The Table is Set...

..and we're getting ready for a BIG family Christmas! Our individual pub tables are put together in a LONG banquet shape and both sides of the family will be coming from Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, and Virginia.  Chaos will reign and cooking will be done. Let the eating begin!!!

Here's our 2018 Christmas Toast and we share it with you:

Let kitchens warm from heated stove

Let Grandkids tell how far they drove

Let hugs be tight and fights be few

Let babies burp and Grandpas, too

Let plates be full and laughs be long

Let food be good and bonds be strong

Let love be near and never roam

Let Joy come in and fill our home

Happy Christmas!

After the turkey, ham, and all the trimmings are served, presents will be opened, and the next day they will all pack up and leave. But we won't be lonely for long, because we'll be getting ready to re-open and serve YOU a gourmet candlelight breakfast!

Join us to avoid the after Christmas blues, 

and ring in the New Year in festive Highlands!

 The Inn will be open Dec 28 through Jan 1.

 Holiday lights are twinkling all over town, the shops are open with the best prices of the year, and restaurants offer quiet dinners or late New Year's parties with dancing & champagne.  Or simply bring in a pizza (we recommend Mountain Fresh) and sit by our fire to welcome the first minutes of yet another year, reflect on the past, and look toward what's next.

Speaking of that, now is a good time to think about your Summer and Fall plans for visiting the mountains.  Highlands continues to grow and rooms become scarce at the last minute.  

Miss Rebecca's Cottage is open ALL YEAR (with winter discounts) and B&B rooms will re-open in April. Rooms can be reserved by phone (828) 526-2060 and the cottages can be booked on Airbnb or VRBO (but remember, calling us direct incurs no fees and is cheaper). We welcome your calls or emails anytime!! sleeptight@colonialpinesinn.com

Whatever you do, we wish you the Happiest Christmas ever, and a New Year filled with all the best  along your life's journey!!

Love from US to YOU - Donna & Chris, Innkeepers Since 1984

 Colonial Pines Inn Bed and Breakfast

541 Hickory Street

Highlands NC 28741

(828) 526-2060

sleeptight@colonialpinesinn.com

It's a Late Fall and We Still Have Rooms!!!

On October 19, this beautiful maple tree on our property was completely green, but we'vet had our first nights with temperatures in the 30s, so that is FINALLY setting off the process. There is color showing around town and we're predicting that the FIRST TWO WEEKS IN NOVEMBER will produce the elusive PEAK OF THE LEAVES.

This is good news in a way, because now there are still rooms available for all you folks who don't like to plan ahead.  This is your year to enjoy a last minute Fall!!

UPDATE ON FRIDAY NOV 2:  
TODAY TWO MAPLES ON OUR PROPERTY ARE FINALLY LOOKING GORGEOUS AND WE PREDICT THE PEAK OF THE LEAVES WILL BE SOMETIME THIS WEEK!!
 
WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE B&B ROOM AVAILABLE EVERY NIGHT THROUGH NOV 10 (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SAT NOV 3). 

 JOIN US TO ENJOY THE BEAUTY!!
 

The Guest House Apartment is filled for the rest of the seaon.

Miss Rebecca's Cottage is available Nov 4 - Nov 6,  Nov 12 - Nov 14, and other dates after Leaf Season and throughout the winter.

This availability can change fast so call us now!! (828) 526-2060

Please note that we have had one cancellation for the weekend of the Highlands Food and Wine Festival Nov 8-10. Tickets to the event have been sold old, but you can still enjoy the music on Main Street without even buying a ticket. However, it's not too late to plan ahead for next year for this fabulous event that is getting noticed all over the Southeast. Check it out!

Hope to see you soon in the Mountains!

Donna & Chris Alley, Innkeepers Since 1984

Colonial Pines Inn Bed and Breakfast

541 Hickory Street

Highlands NC 28741

(828) 526-2060

"Connect to Protect" in Highlands

Colonial Pines Inn is the latest location for a "Connect to Protect" Pollinator Garden installed by our daughter, Heather Alley, of the Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens.

Pollinator Gardens have been planted by Heather and her staff in various locations around Georgia. She carefully selects plants in an effort to educate and support wildlife by providing nectar, pollen, food, and shelter.

 

Go to  Connect to Protect, to learn more about this important program, 

and check out the Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies 

for valuable information about their important work in saving native plants for use in habitat restoration, endangered species recovery, and introduction to the gardening and green industry community.

 

Heather chose plants specifically for our area and growing conditions. Science & Conservation staff and Education staff from the State Botanical Garden of Georgia will work with you to customize your Connect to Protect garden to suit your site and individual needs. Contact them at garden@uga.edu.

An informative sign explains the program and helps foster an appreciation for the connections between plants, animals, and people.

It was a family project, and Heather had help from son Owen

 and father Chris, owner of Colonial Pines.

Many Thanks to All Three!

