Hotel Domestique

Hotel Domestique rates 4.5 stars. (I almost never give 5). It is a small boutique hotel located in the foothills of the Smokies about 20 miles north of Greenville South Carolina and 40 miles south of Asheville. Aside from hotel structures, there is not another building in sight. The hotel has the appearance of a European Château. It was built about the year 2000 as a private residence and winery. The setting is quite beautiful . It is nothing like your average Marriott or Hilton. There is not another commercial enterprise anywhere close. The hotel was purchased about 10 yeas ago by George Hincapie and his brother. George was a notable professional cyclist and teammate of Lance Armstrong in theTour de France rides. The hotel caters primarily to cyclists and markets itself as facilitating outstanding riding. In that regard, we were somewhat disappointed. The riding is on lightly traveled rural roads,, offers challenging hills, but the scenery is not outstanding.. The road surfaces are often rough. They improve greatly when you cross over into NC from SC. Inside you have a small boutique hotel very nicely done with a living room type waiting area, library, ice water, snacks, coffee, outdoor patio, pool, hot tub, The rooms are large, comfortable, lots of storage, drying rack for your bike clothes. One minor complaint - they are somewhat dark and would benefit greatly from a lamp on the table between the 2 easy chairs. I echo the positive comments from other reviewers re the staff. The attached restaurant is excellent. All of this is costly. The hotel is a bit pricey, $450 per night when we were there, roughly twice the price of the better hotels in Greenville. I leave it to the reader to make a value judgement. We liked it enough to probably return and give the cycling another shot.

Not our first visit to HD and it won’t be our last. It’s been minute since we last stayed here and there have been some changes and all for the better. The magic that has always been this unique hotel with its southern charm, amazing staff, great food and perfect location for riding all remain. But things have been elevated. The staff have got more helpful, calm, knowledge and helpful beyond belief. Some changes are small, the TV in the room greets you, the turn down is better, there is background music in the reception. Then there are the bigger changes good all day, bar open all day, the pool area is even more welcoming. It’s made our favorite place in the mountains even more desirable. Congrats HD team. Oh and if you rode a bike there is no better staging post to ride.

The staff are outstanding and the location and ambiance equally so. Staff went out of their way to address needs and to created the kind of atmosphere the bride and groom were looking for.

Attended a wedding. Have never experienced such excellent service. Room was clean, comfortable and beautiful. Staff was friendly and attentive and went above and beyond any expectations. Food was excellent. Having traveled all over the US and overseas, this was one of the best experiences I have had. Will stay here again and highly recommend.

The perfect hotel for a peaceful retreat. I was able to do yoga outside by the pool with a view of the mountains. The instructor was knowledgeable engaging. As this hotel is pet friendly we had our two dogs with us. They had just as much fun as we did. The staff was extremely accommodating and treat us and our pets like family.