Serious question. What do you notice in every Hallmark movie? Cheesy acting, same ending, and adorable quaint little towns? I love everything about Hallmark movies, but especially the towns they take place in. They are charming, strong communities, beautiful views, adorable downtown areas with the friendliest shop owners, and everything you want to escape to, right? I found the perfect Hallmark movie town, y’all! Highlands, NC is a tiny town in the mountains that is so charming, upscale, and it has Hallmark written all over it. I’m going to share where we stayed, played, and dined.
Where We Stayed:
Creekside Village is fairly new to town and I am SO glad we came across them. We stayed there for two nights in the CUTEST mountain and farmhouse decorated suite on the property. Creekside Village has shops, a restaurant (soon to be another one), and an inn to stay at. The inn consists of six different suites and two of them are pet friendly. All of the suites are decorated beautifully! They are located at the back of the property where there is a peaceful area to sit, drink your coffee, and just watch the water run through the creek.
My favorite thing about staying here is how inexpensive it is compared to the other places to stay in Highlands. It is also walking distance to the downtown area. We were able to walk from our suite to the community event, “Music In The Park.” Side note – how Hallmark is that?! Then we walked through the down town area, picked up dinner, and walked back to our suite.
The feel of our stay was cozy and felt like home. It did not feel like we were staying in a hotel surrounded by strangers. I would honestly be ok with staying in the suite, turning on the fireplace, and just relaxing with a good book and glass of wine.
Highly recommend staying at Creekside Village!
Where We Dined:
What better way to start your day than with some of the best coffee around?! Calders Coffee is the hot spot of the town. Everywhere we went, people were carrying around cups of coffee with the Calders logo on them. We stopped by here both mornings we were here because we loved it so much. The service is quick, yummy, and friendly! I tried one of their fall drinks, the S’Mocha. I am usually one to drink iced coffee even if it is below freezing out. The S’Mocha is a hot drink and I am so glad I gave it a try. Smores and coffee combined?! YUM
Perfect place for breakfast or lunch is Blue Bike Cafe! We could tell they must be good just how busy they stay while they are open. So of course we had to give them a try! Blue Bike Cafe is located at Creekside Village and they offer a discount if you are staying at the inn! SCORE! We each had a biscuit sandwich. Kristopher had a fried chicken biscuit with a side of bacon. I had a bite of the bacon and it was delicious! It didn’t taste thin fake bacon that a lot of places serve. I had a country fried steak biscuit with a fried egg added to it. It was amazing! I also want to add that each booth in the restaurant had these cute pieces of art with various animals riding a bike. I loved it!
Obviously we couldn’t pass up trying out the new BBQ restaurant in town. We met the owner here and he let us try out all of the best stuff they have to offer. Highlands Smokehouse just opened over the summer and they’re definitely a must on places to eat at in Highlands. They offer BBQ in a lot of various ways. They have brisket melts, brisket philly sandwiches, “que-bans,” wraps, and so much more! We tried a little sampler of the meats and sides. My favorites were the chicken, mac n cheese, and the potato salad!
Highlands NC: You probably don’t usually consider eating at a grocery store while you’re on a vacation. Well, we did! Everyone recommended trying out Mountain Fresh Grocery and I am so glad I did. It is not your average grocery store. They have a pizza restaurant, huge wine selection, bakery, and so much more. We ordered pizza and it was very good! We each ordered out own pizza and our total was only around $20!
Located in the downtown area, Wild Thyme Gourmet is a great place to go for lunch or dinner. We sat outside and had lunch with a glass of wine. I had a burger with wild rice and Kristopher had a Salmon BLT with wild rice. It was definitely filling and definitely delicious!
Highlands NC: Sugar Cloud Baking Company is not located in Highlands, but it is WAY worth the 20 minute drive. You get beautiful views along the way anyway. It is the CUTEST shop with the SWEETEST owner that offers the YUMMIEST treats! Sugar Cloud Baking Company specializes in wedding cakes. We saw a few at the shop and they are gorgeous! There were also people in there doing a tasting for their upcoming wedding. Their cupcake tastings looked so good! We got to try a whole variety of things while we were there. Cupcakes, brownies, and macarons, OH MY! We also learned that they serve donuts so we will definitely be back to give those a try! Y’all know I have a sweet tooth!
Where We Played:
So Highlands is actually considered to be part of a rain forest. There are so many hiking trails around. With the elevation of the town being over 4,100 feet, you know you are bound to come across some gorgeous views. The trails are also known to have several waterfalls. Kristopher and I got to walk behind one too!
We walked around the downtown area quite a bit. There are tons of shops to check out or window shop!
So if you can’t tell, we fell in love with Highlands NC. We decided that this is going to be a regular visit for us and we are already excited to go back for more! There is so much more that we want to do and try!
