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The Green Park Inn: A Mountain Jewel
The Green Park Inn is an extraordinary jewel of a hotel tucked in the heart of North Carolina Blue Ridge country. The hotel has a distinguished charm that begins the second you step through the double doors into the grand restored lobby. This is no ordinary hotel. Details are everything and the Green Park Inn has lots of special details that give it an old world charm and a soul unlike any other.
The Inn is housed in a Victorian style manor originally constructed in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. It is perfectly situated on the 10th fairway of the Blowing Rock Country Club and Golf Course in the beautiful city of Blowing Rock, NC. Known for its cool temperatures and central mountain location, Blowing Rock has become one of North Carolina’s premier mountain towns.
From the moment you arrive, you will be transported to a time past. The green horse and buggy at the entrance have the same green paint that lends its unmistakable color to the shutters on the exterior of the hotel. Once inside, you will be greeted by the friendly concierge who will pull your room key from an old-fashioned key box—and not just any key—we are talking about real, metal keys!
The lobby area is also home to the two restaurants on hotel property. The Library at the Green Park Restaurant and the Divide Tavern & Restaurant, open to the public, each has their own unique style. The Library at the Green Park Restaurant is the perfect place to have a romantic dinner in a cozy dining room. The Divide Tavern & Restaurant, named for the fact that the Inn sits on the Eastern Continental Divide, is unmistakably a bar—but a bar with attitude. The stained-glass windows and soft lighting instantly give you a retro feeling. The lobby also houses a game room with real board games. Next to the game room is owner Ella Wrenn’s own collection of antiques for sale in the hotel’s antique and gift shop.
Historically, the inn has been a retreat for many famous individuals. Quite a few of the world’s most exclusive gentlemen’s club, the President of the United States, have stayed at the Green Park Inn. That list includes Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. In its early days, the Green Park Inn was a full-fledged community with its own resident Doctor and post office. Many of the foods that were prepared at the hotel were grown or produced on the grounds of the hotel.
Even though modern conveniences have changed the way the hotel does business, owners Ronnie and Ella Wrenn do not want the Green Park to lose its old-world charm. In the hotel business for many years before purchasing the Green Park, the Wrenn’s understand what it takes to make guests happy. The hotel has 87 elegantly furnished rooms, each decorated true to Green Park form. The Inn also offer guests a large swimming pool, spa services, conference rooms, on premises catering, exercise facilities, and all the conveniences you would expect—all with a Victorian feel.
Undergoing renovations, the Green Park Inn will never “lose the feel” of the original hotel, says Inn manager Stephen Love. He says that the owners believe the hotel should never lose her original character and stateliness. The Green Park Inn is known for being different. Guests come to the Green Park Inn expecting a classy establishment and experience. Even though renovations are necessary to maintain such a large estate, the owners are determined to make the hotel retain its original architecture.
The Inn is minutes from the downtown Blowing Rock area and directly across the street from the legendary “rock” itself! Shopping, dining, skiing, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Boone, Appalachian State University, and many other attractions are within a few minutes distance of the Green Park. Whether you want roadside mountain vendors or the bustle of the Tanger Factory Outlets, Blowing Rock offers some of the best shopping in the North Carolina Mountains. If family activity is on your agenda, plan a stop at The Tweetsie Railroad. An old-fashioned steam engine train ride through the mountains can take the entire family into the past. Complete with a gun battle and possibly a train robbery, this train ride is one that the family will not forget anytime soon.
Green Park Inn visitors will no doubt be drawn to the elegance of the front porch area. The green and white rockers invite passersby to take a “load off” and relax in the cool mountain breezes. Sometimes fog creeps into the front porch area causing the hotel to have a dreamy look. No matter what the weather, Blowing Rock and the Green Park Inn have activities waiting.
The Green Park Inn offers everything you could desire in a hotel along with a perfect Victorian atmosphere. Once you arrive you will believe you have been transported back a hundred years. The old-fashioned elegance blended with the contemporary conveniences gives you the best of both worlds. The Green Park Inn is truly a mountain jewel. Guests will fall in love with the grandeur of the estate. Head on up to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and stop in at the Green Park Inn. The hotel stands waiting for guests of all ages year round!
INFORMATION:
Reservations: 1-800-852-2462
Local Phone: 828-295-3141
Email: info@greenparkinn.com
Conveniently Located on Highway 321 in Blowing Rock, NC
by Leslie W. Cothren
