The Nantahala Outdoor Center unveiled its newest lodging, The Hemlocks by NOC. 

When Cheryl Hillis started managing vacation rentals in Haywood County 15 years ago, Airbnb didn’t exist, reservations were made with phone calls and mailed checks, and she lived nowhere near Western North Carolina. Hillis was the face of Buffalo Creek Vacations, but she took reservations and managed payments from whichever town her military husband and their four boys lived at the time.

Pulling up to the Skyline Lodge, a peaceful silence washes over you while emerging from your vehicle. Walking toward the courtyard entryway, laughter and conversation is heard, whether between old friends or strangers who became fast friends. Soon, the smell of culinary delights wafts from the open doorway to the Oak Steakhouse.

A group of homeowners calling themselves the “Save Highlands Committee” has filed a legal complaint against the Town of Highlands for its decision to enforce a ban of short-term rentals within the R-1 residential area. 

With some demolition work currently underway and a membership drive event held on July 12, the new owners of The Waynesville Inn and Golf Club are eager to present the project to the public as soon as possible. 

After passing a resolution at its May 13 meeting, Swain County will be asking its state representatives to introduce legislation that would allow the county to levy an additional 2 percent room tax.

Are there boardinghouses still operating here in the Smokies region? There are, of course, hotels, inns, bed-and-breakfasts, and motels galore. But I'm wondering about the true, old-fashioned boardinghouse, which flourished throughout the region until the middle of the 20th century. 

High atop a mountain overlooking Haywood County, Annie Haslam Colquitt sits across a dining room table at The Swag. A rainstorm has just swept through, with a cold breeze floating through the open front door. She gazes around, her eyes slowly drifting out the windows onto the deep woods of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park bordering the property. 

Western North Carolina is a region filled with special places, one of the best known being a century-old religious retreat nestled away snugly in the center of Haywood County.