The Hemlock, Asheville

We arrived on Biltmore Avenue as a mountain shower cleared and the late sun lit the wet brick of downtown Asheville gold. The Hemlock fills a handsome early-century building with something thoroughly of this place: a lobby of reclaimed oak and local stone, a wood fire crackling even in summer, shelves of hand-thrown pottery and hand-woven throws that you slowly realise are made by people who live up the road. Buskers played a few doors down; the smell of someone's brewery and someone's bakery mixed in the cool air. Asheville's particular blend of mountain craft and easy creativity is the whole point here, and it has been rendered with unusual care.

The room

Our room looked toward the ridgeline over the rooftops, its windows opening to pine-scented air. The design was a quiet showcase of regional craft: a bed framed in locally forged iron, a hand-thrown ceramic lamp, an Appalachian coverlet woven in muted indigo and madder, reclaimed-oak floors warm underfoot. Nothing felt themed or staged; it felt collected from makers down the valley. Practical comforts were all present, a deep tub, good linen, a minibar of regional cider and small-batch whiskey, a pour-over kit for the morning. Best was the window seat, cushioned and angled at the mountains, where we drank coffee and watched the cloud shadows move.

Many hotels invoke local craft as decoration; here it is the architecture, the furniture and the soul all at once.The Suite Edit

Service & food

The staff have the relaxed, slightly bohemian warmth of Asheville itself, and they know their mountains, steering us to a waterfall hike and a cellar taproom we would never have found. Breakfast leans local and wholesome, sourdough from a neighbourhood baker, mountain trout, eggs from a nearby farm, excellent coffee. The crown is the rooftop bar, where Appalachian-leaning cocktails and a tight list of regional beer and cider come with a long view of the Blue Ridge fading blue on blue at dusk. There is no full restaurant downstairs, but Biltmore Avenue's celebrated kitchens and breweries are quite literally around the corner.

The verdict

The Hemlock is for the traveller drawn to Asheville for craft, mountains and good beer in equal measure, the maker, the hiker, the couple after a characterful downtown base with a view. Design lovers will be thoroughly charmed. The honest caveat is what a compact downtown building cannot offer: there is no spa, no pool, and parking is a paid garage up the block rather than a valet at the door. If you need resort facilities, look to the outskirts. If you want the real, creative heart of the city, check in here and take the lift to the roof at sunset.