Mountaintop Retreat
North Carolina’s Beech Mountain isn’t just a getaway for the winter.
At an elevation of 5,000 feet, the 4 Seasons at Beech Lodge sits in the community of Beech Mountain, N.C. As its name implies, guests are welcome year-round, but it is in the winter season that this small town truly comes alive, filling to capacity, filling the condos, timeshares and lodges with snowbound enthusiasts.
One need not even snow ski or snowboard to enjoy being up here in the winter, a getaway from crowded city life and ponder magnificent snow-laden mountain landscapes. Summer and fall months are attractive as well, as Beech Mountain provides cool relief from the heat down below the mountain.
"We have such a wide variety of people that stay with us," says Calder Smoot, who runs the lodge. "A lot of it is based on seasons… our summer visitors tell us they can tell the difference driving up the mountain as it cools down several degrees just in the short drive up our road."
After working in what he terms "a fast-paced career in the food service business," Smoot was looking for a new direction in life. He had first come to Beech Mountain while a student at Emory & Henry College in southwestern Virginia: "The property was called the Village Inn in the early days." Years after college, Calder found the opportunity to return to Beech with his family.
Guests at the lodge can enjoy picnic facilities, a recreation room, movie rentals along with an extensive movie library and a computer for public use in the lodge lobby right next to the beautiful stone fireplace. Two-room suites and single-room studios are available.
The 4 Seasons Lodge’s Old World Restaurant is open throughout the ski season as well as in summer: "We lease the restaurant to a young family from Hungary, and they bring their unique talents and love of small town living to our restaurant."
608 Beech Mountain Parkway, Beech Mountain, N.C. Rates: $52.75-$165.
Open year-round, reservations recommended. Children welcome; pets not allowed. Call ahead for non-smoking availability.
828-387-4211, beechgetaway.com. Handicap accessible.