get guests seated at the pool. I do not consider this a 'luxury' experience. Securing a chair at the pool at a 'luxury resort' in July shouldn't feel like The Hunger Games. The music out there was great tho. 80's rock and pop. At 1PM they started the live music. It was awful. Talk about depressing. I'll never stay there again.

Booked a day at the spa. What a waste of money! I get a better pedicure at my local nail salon! Not professional and over promised under delivered. Room was a mess with electrical cords all over the place, cabinet doors open, loud conversations among employees. The facial was okay, but the provider had nothing positive to say to me. Won’t go back.

We have travelled a lot and the Ballantyne stands out from the rest. Pricey- but you get what you pay for. Plenty of parking. Extensive choices for eating and drinking. Service from all staff was impeccable. Concierge staff were at the top of their game- day & night. Perfect mattresses and attention to detail everywhere you looked. It was a perfect wedding venue befitting the celebration of marriage between two outstanding young military officers.

TL;DR: Beds not good, parking pain to depart, check in long wait. Positives indoor pool, afternoon tea, gallery restaurant and spa. Not planning on returning unless for tea or brunch at gallery. I've now stayed here twice within 10 months. Both times I've found the staff quite kind and helpful. The rooms clean and as depicted. Hotel and grounds very well maintained. Love the walkability to restaurants and bars. Room Beds are not up to a luxury hotel standards. I found both beds to be a springy mattress with a worn out pillow top. Quite literally a pain on the back. Bedding is Frette and quite soft and cozy. Bathroom has Molton Brown products. Super bougie brand so I think that is on par with the hotel being luxury. I bring my own shampoo and conditioner because of my 3A curly hair doesn't get along with the shampoo and conditioner. Both the water pressure and hot levels are exceptional. I was not lacking warm water and did actually turn it a bit cooler than my usual setting at home. So I've a bit of a bone to pick on the minibar. There is a listed price for all the items. Great! Was a bit surprised on the bill to find the $3 can of soda and $18 container of dark sea salt chocolates to be listed as $3.99 and $22.41. That's more than the sales tax in Mecklenburg. Upon reading the fine print on the minibar there is a 24% service fee on top of the 8.25% sales tax. Given that the minibar is stocked and no one is running this items to the room like room service, I'm a bit confused on the service charge as anything but a small additional little money grab. Little sneaky and tacky vibes about it. Gallery restaurant I have written a separate 5 star review and very much so like the restaurant. Afternoon tea Afternoon tea I absolutely love and greatly enjoy. Lovely tea and tiered plate selections. This is a must for me, absolutely love it. I've attended with my partner as well as solo. Solo I sat and read a book it was great! Even if traveling solo still a lovely nice experience! Parking I think the price of parking has changed. It is now $20 to self park and $30 to valet. This is all clear on the app and website before booking. Spouse was understandably less than thrilled when he walked out to the car with all our luggage, loaded the car and began to drive to the hotel to pick me up only to be locked into the parking lot. The room key card that opens this parking was deactivated apparently at check out time. Well no one wants to be schlepping around in muggy hot weather at noon to come back to the hotel and find out why it isn't working. He had to have the card reactivated, then walk back to the car, then bring the car up. Waste of time and irritation. Hotel common space I found all common and public spaces clean and tidy. Both elevators have been working, in good service and clean. There is a complimentary coffee and tea station in the bar space in the morning. They also have some grab and go items for purchase. I made tea and drank it on the veranda. None of the grab and go items spoke to me so I went to the gallery restaurant. Spa I've been to the spa last trip and enjoyed my facial and massage. Mani pedi was ok... women's spa space has a sauna and steam room. A quiet waiting area with teas and water. Showers, restrooms and a locker space. Indoor pool Love that they have an indoor and outdoor pool. Super easy for me to get burned so I use the indoor ones. The interior space is quite lovely at the interior pool. A few notes of items needing attention. The rectangular hot tub has quite a thick layer of scrum on the tiles above the water level. Requested additional pillows when checking in ahead of time on the app. Those were not in the room and I had to request them. If you want a tea kettle in room you've to request that and tea. Wish it was easier in app or pre check in to do. I am not sure that we will be back anytime soon as I don't find their beds comfy and relaxing. Hotel, amenities, afternoon tea and brunch overall I like. I wish they would join other properties that had a memory foam type bed with a more firm supportive with slats. Rather than springy mattress on a box spring.