Come see our beautiful new garden!

 

Colonial Pines Inn Bed and Breakfast

541 Hickory Street

Highlands NC 28741

(828) 526-2060

Opening for the 2018 Season on March 23...

...and it won't be long until these delightful little guys are back to say hello to our Moon Feeder on the front porch.  They bring a bit of fantasy to the mountains and we eagerly await their arrival!

After a Snowy January and a Spring-like February, we are currently (in mid March) experiencing occasional snow flurries followed by cold winds revealing clear blue skies. Surely this means Spring is on the way!

It was a busy winter and we did what innkeepers do in the off-season - catch up on things there is no time for in Summer & Fall.  That means doctor appointments, holidays with family, taxes, a couple of great vacations, sprucing up the Inn, and some old-fashioned relaxing.

Having done all that, we are ready to have guests again, and it will feel good to get back into a routine.  After this many years in innkeeping, we just wouldn't know what else to do!  Our across-the-street innkeeper friends from the former 4-1/2 Street Inn report that they miss innkeeping but are settling into a comfortable retirement while their former building is a bee-hive of activity and getting ready to open as a nine-bedroom rental house.  It's been interesting to watch the transformation! We're happy to welcome all their past guests who still seek out an authentic B&B run by the owners who live in the building and prepare a sumptuous home-made breakfast, served in the dining room or on the breezy wrap-around porch.

We offer a little of everything, so if a separate cottage is more to your liking, check out our two vacation rentals which can be booked online:

Miss Rebecca's Cottage

(at www.vrbo.com)

and

 The Guest House Apartment

(at Airbnb.com)

BETTER YET, CALL OR EMAIL WITH YOUR EXACT DETAILS (Adults/Children, length of stay, etc) FOR A PERSONALIZED QUOTE ON THE COTTAGES AND SCROLL TO THE PREVIOUS POST TO CHECK OUT THE 25% SPRING DISCOUNTS.

Thanks for visiting our blog and we hope to hear from you soon!

Colonial Pines Inn Bed and Breakfast  

541 Hickory Street

Highlands NC 28741

(828) 526-2060

Donna & Chris Alley, Innkeepers Since 1984

 

A Snowy Start to 2018!

Side View

At times this winter, Miss Rebecca's Cottage looked like this.

View from Driveway

 At other times, it looked like this.

Well, you know how weather predictions are, and we can't guarantee which scenario you'll end up with, but we can guarantee a great deal on accommodations at Miss Rebecca's Cottage through April
 with these off-season discounted prices:

WEEKLY RATES:

January & February $800

March & April $900

NIGHTLY RATES:

2 adults $175 per night

4 adults $225 per night

6 adults $300 per night

If some in your group are children, or you're planning to stay more than two nights, call or email for an even more discounted quote. Check out Miss Rebecca's Cottage at www.vrbo.com/37271 for photos and details - but call us direct to avoid their fees and get a lower price.

WHERE IS MISS REBECCA'S COTTAGE?
Right in town at 31 Gibson Street on a beautiful, private 2/3 acre.  Right across the street you'll find the Highlands Nature Center and immediately adjacent is the popular Sunset Rock Hike.  You'll love the 1/3 mile walk to the center of town through the "rabbit hole" sidewalk.

Rabbit Hole Sidewalk to Center of Town

WHAT TO DO IN HIGHLANDS IN WINTER/'EARLY SPRING?
LOTS!! In-town ice skating, indoor heated pool, live theater and other events at the Performing Arts Center, first run movies at Highlands Playhouse, bluegrass & country rock at Ugly Dog Pub, and much more!!  Check out the winter & spring offerings at highlandschamber.org and thelaurelmagazine.com, each of which keeps a calendar of events. Or just live like a local and enjoy the serenity of off-season Highlands without the crowds!

Here at Colonial Pines Inn, we're hibernating or vacationing until Spring and if we're out of town, our amazing housesitters are available to answer calls. We're taking reservations now for the busy Summer & Fall Seasons and for special events such as the Highlands Food and Wine Festival in mid-November (check it out at HighlandsFoodandWine.com). 

DID YOU KNOW?
Colonial Pines is one of the few establishments in Highlands that includes a fantastic homemade and beautifully served breakfast. With reasonable prices, we are popular (if we do say so ourselves) and  we'd love to have you try us for the first time  - or have you back if you been with us before!!

If you don't care about breakfast and want  more space than just a room, check out The Guest House Apartment, and if you're on a budget, try The Bargain Basement. Both are in the little guest house adjacent to the Inn.

BED & BREAKFAST ROOMS WILL BE OPEN STARTING MARCH 23

We look forward to seeing you in Highlands in 2018!!

Donna & Chris Alley, Innkeepers Since 1984

Colonial Pines Inn Bed and Breakfast

541 Hickory Street

Highlands, NC 28741

(828) 526-2060