The Greystone Inn

A 1915 Swiss-chalet-style inn on the shore of Lake Toxaway, in the Carolina mountains southwest of Asheville. Thirty-three rooms across the original lakeside Greystone mansion (built 1915 as a summer home for the Moltz family) and a sympathetically built lodge addition. Lake Toxaway is the largest private lake in North Carolina; the inn is the only public lodging on it.

This is what the southern Appalachians do at their best — high-elevation lake, summer-resort architecture, a kitchen with a serious wine cellar, and woods on every side.

The setting

Lake Toxaway sits at 3,000 feet elevation in Transylvania County, an hour southwest of Asheville and forty-five minutes north of Greenville, SC. The Greystone occupies a wooded peninsula on the lake, with views across the water to the rim of the Toxaway escarpment. Brevard, with its summer music festival, is fifteen minutes east; Cashiers and Highlands are thirty minutes south on US-64.

The drive in is a steady climb up the mountains; the air at the lake is genuinely cooler than at Asheville-elevation.

The building

The original Greystone Inn, built 1915, is a Swiss-chalet-style mansion in stone and timber — heavy stone foundations, exposed trusses, deep eaves, and a long lake-facing porch. The lodge addition, built in the 1990s in a complementary style, holds the larger rooms and the spa. Public spaces include the dining room (in the original mansion's great room), a fireplaced library, the lakeside porch, and a wine cellar. Materials are stone, timber, and the kind of brass-and-velvet detailing the original Moltz interiors had.

The rooms

Thirty-three rooms split between the historic Greystone mansion and the lodge addition. Mansion rooms are smaller and historic, often with original fireplaces; lodge rooms are larger, with king beds, soaking tubs, and lake-view balconies. From-rates open around $595 in season, including a full breakfast and afternoon tea. Bathrooms are tile and stone, with several deep soaking tubs.

Food & drink

The dining room — open for breakfast, lunch, and a four-course prix-fixe dinner — is the kitchen-led part of the operation. Contemporary American with strong Carolina sourcing and a serious wine list focusing on Burgundy, the Rhône, and a deep American selection. Non-guests book the dining room with reservations. Afternoon tea is included for guests.

On the property

A small spa with full body work and facials. A heated outdoor pool. Tennis courts. Direct lake access with paddleboards, kayaks, sailboats, and a 28-foot pontoon (the daily lake cruise is included). Hiking trails directly off-property into Pisgah National Forest. Yoga in season.

• Heated outdoor pool, hot tub
• Spa with massage, facials
• Daily pontoon cruise on Lake Toxaway
• Kayaks, paddleboards, sailboats
• Tennis courts
• Hiking trails into Pisgah National Forest
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Couples doing Asheville and wanting a quieter mountain-lake stay
• Travelers comparing high-elevation Carolina inns — Old Edwards in Highlands, the Inn at Wintergreen — same league
• Wine drinkers who'll appreciate the cellar program
• Anyone for whom "the only public lodging on a private lake" is the deciding factor

Who it's not for

• Travelers seeking modern minimalist design — this is a 1915 heritage property
• Anyone who wants to walk to a town — the inn is on a remote lake parcel
• Pet owners (verify policy with the front desk)

Nearby

Pisgah National Forest's Davidson River corridor is twenty minutes east, with Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock. Brevard's downtown has the Brevard Music Festival (summers) and a few good restaurants. Cashiers and Highlands are thirty minutes south for shopping and gallery time. DuPont State Forest, with its waterfalls, is twenty-five minutes east. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the ridge to the north.