Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that brings up very strong feelings. You either love it and go full force with your gifting, or you ignore it altogether, thinking of it as a made-up holiday created to earn more money for greeting card companies. It’s a holiday that has been celebrated for centuries, becoming linked with romance during Chaucer’s life (in the 14th century) and then becoming one known for gifts and cards by the 18th century. If you are living the romantic life all in, seeking new ways to show your Valentine that he or she is treasured, we at Mighty Tree Properties believe that a visit to North Carolina, a stay in our romantic retreats and this ultimate guide to a romantic Valentine’s Day in Asheville will bring you and yours a celebration you will never forget!
The Gifts You Will Give
Even as this beautiful trip to Asheville should be considered the major portion of your gift to your valentine, any good mother will tell you that you should never show up to an event empty-handed. Yes, we know that saying is more in the line of a hostess gift, but you understand the value of a tangible remembrance of a romantic vacation in the mountains of North Carolina, and as such, we thought we would start this guide with some hints on where you can purchase the more traditional gifts.
Sweets for Your Sweet from The Chocolate Fetish, 36 Hayward Street
There are actually a surprising number of chocolate shops in Asheville and any will provide that something extra sure to bring a smile to your favorite person’s face, but for today’s purposes, let’s talk The Chocolate Fetish. Offering hand crafted chocolates that taste like heaven must, we also can’t get enough their drinking chocolate, so rich, so velvety, and so creamy it really does seem like you are drinking melted chocolate. The go to shop for purchasing sweets for your sweet since 1986, its longevity alone should convince you that this is the spot where you want to buy all your sweets during your stay.
Stop and Smell the Roses at Becky’s Florist, 275 Upper Grassy Branch Road
A beautiful bouquet is another crowd favorite for Valentine’s Day, and the romantic roses, cheerful daisies, and tantalizing tulips found at Becky’s Florist will serve as a reminder that you really can’t do enough for your sweetheart. Offering seasonal bouquets and arrangements, their Valentine’s flowers are always fresh and fragrant, and because they also do delivery, maybe you could send a bunch to the first woman you ever loved. (Of course, we are talking about your mother!)
Laughter Is the Best Medicine at Grant Laughter Jewelry, 1800 Hendersonville Road
Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular days for popping the most important question, and when you need a ring for the occasion, one that will make happy laughter peal throughout the rafters of our romantic retreats, Grant Laughter Jewelry is where we recommend you visit. Specializing in custom wedding jewelry, and more importantly, the diamonds that make those rings shine, you can’t go wrong when you go down on bended knee with a gorgeous sparkler in your hand!
The Adventures You Will Love This Valentine’s Day in Asheville
Now that you have the gifting part of the holiday covered, let’s talk holiday adventures. Unlike Christmas, there are no specific events that celebrate Valentine’s Day, but that’s ok. This will give you the chance to really get to know each other, exploring all that makes Asheville a wonderful place to live and visit. Strolling through the downtown area, bundled up against the winter cold will bring you closer together, which we have always thought is the reason this holiday occurs in the depths of winter, it gives couples more reasons to snuggle together as they celebrate!
Couple’s Massage at Wild Rose Healing House, 202 E Chestnut Street
Travel can be exhausting and painful, but spend an hour or so getting a couple’s massage at Wild Rose Healing House and make your holiday celebration one of closeness and relief. Also offering a wide array of spa services, including packages that add aromatherapy, stretching, body scrubs, and so much more, every valentine will feel like a new person at the end of their spa day. They also feature traditional and infrared saunas, but these are for one person at a time and so may not be a good fit for a Valentine’s Day couple’s experience.
More Laughter with the LaZoom Comedy Bus Tour, 828-225-6932
The couple who can laugh together is going to be one that stays together and taking a LaZoom Comedy Bus Tour is definitely going to make you laugh! Also known as the LaZoom Love Bus, this tour is a very popular date night activity. They bill themselves as the greatest show on wheels, offering fascinating tidbits of Asheville history intertwined with madcap comedy routines. Historical, hysterical, and heart-wrenchingly beautiful, we highly recommend the LaZoom Love Bus as a couple’s activity, just be sure to make your reservations at the phone number listed above far in advance. Valentine’s Day is one of their most popular tour days and seats sell out quickly.
Exploring the Biltmore Built in the Late 1800s
The Biltmore has long been a symbol of luxury in Asheville, built to be a grand family mountain retreat, but today it is open to the public for tours and often offers holiday events. Constructed in a time when attention to detail showed how wealthy you were, we can’t help but love every inch of this space, even as we know we could never live somewhere like it. On or near Valentine’s Day, The Biltmore’s Deerpark restaurant, originally a barn on the property, usually offers a special Sweetheart Soiree and Dance, serving a multi-course meal by candlelight accompanied by some very fine wine pairings.
