If you’re traveling the I-95 or I-40 corridor — driving from Florida toward New York, cutting through the Southeast, or making the return trip south — Asheville has a way of turning a planned one-night stop into something you didn’t expect to need as much as you did. Positioned in the Blue Ridge Mountains roughly midway between Florida and the Northeast, it’s one of the most naturally placed road trip breaks on the eastern seaboard.
We’re Paul and Mirlin Manshon, innkeepers at The Reynolds Mansion, and between us we bring more than 60 years of hospitality experience to this property. We know what it feels like to arrive somewhere after a long day behind the wheel and just need it to be right. That’s what we try to deliver every time someone walks through our door.
Our 1847 brick mansion sits on four acres at the base of Reynolds Mountain — quiet, private, and genuinely removed from the road. The Blue Ridge Parkway is ten minutes away for a morning drive or an easy trail. The Biltmore Estate — America’s largest private home — is fifteen minutes out if you want to add a half-day stop that’s worth the detour. Downtown Asheville is ten minutes in the other direction, with breweries, restaurants, and galleries if you want an evening out. And when you’re ready to get back on I-40 or I-26, you’re on the highway in minutes without backtracking.
What makes the stop worth building into your route: Paul prepares a four-course breakfast each morning from scratch — locally sourced, freshly made, and the kind of meal that holds you through a long day of driving. Our 11 guest rooms are spacious and historic without feeling like a museum, and designed for actual rest. We’re attentive to who’s here and what they need — that’s just how we run the place.
Asheville sits approximately four hours from Raleigh, Durham and Atlanta, two and a half hours from Charlotte, five hours from Nashville, and roughly midway on the drive between Miami and New York. Many of our guests come from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia — treating Asheville as a deliberate stop rather than just a pin on a map. Some stay one night. Many extend to two or three once they’re here and realize there’s more than they planned for.
If you’re plotting your route and want to build in a stop that’s worth the pause, we’d love to have you. Book your stay here or visit thereynoldsmansion.com. We’ll have everything ready when you arrive.
— Paul & Mirlin
