North Carolina was one of the original thirteen colonies of the United States. The state is home to America's oldest public university, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Because of the state's history, it hosts many historic buildings, including several hotels with colonial architecture. As the state is also located in a deciduous forest, the location and scenery of these hotels are breath-taking. The Duke Mansion, the Dunhill Hotel, Carolina Inn and Brookstone Inn are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Duke Mansion today is an elegant Bed and Breakfast hotel, but originally was built by Zeb Taylor in 1915 and was bought in 1919 by North Carolina entrepreneur James B. "Buck" Duke when he wanted to introduce his daughter into Southern society. The Duke Mansion was tripled in size then. The hotel remains a fine example of Colonial Revival Architecture. It now operates as a nonprofit with all proceeds going to preserve the Mansion. The Mansion's website offers a short documentary about its history and offers a digital tour of its seven luxurious rooms. 400 Hermitage Road, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Located in Uptown Charlotte, the Dunhill opened as the Mayfair Manor in 1929. The hotel is also a member of the Historic Hotels of America. The hotel is ten stories and thrived in the Great Depression. It boasts Neo-classical embellishments, which are historic architecture additions. The rooms feature 18th-century European furniture, hand-sewn draperies and original works of art. Each of the hotel's sixty rooms include an armoire, writing desk, refrigerator, four poster beds and whirlpool tubs. For the the hearing-impaired guests, the hotel offers Visual Fire Alarms. 237 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
The Carolina Inn is an iconic building on the UNC campus in downtown Chapel Hill. The architecture represents both the colonial and antebellum South as designed by award-winning architect Arthur C. Nash. The 1924 design incorporates late 18th-century elements from George Washington's Mount Vernon and early 19th elements from Richland, a plantation house in Louisiana. 80 percent of the furniture in the hotel was constructed in North Carolina and many of it was constructed from raw materials through the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. The hotel has 185 guest rooms and seven luxury suites.
The Brookstone Inn was originally built in 1837 as a textile mill and is within a short walk of the restored 1766 Moravian village of "Old Salem." Because of its history and "old-world" architecture, the Brookstone Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The textile mill did not became an Inn until 1984. In an effort to preserve the historic building, the Inn features much of the original historic architecture. The Inn now has 71 beautiful rooms in the heart of Winston-Salem, with decorative fireplaces and garden tubs. Guests can even order to have flowers delivered to the room directly prior to arrival. The hotel is an ideal location for social gatherings such as wedding receptions, reunions, and business meetings and conferences. 200 Brookstown Avenue Winston Salem, NC 27101
