First Look: The Restoration Asheville

Asheville’s buzzy River Arts District, popular restaurant scene, and Blue Ridge Mountain views provided Anders Anderson a deep well of inspiration as he created the design, menu, and outdoor programming at the new Restoration Hotel Asheville. “We kept coming back to both the Biltmore Estate and the Grove Park Inn,” says Anderson, the Restoration’s owner and creative director. “The Biltmore Estate brought all of these wonderful European architects and artisans to Asheville who ended up settling in the region and influencing some of the early architecture of the downtown district.” The modern building rises above downtown’s Pritchard Park and nods to regional treasures—for example, the lobby’s curving archways reflect the influential style of Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino, who visited and remained in Asheville after crafting an elaborate tiled vault for the Biltmore Estate in the early 1890s. Murals from local painter Scott Allred decorate two of the three Restoration restaurants, and a rotating artist-in-residence program debuts with the images of Charleston, South Carolina, photographer Gately Williams. “We want to create as many connections with local artists as we can,” Anderson says. “And the Restoration’s artist-in-residence program is one way to celebrate visionaries.”

April 13, 2023

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The Restoration Asheville’s main lobby flows into the Library. “The original idea [for the Library] came from the estate libraries that you would find in many Southern homes,” Anderson says. The two Restoration Hotels (the other is in Charleston) include a comprehensive collection, but each has their own local flair. “All of our Libraries are different based upon their location and will reflect the history of the city we are in, as well as pieces that create a little mystery about the history of the building itself.”

Photo: Gately Williams

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A reading nook in the corner of the Library.

Photo: Gately Williams

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Bedside details in a suite.

Photo: Gately Williams

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A classic Paper Plane cocktail crafted by bar manager Darren Fallon. Fallon’s drink menu also includes “Traders’ Village,” a spicy and sweet corn-infused Blanco cocktail and “Chicken & Waffles,” with fried chicken skin-infused Four Roses bourbon, spiced rum, apple waffle syrup, and walnut bitters.

Photo: Gately Williams

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A booth at the Exchange, one of the Restoration’s three restaurants along with the top floor Observatory and the pub-inspired Draftsman. The Exchange’s menu highlights Appalachian purveyors, ingredients, and dishes like braised short ribs and mushroom bolognese.

Photo: Gately Williams

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White marble detailing in a guest bathroom.

Photo: Gately Williams

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Each of the Signature Terrace Suites features a window-flanked reading space.

Photo: Gately Williams

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Views from the Observatory overlook the Blue Ridge Mountains, downtown Asheville, and Pritchard Park.

Photo: Gately Williams

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A lounge space leading into the Solarium.

Photo: Gately Williams

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The expansive Solarium event room.

Photo: Gately Williams

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The photography of the current artist-in-residence, Gately Williams, dots the walls.

Photo: Gately Williams

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A Rosé Spritz at the Observatory. At the rooftop bar, the botanically charged cocktails play off the space’s greenery.

Photo: Gately Williams

Gabriela Gomez-Misserian, Garden & Gun’s digital producer, joined the magazine in 2021 after studying English and studio art in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. She is an oil painter and gardener, often uniting her interests to write about creatives—whether artists, naturalists, designers, or curators—across the South. Gabriela paints and lives in downtown Charleston with her golden retriever rescue, Clementine.