Dining, dancing, coffee, and dessert will bring you and your Valentine closer together and special gifts will be received by all. This event sells out quickly, so be sure to buy your tickets soon and when packing, be sure to pack something slightly dressy. It’s not a formal event, but dressy-casual or semi-formal wear is expected.
Meals to Remember
The romantic Valentine’s Day dinner is a tradition you won’t want to put to rest when visiting Asheville, our culinary landscape is quite extensive and delicious, and many restaurants will be offering special holiday meals that you will never forget. The restaurants we have listed below are some of our favorites, but remember, ANY restaurant can be romantic when dining with your valentine, and Southerners are known for their amazing cooking skills! We have already mentioned Deerpark at the Biltmore for its soiree, but don’t forget add it to your list, even if you don’t manage to enjoy it on Valentine’s Day.
Zambra, 85 W Walnut Street
The rustic charm of the décor, red bricks, colorful Moorish arches, and lighting that is low without making it impossible to see what you are eating, makes Zambra one of the area’s most popular romantic restaurants. The cuisine is Western Mediterranean, and its tapa dishes ensure that you and your valentine will be able to enjoy many different flavors, savoring each bite as you sip some truly excellent wines. Their full bar will enable you to enjoy your favorite cocktail and their desserts? Every Valentine’s Day meal MUST end with dessert, it’s practically the law, and their chocolate rum torte topped with toasted coconut, walnut, and cherry-rum sauce will be the most delicious way to avoid a holiday faux pas!
Posana, 264 Thetford Street or 1 Biltmore Avenue
Posana offers a romantic dining experience with seasonal menus as well as holiday menus, and although we aren’t seeing anything for Valentine’s Day as we write this, we can assure you that even their standard menu will blow you out of the water! Expect locally sourced ingredients combined with a Southerner’s innate ability to create hearty meals that will fill you up and make you give thanks for ingredients such as butter, cream, and farm fresh anything!
Because this is a Valentine’s Day topic, we can’t end our discourse on Posana without mentioning their desserts, and if we had to choose a favorite, well, we couldn’t! But we will suggest that their Mexican hot chocolate torte, made with cinnamon cayenne ganache, chocolate sauce, maple caramel sauce, maple Chantilly, and almond tuile, does fall into the obligatory chocolate on Valentine’s Day category quite deliciously!
Glass Onion Tavern, 18 N Main Street in Weaverville
Ok, we stepped outside of Asheville’s boundaries for this last restaurant, but the Glass Onion Tavern’s location in Weaverville is only about 12 minutes from town, so we think it counts. Besides, everyone knows that Italian food is the international language of love, and its upscale variations of the Italian classics will make you wish you had a Glass Onion near your own home so you could return every weekend! We are particularly fond of their Rigatoni with braised wild boar Bolognese, and although we have been sticking with chocolate for dessert recommendations, we highly suggest you share their Southern Style Coconut Cake for an authentic taste of our home state.
Romance Begins at Home in Our Mighty Tree Properties Holiday Hideaways
Whether you are coming home at the end of a long day of romantic adventures or you have just decided that staying in for the day and exploring the comforts, luxuries, and romantic amenities of our Mighty Tree Properties Valentine’s Day retreats is a good idea, we will be there for you. Choose an Asheville escape with a fireplace in the living room and enjoy snuggling together on a stormy February night, or take it to the next level and pick a property with a fireplace in the bedroom and discover how much more romantic that can be.
Pools are seasonal amenities that you won’t be looking at in the winter months, but our hot tubs are an amenity that you can use all year round and open a bottle of wine to sip and savor while soaking in the hot bubbling waters. The Biltmore Estate Winery does offer a wonderful selection of silky wines that will enhance the moments you spend in the hot tub, so don’t forget to plan a visit there!
For Every Romantic Amenity
Valentine’s Day is all about romance, but without their innate comforts, would you really want to celebrate in our homes? We think not! For every romantic amenity we offer, there is a comfortable one, a luxurious one, and a modern and/or high-tech one that will make your at-home moments even more special. The fireplaces we mentioned earlier are wonderful, but without the plush sofas to sink into and the state of the art television to watch romantic movies on, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as satisfying to cuddle in front of the fire.
Game rooms equipped with high quality game tables or even video consoles give guests somewhere to play while fitness rooms equipped with gym quality machines allow couples to work out together, keeping them healthy while you and your valentine keep each other accountable. Gourmet kitchens will give new couples the opportunity to cook together, learning what each other likes and dislikes in the culinary world or letting one part of the couple make breakfast in bed for the other.
Reserve Your Favorite Valentine’s Day Rental Today
Asheville is one of the most romantic cities in the world, and we at Mighty Tree Properties have worked hard to reflect the vibe of the town, anticipating what every happy couple needs to feel even happier. Reserve your favorite holiday hideaway today and discover all the ways your relationship will be enhanced by the romance, comfort, and luxury of our North Carolina home sweet vacation homes!