The Restoration Asheville
Bryan Batt-designed — maximalist interiors, rooftop bar, Grand Bohemian-adjacent but independent.
A Bryan Batt-designed boutique in downtown Asheville — maximalist interiors, a rooftop bar with Blue Ridge sightlines, and the kind of color-and-pattern density that reads either as theatrical or exhausting depending on your tolerance for upholstery. The Restoration Asheville is the smaller, design-led answer to the Grand Bohemian one neighborhood over, and it's owned independently rather than franchised.
Sixty-six rooms isn't tiny, but the property feels smaller than the count — it's stitched into a downtown block of converted industrial buildings and you tend to stay in the rooftop or the lobby rather than wander a labyrinth.
The setting
Asheville sits in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina — the South's defining small mountain city, with a downtown dense enough to walk for a long weekend and a regional food scene that punches well above the city's size. The Restoration is downtown, near the South Slope and Pack Square, walking distance to most of the city's restaurants, breweries, and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial.
The wider Asheville map opens into the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Biltmore Estate (south of downtown, twenty minutes by car), and the river-arts district along the French Broad. Most weekend itineraries here are split between in-town walking and out-of-town driving.
The building
A converted industrial-reuse building in downtown — brick exterior, tall windows, the bones of a former warehouse or manufacturing space. The interiors are the property's signature: Bryan Batt, the New Orleans-based designer (and actor), did the program, and the result is layered, color-saturated, and deliberately ornate. Velvets, brass, custom wallpapers, and the kind of art curation that doesn't apologize for being maximalist.
Public spaces include a lobby that doubles as gallery, a ground-floor restaurant, and a rooftop bar that gets most of the property's social work in summer.
The rooms
Sixty-six rooms across multiple categories: standards, larger king rooms, and a handful of suites with separate sitting rooms. Bed configurations are mostly kings and queens. Bathrooms have been redone with tile and brass; bedding is heavier than chain-hotel standard. The same maximalist visual language carries into the rooms — patterned wallpapers, velvet headboards, custom millwork. Rates open around $445 and climb on weekends and during peak Asheville stretches (October foliage, summer).
Food & drink
The on-site restaurant runs as a public dining room with a Southern-leaning menu open to outside reservations. The rooftop bar is the property's signature social space — Blue Ridge views, a cocktail program, and a small food menu in season. Breakfast is included for guests. Asheville's own dining scene absorbs most overnight diners; properties like Cucina 24, Cúrate, and Buxton Hall are within walking distance.
On the property
The amenity stack leans social.
- Rooftop bar with Blue Ridge Mountain sightlines
- On-site restaurant open to non-guests
- Curated art and design program throughout
- Walking-distance access to most of downtown Asheville
- Pet-friendly with a fee
- Open year-round; busiest in October foliage
Who it's for
- Travelers who like maximalist interior design — there's a lot to look at and that's intentional
- Couples doing a foliage or summer Asheville weekend
- Repeat Asheville visitors who've cycled through the chain options downtown and want an independent
- Bourbon and cocktail drinkers — the rooftop and bar are real
Who it's not for
- Travelers who want minimalist, quiet, monastic interiors — the visual register is the opposite
- Families with young kids — the property reads more adults-only than its policies state
- Anyone whose price ceiling for Asheville is around $250
Nearby
The Blue Ridge Parkway's southern terminus is fifteen minutes east; the Folk Art Center along the parkway is the easiest cultural stop. The Biltmore Estate — the largest private home in America — is twenty minutes south for the standard half-day. The South Slope's brewery row (Burial, Hi-Wire, Wicked Weed) is walkable. The River Arts District galleries and studios run along the French Broad about ten minutes from downtown. For dinner outside the hotel, Cúrate, Cucina 24, Buxton Hall, and Rhubarb anchor the downtown rotation; Sovereign Remedies remains the late-night cocktail default.
