Until recently, I had never been on an actual road trip. Oh I’ve driven to and from plenty of vacation destinations, but it has always been a get-there-as-fast-as-you-can situation rather than the multi-stop meander that I associate with a road trip.
So when I had the opportunity to embark on a road trip anchored by a string of Relais & Châteaux properties, the journey offered a rare chance to experience the South’s most storied hotels and celebrated kitchens — I jumped at the chance. The route I drove was an abbreviated version of Relais & Chateaux’s 10-day North and South Carolina journey that also stops in historic Charleston, South Carolina, and Highlands, North Carolina, a sophisticated village in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s one of 17 U.S. routes, which also include a six-night ramble through New England that was curated by the actor Richard Gere (who owns a Relais & Chateaux-member inn in Bedford, New York), and another from Baltimore to Charleston created by Patrick O’Connell, chef, owner, and operator of the renowned Inn at Little Washington in
I’ve stayed at a number of Relais & Chateaux properties over the years and have always loved the discoveries I’ve made at these intimate hotels. What I didn’t know is that the association actually got its start in 1954 when the owners of eight small hotels between Paris and the French Riviera joined forces to promote the scenic route that linked them. They called it the Route du Bonheur — the road to happiness — and it was an immediate success. Washington, Virginia.
More than 70 years later, 144 Routes du Bonheur amble along secondary roadways in Europe, Asia, the U.S., and Canada. It’s a road trip but with a difference. Overnight stops on a Route du Bonheur are at Relais & Chateau properties, where staff and owners use cool, thoughtful, and sometimes quirky experiences to share with guests what they love about their region. On this trip, for instance, I attended a cocktail class that ended with us mixing up a Manhattan using homemade sassafras root syrup. I also tasted (and smelled!) funky farm cheeses, ate French pastries disguised as humble Pop-Tarts, took an impromptu cycle trip along winding country roads, and allowed myself to be led through a mesmerizing sound bath. Even better, since everything is coordinated, late checkouts, early arrivals, box lunches, and parking have been thought through and handled before you’ve put the first suitcase into the car. It’s the joy of travel, curated but not cookie-cutter.
My first stops were Blackberry Mountain and Blackberry Farm, sister resorts located about 20 miles outside of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Though the properties are sisters, they’re far from twins. Perched atop a mountain that overlooks Great Smoky Mountains National Park on one side and the Tennessee Valley on the other, Blackberry Mountain celebrates every aspect of its mountain muse, from the food and culture to the natural world that surrounds it. I couldn’t help but cheer on the resort’s beloved single peach tree whose steeped leaves had delicately flavored my ice cream or “Beary Garcia,” the black bear who, rather than gorge at the garbage area, carried specific trash cans into the valley for a private buffet.
The staff at Blackberry Mountain encouraged me to try a few new activities, and while my success was mixed — I zoned out during the sound bath, threw what we’ll nicely call unique bowls on the pottery wheel, and almost rang the bell at the top of the climbing wall — I loved every minute. Turns out my experience was typical. Though traditional fitness classes and spa treatments are offered, staff members have found that guests would rather use their resort time to experiment with different kinds of activities. “Over the years, we discovered what guests loved and took that further,” said one staff member. “They really seem to want to try something entirely new while they’re here.”
I’d always dreamed of visiting Blackberry Farm, but I never knew quite what to expect — friends who have gone seem to have trouble describing the magic. Now that I’ve been there, I get it. It wasn’t just that each staff member I encountered was pleasant, informed, and empowered, or that the food was delicious or the landscape gorgeous. It was more like the whole experience was intuitive, the perfect intersection of discovery and pampering. Enjoying myself has never been so effortless.
My experience was seamless. Since my room wasn’t ready when I arrived, I was invited to relax in the spa, where (after clearing it with me) they’d thoughtfully pushed up my treatment so I’d have more time to relax before getting ready for dinner. My room turned out to be a freestanding stone cottage with a closet larger than my first apartment, two fireplaces, and an expansive screened porch. The extra time to luxuriate was an unexpected treat.
My husband was able to join me for the next leg of the trip, which took us to Cataloochee Ranch, a nearly 100-year-old property that sits deep within the North Carolina mountains on the other side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. When the ranch opened to visitors in 1933, it was the only option available for those who wanted to overnight at the park with electricity, running water, four walls and a roof. After being in the same family for nearly 90 years, it was sold in 2020 to Anne and David Colquitt, who fully renovated it and reopened its wide barn doors in 2024.
Though the ranch is now modern and stylish — original chinked walls in the historic ranch cottages are hung with local art and the bathroom floors are heated — it still feels fully and wonderfully rooted in its heritage as a working ranch. There are horses to ride, trails to hike, and ponds to fish.
The main building, where you can borrow a fishing pole, grab a cone overloaded with homemade soft-serve, or customize a Stetson at the hat bar, is a low-slung structure with a screen door and wooden floors that creak when you walk on them. Next door, the original ranch house has been transformed into an atmospheric bar, restaurant, and outdoor dining area. It’s rustic but not kitschy — think stacked-stone fireplaces, hand-thrown ceramics, and a bar hewn from polished local stone.
Chef Jeb Aldrich and Pastry Chef Angie Chan both bring a world’s worth of experience to the mountain and it shows: fresh sumac is stirred into homemade aioli, salad bowls overflow with cress, rutabaga, chervil, and whatever else can be picked or gathered, and panna cotta spiked with buttermilk delivers a gentle tang. After dinner, we used flashlights to find our way back to our ranch cabin, where we sipped a bit of bourbon on the back porch in the moonlight.
Our final stop was The Swag, an 18-room resort located 15 minutes from Cataloochee Ranch. When I first visited in 2020, I was enchanted by a small gate at the edge of the resort that opened directly into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Although GSMNP is most-visited national park in the country, I was able to slip in and out like it was my own back yard. On this visit, the gate, plain and wooden, was still there, and the thrill it gave me to hike in my private park — I only saw only one other person on the trail in two days of hiking — hadn’t diminished.
A sense of peace pervades The Swag, which opened in 1982 on a high, flat bluff that looks out over an endless river of mountains. Until 2018, when the Colquitts purchased the property, it was adored by generations of visitors, who love the access to the park, family-style dining, and lively after-dinner presentations from local storytellers.
While some of those traditions remain — a three-course dinner is still served at 6:30 sharp, lunch-filled backpacks are ready for hikers by 9:30 each morning, and hand-carved walking sticks are presented to guests on their first day — the Colquitts have wisely moved the clock forward a bit as well. There’s a full bar now as well as a spa, an outdoor Jacuzzi, and pickleball courts. Yoga, wine tastings, and mixology classes have joined guided hikes and foraging expeditions. Diners eat at their own tables now, too.
There are lots of ways to plan a road trip. What set our Relais & Chateaux experience apart was the fun of expectation about the next hotel without the stress of wondering about the quality. It might just turn us into regular road trippers.
Feature image, courtesy of Blackberry Farm
