Highlands, North Carolina
Trailborn Highlands
Woodland mountain lodge
Highlands, North Carolina
Renovated
2024
Price
$$
Rated for
Design Wellness LocalOutside the door
The house
TrailbornWoodland mountain lodge
The property is built for mountain trail days, unwinding at an outdoor wood-fired sauna and open stone fire pits.
What it’s good at
Notable
Woven Appalachian tapestries and earthy forest greens outfit the hillside guestrooms.
Listed
Appalachian decorative touches and Southern comfort cooking near Blue Ridge Mountain trailheads.
What they say
Michelin Selected
Michelin
Tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Highlands, this hotel sits on wooded grounds with a Nordic spa: cold plunge, sauna, hot tub.
Somewhere quiet
Away from the crowds. Getting around takes intention.
Main Street sits a quick drive down the road, and nearby trailheads lead straight to mountain waterfalls.
The rooms
Beds are backed by quilted tapestries of the Blue Ridge Mountains, surrounded by forest green accents and custom woodwork.
Sauna and massage
In-room massages can be booked on request. Outside, a wood-fired sauna stands beside seasonal cold-spritz showers.
Restaurant
Highlands Supper Club
A stone fireplace warms the chinked-log dining room, where dinner brings grilled oysters and buttermilk fried chicken.
At the table
Mornings begin with coffee and fruit at the tiled breakfast nook. Later, guests gather at the wooden bar for drinks.
How it began
The on-site supper club occupies a 1920s log cabin hand-hewn by Joe Webb, a celebrated regional rustic builder.
Highlands
More like this
Outpost Inn Highlands
“Summer-camp roadside motel”
The app
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Our shorthand
How we rate hotels.
The medals
Gold
Extremely rare. Sets the global standard.
Silver
Brilliant execution. And we’re picky.
Bronze
They did this well. You’ll notice.
Listed
A defining trait. Makes the hotel what it is.
The eight vibes
Design
Built around a vision. Even the door handles have a designer.
Luxe
Cared for at every turn. The bath is drawn before you ask.
Local
It could only be here. You wake up knowing where you are.
Social
Where the city goes out. The bar is full and the night is young.
Heritage
A building with a story. Once a palace, a monastery, a station.
Wellness
You leave feeling new. Rest, sweat, soak and sleep like a stone.
Classic
The city grew up with it. Same rituals, same regulars, same bar.
Resort
A world of its own. Something to do from breakfast to nightcap.
The scene
Lively
Where things happen: restaurants, shops, people.
Central
Well-located: walkable to some things, a short ride to more.
Quiet
Away from the crowds. Getting around takes intention.
Secluded
A place apart: the property is the destination.