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Miles highly recommends visiting the Biltmore Estate.
It’s truly a magical place, a true American castle built of Indiana limestone and fashioned after european castles. There is a feeling when entering the estate that you have entered another land, kinda like when you go to Disney world and everything seems surreal and fantastical.
What is the Biltmore Estate?
- Built by George Washington Vanderbilt
- It is a still the largest single family owned dwelling in the US – the Vanderbilt heirs still live in part of the main house’s 135,280 square feet. The estate originally sat on 125,000 acres or 195 square miles of land WHAT!?!?!?! The estate now sits on 8,000 which is over 12 sq. miles and it feels GINORMOUS.
- It is now an experiential destination:
- 2 full service hotels on the grounds
- Inn on Biltmore Estate: 5 star, elegant, dramatic views, great dining
- Village house on Biltmore: 4 star – modern, very nice, newly opened. Sits in Biltmore shopping village
- One Custom Cottage
- English style estate house – 2 beds, 2 baths. Private grounds around it.
- 2 full service hotels on the grounds
Where is the Biltmore Estate?
- The Biltmore Estate is located in Asheville, North Carolina
- Its a gated, private enclave sitting on 8000 acres or 12 square miles
What to do at the Biltmore Estate?
- Tour the estate
- guided and self guided tours
- candlelit tour around the Holidays – We did this and it is incredible. It opens up more rooms of the house than would normally be accessible
- Dining
- 15 different places to grab a bite, from ice creameries to fine dining.
- My faves were The Stable House and High Tea at the Inn at Biltmore Estate
- 15 different places to grab a bite, from ice creameries to fine dining.
- Go Wine tasting
- There is a vineyard and winery within the grounds
- Equestrian experiences
- various trail rides, guided rides, and lunch treats
- Off Roading
- An official Land Rover Facility with with various experiences to choose from
- Shoot Sporting Clays
- lock, load, and shoot trap and skeet like they did in the olden days
- River Float Trips
- guided tours down the French Broad River
- Fly Fishing
- Orvis endorsed fly fishing school
- the list goes on…there is a lot. Check here
Where to stay
-
On the Grounds
- The Inn on Biltmore Estate
- Miles and I stayed here and will submit a review. It’s incredible and ideal for holiday vacations
- Village House
- Custom Cottage
- The Inn on Biltmore Estate
-
Off the Grounds
- Marriott: Grand Bohemian an Autograph Collection
- IHG: Hotel Indigo
- SPG: Aloft Asheville
- Hyatt: Hyatt place Asheville
- Hilton: Hilton Biltmore Park
When to go?
I would highly recommend going around Christmas. The hotels, grounds, and the estate are incredibly decorated and the Christmas spirit is piping through the entire place. It’s beautiful year round, and if you’re thinking of doing any of the outdoor activities and looking for better rates then the summer may be a better bet for you. But, if you don’t mind splurging for a night, and you’re going to tour, wine and dine, I’d set my sights on a holiday trip.
More about the Tours
-
Candlelight Tours
- From Early November through New Years
- Self guided from 5pm to 9pm typically
- Your ticket is given a tour time and you can start anytime after that specified time.
-
Estate Grounds and gardens
- tour the grounds at your own pace
- 2.5 miles of trails
-
Summer concert series
- outdoor concert series in front of the Biltmore Estate itself
- artists ranging from Daughtry to Rick Sprinfield.
How can you use Points to save bundles?
The Biltmore Estate, tours, dining are the splurges on this trip. I happen to think staying on the grounds is worth a splurge as well, but not everyone will. So here’s a couple options, off site, that I think are straight up DEALS!
- Stay at the Hyatt Place Asheville
- 5000 points per night.
- Rates can be over $200
- Grand Bohemian – Autograph Collection by Marriott
- Rates go up to $500 during the holidays
- closest to the estate without being on it
- If you’re there for a night or two and want a place with lots of character that is luxurious
- 45,000/night
- You could stay here 5 nights for the price of 4.
I really enjoyed the trip we took last Christmas as the grounds, estate, art, and history make this an absolutely “must do” once in your lifetime.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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