FEBRUARY 6, 2007 ---------
We have two little trips for the month of February, the first being The Duke Mansion in Charlotte, North Carolina and the second being at the Inn on The Biltmore Estates in Asheville, North Carolina. Unfortunately, from what we understand, the Inn on The Biltmore Estates won't be a B&B and you can't actually stay in the Biltmore mansion, so that trip won't qualify for this blog album. But The Duke Mansion most definitely did.
We found The Duke Mansion in our Select Registry book. We've visited a number of the Select Registry B&B's since 2005 and have never been disappointed. They all seem to have
to maintain a high standard to keep their status with Select Registry and we like that. No surprises.The Duke Mansion, built in 1915 by Zebulon V. Taylor, President of Southern Pacific Utlities (now Duke Power Company) is located in the heart of the historic Myers Park which was a lavish, sophisticated streetcar suburb in Charlotte, NC at the time. All the homes in this area are huge mansions and gorgeous. The neighborhood is beautiful with all the homes built on large, well landscaped grounds. Of course, The Duke Mansion was the largest and most elegant. You can't see
the mansion from the street, but instead you drive up a beautiful circular driveway. Once you see the huge white building with the beautiful fountain directly in front, you are amazed!The property was purchased by James B. "Buck" Duke founder of The American Tobacco Company and Duke Power in 1919. He tripled the size of the home and expanded the grounds. His legacy includes Duke University, Duke Power Company, and The Duke Endowment.
We found the foyer to be huge, with gigantic crystal chandeliers hanging everywhere. 
There are beautiful huge windows with views of a lovely garden, gorgeous tile flooring and decorative millwork and moldings. I tried to imagine coming home to this home every night after work - that's what Mr. Duke did when he lived in the home in the early 1920's. You honestly wouldn't have had a clue as to who else was in this gigantic home! People were all over the place, but we felt like we were the only ones there.
There are beautiful huge windows with views of a lovely garden, gorgeous tile flooring and decorative millwork and moldings. I tried to imagine coming home to this home every night after work - that's what Mr. Duke did when he lived in the home in the early 1920's. You honestly wouldn't have had a clue as to who else was in this gigantic home! People were all over the place, but we felt like we were the only ones there.This B&B was advertised as having "residential" guest rooms. I wasn't sure what that meant, but found out when the door
to our suite was opened. The room was exactly what you might expect to see if you lived in a mansion - it didn't look or feel like a hotel or B&B at all. You felt like you 
were staying in someone's beautiful guestroom. Everything looked like it did in the early 1920's - old, kind of 
worn, and expensive furnishings. The bathroom was up-to-date, but the tub was free standing with the faucets on the outside of it. Nonetheless, it had a great shower head with a strong spray - wonderful!
The best part of our room, #207- the Nesbit Room, was the screened in porch outside double French doors. On the huge porch was a double swing and two rocking chairs. It was a beautiful place to sit, rock, swing,
and relax. Unfortunately, the weather was a little chilly and we didn't get to make use of it for long.
and relax. Unfortunately, the weather was a little chilly and we didn't get to make use of it for long.We left a wake-up call, but they didn't call us and we almost missed breakfast. Seemed a little strange to us that the call was missed as we think there was only one or two other rooms being used that night - they were not booked up, that's for sure! When we arrived in the beautiful dining room, we discovered one large round table. There was one couple already seated. I don't usually like family-style seatings, but this couple from Atlanta were very nice and we ended up talking a lot to them about their travels and ours.
I would recommend The Duke Mansion to anyone who is interested in history and who appreciates older, authentic furnishings. This was most certainly a place to stay to unwind as there wasn't much to do in and around the area, although a walk or a jog in the neighborhood would have been wonderful if the weather had been slightly warmer.
