I started a month before, bidding on Priceline for a 4-star in Raleigh or Chapel Hill for Valentine's Day. We live in the area, so it wasn't a necessary trip, but a fun getaway, if and only if, we were to get a deal. My bidding was unsuccessful for weeks, until two weeks before, all of a sudden, a $60 bid came back successful for The Carolina Inn. Having actually attended the university many years ago, I still had no connection with the hotel, never having set foot in it. I had, however, heard great things about it, and we were very excited to have a night out in this elegant Southern hotel. Especially considering regular rates were more in the $200 range per night.
We arrived in Chapel Hill a little before 2:00 Saturday afternoon. Assumed valet parking was our only option, but we were told that there was self-parking. She raised the gate for us, and in we were. (self-parking was $10 for the night, by the way). Off to the front desk, where check-in was gracious and involved chocolate chip cookies. Apparently management is Doubletree hotels. Here, I made what was possibly an error on my part, as I mentioned that we heard the place was haunted, and asked for a haunted room. She seemed to shrug off the whole haunted thing, but mentioned that a king suite on the second floor had had some activity, but we knew we certainly weren't going to get that for a Priceline price. We were, however, put on the 2nd floor. A Queen "supreme" room. (which was probably even nicer than we should've been eligible for...very nice!) Up the tiny elevator we went. Please note that this is a very historical hotel. Therefore, you cannot expect modern anything! Expect to step back in time to Old Southern Elegance. Put the modern world behind you or you will have a hard time adapting.
Our room was close to the elevator. Small but had everything we could need. A queen-sized bed, small desk, nightstand, armoire with tv, chair...the window was a full-length curtain, behind which was a wall, but up high was a narrow window. Guess they built windows differently back then. The bathroom was a decent size, with full bath-tub & shower, sink, and bed-and-bath body products (coconut lime). The shower, the next morning, was wonderful...great pressure...nice and hot!
We were hungry and went down to the restaurant for lunch. We were concerned that they might be closing down since it was near 2:00, but we were told it was okay. There were only a few other tables full in the restaurant, there were several wait staff nearby, yet it had to be at least 20 minutes before a waiter came to take our order. We had been brought water and bread, but the long wait to order was strange, because staff seemed to be all around, but they weren't even looking at us. Eventually a waiter arrived who actually asked us if we needed more time to look at the menu! Uh, twenty minutes is more than enough to read a tiny menu! I ordered a sweet potato and onion bisque along with a spinach fried-oyster salad. My husband ordered a salad and beef/portabello mushroom sandwich. I had to ask for a wine list. Nearby was a table that was frustrated with waiting for a long time to have their plates cleared and a check brought. It was after 3:30 by the time we left, but the food was very very good. We had coffee & shared a dulche de leche creme brulee as well. It came with starfish, berries, and little chocolate cookies. Very nice! Where the food was very good, we found the service to truly be downright strange and inefficient.
Afterward, we wandered a bit around, trying to find the stairs, which were quite a distance from our room and the elevator. We were glad to read later, when looking at historical information, that the hotel was built to be fire-proof, because with no windows to jump through, nor stairs near the room, if God-forbid there would be a fire, it could be a disaster, even being only on the second floor. However it's nice to know it's fire-proof.
I found the display on the first floor near the gift shop, fascinating! You can truly get a feel for the history of the place there. Just walking around the hotel is so pleasant and elegant. No sign of any kind of security, however, so I don't know that I would've been overly comfortable to stay there as a female, alone. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that.
After venturing out into Chapel HIll, we came back to our room where we found we had received turn-down service. Didn't know that was going to happen. Very sweet. I won't go into detail, but I will say that the rest of the night was not uneventful. It involved not one, but three incidences that made me realize I will never ever, even in a joking way, ever ask for a haunted room anywhere ever again. Though nothing ever seemed harmful, it was still unusual enough to keep my eyes wide open, when I would've otherwise be sleeping.
Walls are very thin in this hotel, but that is to be expected considering the age of it. We found it to be beautiful and charming. There was a wedding reception on the first floor that was truly stunning. This hotel must be a perfect place for a party or reception. The location is great. We found the front desk, the bar staff, bell-staff...all to be incredibly friendly and helpful. Don't know that I could ever get my husband to go back into the restaurant, however, although I would
I would be curious to hear if anyone else experiences anything unusual in this hotel around 3am. I know i will never forget our stay.
No comments:
Post a Comment