At Highlander Mountain House, owner Jason Reeves has fashioned a getaway that’s as homey as it is luxurious
The English countryside meets the Appalachian Mountains at Highlander Mountain House in Highlands, North Carolina. Step into the lobby of this renovated 1885 clapboard farmhouse, and you’re immediately enveloped by the design equivalent of a warm hug: dark paneling, a crackling wood fire in the stone fireplace, and comfy mismatched antique furniture beckoning you to curl up with a glass of wine and a good book.
Highlander Mountain House was opened in 2020 by hotelier Jason Reeves, whose education and experience in commercial real estate, interior design, and restoring 18th-century houses in Charleston served him well in transforming the erstwhile Main Street Inn into a rustic-chic showpiece. “I wanted to create a place that was contextual to its surroundings but also inspiring in its design—as much an experience as a physical place,” says Reeves. “The result is a cultural living room, where locals and travelers convene for sustenance, salon series musical performances, and author lectures, or simply late-night-turned-early-morning conversations by the fire.”
His love of toying with textures and patterns is evident in the eighteen guest rooms—ten in the main house and eight in the bunkhouse behind it. “Every inch of the property has been thoughtfully designed with inspiring vignettes to explore, and no two rooms are alike except for their luxury beds, linens, and toiletries,” Reeves notes. In the main house, velvet print headboards play off bespoke wallpaper from such designers as Scalamandré, William Morris, and Pierre Frey, while the cabin style of the bunkhouse rooms contrasts Italian Bellino sheets with Pendleton plaid wool blankets on the beds.
Morning begins with a cup of coffee in the inn’s Ruffed Grouse Tavern, with its mix of copper- and Carrera marble-topped tables. In the space between the bar and the dining room, Reeves has created a library nook clustered around a stone fireplace with Victorian-era taxidermy and a photograph of the Rolling Stones over the mantel. Elsewhere in the common areas, artwork by Cherokee tribal artists hangs alongside original paintings by Josef Albers and photographs by Sally Mann.
Settle in for a hearty morning meal—perhaps a classic English breakfast (two sunny-side eggs, proper bacon, pork sausage, blood pudding, griddled tomato, sauteed mushrooms, and baked beans)—to prepare you for a day of hiking nearby trails or exploring the many shops along Main Street. The casual tavern serves lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch as well, with selections from fields, forests, farms, and streams (think: rack of lamb and a fillet of pan-seared Sunburst Trout) forming the building blocks of the menu.
In the evening, the small bar is the place to relax and sip a seasonal cocktail with a fire flickering in the background. You’d be hard-pressed to find a cozier retreat at which to embrace winter in the mountains.
Explore the Highlander Mountain House Area
Among the thoughtful amenities at Highlander Mountain House, Director of Operations Stephen Witt has included a binder full of recommended area activities in every guest room. Here are his top five:
- Whiteside Mountain Trail – This two-mile loop offers views into four states; pack a picnic and bring the kids.
- Sunset Rock – Walking distance from Highlander Mountain House, the easy 1.4-mile hike ends on a rock face overlooking the town.
- Lake Glenville – A twenty-minute drive from Highlands brings you to this pristine 1,470-acre lake, the highest lake east of the Mississippi.
- Dry Falls – Access this popular waterfall from the parking lot off Highway 64 via the walkway to an overlook or the trail that leads behind the waterfall.
- Highlands Concierge Helicopter Tours – See the scenery from above by booking a private helicopter tour through The Highlands Concierge.
Highlander Mountain House, 270 Main St, Highlands, NC. (828) 526-2590, highlandermountainhouse.com. Rates range from $200-$700.
Photography by Maggie Braucher.
