nick333

Hello,

I will be spending August undertaking a nursing student placement in Wilmington. Before a start the placement i have two free weeks.

I would love to drive to the mountains(smokey i think there called) which i understand are about a four hour drive eastwards,and spend a couple of days there chilling out with my other half and our two kids 11 and 9.
Does anyone know of a motel that would be suitable ideally located on a lake that we could spend a couple of days relaxing around. Any suggestions on area's etc. would be most appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

Kate2112

Hi Nick,

This website was very good for good quality B&B type places in Virginia.
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/wilmi...-carolina.html. Hope someone is able to recommend somewhere specific, if not this is a reputable source and the accomodations are well checked out and easily cross referenced with reviews.

Kate

Englishmum

There is a huge range of motels and hotels in the Choice hotels group. Their chain includes these brands: Comfort Suites, Comfort Inns, Sleep Inns, Quality Inns, EconoLodge etc. Just click on the icons to see the facilities or/and locations for each brand.

http://www.choicehotels.com/

By the way, you might wish to consider staying in a suite; you usually get a seperate room from the main bedroom (for the kids) with sofa bed, TV, usually a fridge and microwave - if you have a boy and a girl you can just ask for a seperate roll-away bed. It usually works out much cheaper than paying for two seperate rooms.


Top of the range is the Embassy Suites chain (which we really like in our family)....you also get a free cooked to order breakfast, but also the Country Inns and Suites are less expensive and pretty decent too:

http://www.embassysuites.com (look for their specials on their website)


http://www.countryinns.com/home.jsp


Hope this helps!

Celsius

If you drive eastwards from Wilmington, NC, you hit the ocean. Are you sure you're going to Wilmington, NC and not some other Wilmington?

nick333

LOL meant WEST

Celsius

I was a bit concerned about your geography there!

Tbag

Have you visited Wilmington before?
I live 30 mins from town and the mountains are a bit of a drive but worth it if you don't mind the journey, it usually averages closer to 6 hours from town.
Asheville is a very nice smaller town, you also have Biltmore Estates which is worth a visit. Grandfather mountain is lovely, have you thought about renting a cabin? that might be nice, lots of hiking trails and really peaceful if you are looking for a real escape.
If you were to change your mind and head towards the coast, I would suggest Bald head Island, it is a beautiful nature preserve community, no cars allowed on the island everyone rides bikes or drives golf carts, this is a real escape and the town of Southport which is where you take a 30min ferry ride to the island is a little coastal simple town, with good restaurants, and lots of good seafood, plus reasonably priced hotels. It is only an hours drive from Wilmington too. If you venture further south you of course have Charleston and Beaufort SC which is very laid back.
Hope this helps........If you would like names of suite hotels which we love and use all the time please feel free to PM me. Have Fun!

NC Penguin

I visited Asheville which is near the Great Smoky Mountains in April. From Durham, it took us about 4.5 hours on I-40. I know the drive from Durham to Wilmington on I-40 is 90 mins if traffic isn't bad. So that's about 6 hours from Wilmington to Asheville.

However, I expect you're flying into RDU so it'll be about 5 hours from there to Asheville.

My best friend from the UK stayed in a cabin outside of Asheville, very close to the Pisgah Forest in June. She stayed a few nights and enjoyed the experience. Would you like details about the cabin?

If you're heading to Western NC, if I were you, I wouldn't miss the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC. My friend and her family really enjoyed driving and stopping on that.


NC Penguin

NC Penguin

Charleston and Beaufort, SC are very picturesque places but at this time of year, the humidity is stiffling. Now might not be the best time of year to visit, especially with young ones.


NC Penguin

Pulaski

The Great Smoky Mountains are in the extreme west of North Carolina on the border with Tennessee - and a good six hours drive from Wilmington. Personally I'd say it is easier and quicker to travel via Charlotte to get back to Wilmington - check mapquest, but look for two legs to the journey Ashville - Charlotte, and Charlotte - Wilmington.

The hotel chains Englishmum mentioned are, IMHO, more motel-travelling type establishments, not somewhere I'd want to "hang out", and certainly not situated on a lake. They are commonly found next to interstates, and on the outskirts of cities. If you are travelling all the way to the Great Smokey mountains then you'll probably want to hang out in the National Park, and tourist type accomodation can be found nearby in and around Gatlinburg.

magilla442

The mountains are a bit of a treck from here, I love it in Wilmington, downtown is nice and there are quite a few things to do here. If you want a good time for your kids, i would suggest Carowinds Theme Park near Charlotte (4 hours from here) www1.paramountparks.com/carowinds/ or just take them an hour down the road to myrtle beach, loads there to keep them happy. If you are after a quieter time, try the outer banks, or Bald Head Island, whatever you do, have a great time, and feel free to PM me if you have any questions

ladyofthelake

Bit of a treck? What does that say about us then? We're driving to Pidgeon Forge from Florida in a couple of weeks. Thought it was the done thing to drive for at least 10 hours going on a US vacation.

BUZZ2U

iTS 6 TO 7 HRS to mountains from the beach in North Carolina.I lived in Raleigh for a bit. My opinion great state great people.Have fun and check out Cherokee.To the ladyofthelake for 10 hrs you at least see 3 more states.Have a great one and please post on Pigeon Forge.cheers Buzz