Club Lodges at Trillium

Club Lodges at Trillium is located in Cashiers NC. Which is in the mountains of North Carolina near Ashville. Set deep in National Forest this region is amazing to visit any time of the year, but it famous for the changing of seasons, and the leaves.

The drive for me was a little over 7 hours, taking I-40 most of the way from Virginia.

Video by India Travel

Day One Arrival

Since this resort is in the mountains near 3 National Forest you do have the sense you are going back to nature, and getting away from it all. On the way to the resort, I stopped at what I felt was likely the last grocery store on the way and got some snack and breakfast items in case I did not want to leave the resort as much, or there were not many local restaurant choices.

Often I wait to do that until I settled in and had checked in at the resort, but here I wondered if the drive out might be 30 minutes or more to the grocery store so I purchased ahead of time.

Pulling up to the resort you find the location is indeed remote, and that is a large part of the charm here. The resort is set on 750 acres of land near 1,400-acre Lake Glenville. Here you are not on the lake but close enough to make the lake an easy experience a part of your trip.

The units here are very large and start with 2-bedroom units at almost 1,300 sq ft and go up in size from there. The 3-bedroom units are grand in scale indeed. Ideal for large family reunions or gatherings of all kinds. To me, the location would be amazing for Christmas and be something the family would remember for many years to come.

The resort has many amenities.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

As you can see from the list, this resort is all about getting in touch with nature and being active, while staying in very cozy and comfortable surroundings.

Given the size of these units, I felt too guilty to travel solo, so I brought some friends along on this trip. We would enjoy this trip as two couples staying in one of the very large 2-bedroom units.

It is nice to have a washer and dryer for longer vacations or when there are water activities involved. I can still mentally feel the chill of getting back into cold swimsuits on vacations the morning after they were left to dry hanging in the shower on a vacation. I love being able to wash and dry them instead and get back into dry warm swim trunks. It is a simple thing but so much nicer.

When you are somewhere traveling, it is also nice to have the kitchen for those times when you do not want to go out, or when there are not many options in a rural or remote area.

After checking in, we all went around the resort together. The ladies laughed and joked with both of us guys by saying how lovely the chapel was and how nice a venue this would be for a small family wedding. I did not make the mistake of agreeing out loud, but it would make a wonderful spot for a small private wedding and reception. There are even onsite restaurants that you could use for a reception.

Then after a wedding guests could enjoy the lake, golf, and other resort options. Mentally I thought if I ever got married I would do it on a cruise ship. That way the morning after if I decided I had made a tremendous mistake I could always jump overboard (joking). This would be a contender for me because the location is lovely, and I prefer the idea of a very small wedding. My sister had a lovely wedding that I think most girls would envy and I have been to a few other large weddings in my life, but I think the smaller ones have always felt more my speed.

After the tour, we decided to belly up to the bar for drinks and then try out one of the two on-site restaurants for an early dinner.

We chose the Clubhouse for Dinner since it looked like an amazing spot to be able to eat outside on the patio from. I tried the Cesar salad and then the Butter Chicken for dinner. The steaks my friends ordered looked amazing as well, and I even had a bite of fillet which was prepared perfectly. Hats off to the chef.

Here the country club atmosphere was nice and friendly and not too stuffy. While it is certain you would not likely dine here in overalls, the location was not one that made you feel you needed the dinner jacket, complete with the club seal in place to feel dressed for dinner.

The resort also offers the Landings which is even more casual and laid back if you prefer that kind of setting. We talked about that option for tonight we decided we would try that yet another day during our trip. It is billed as a lakefront bar and grill and has a simpler menu.

Day Two waking up at Club Lodges at Trillium

The large villa gave both couples plenty of space in the morning and made everyone comfortable waking at their own pace. I started to make a small breakfast then as everyone got moving; I finished by making everyone one of my omelets, toast, and some fresh-cut fruit for breakfast. It was simple to do, and everyone seemed to like the idea of starting the day slowly in the villa.

The ladies had already booked themselves a trip to the SPA (somehow doing that without myself or my friend knowing what the ladies were up to). At the SPA there are saunas available and men’s and women’s locker rooms. Then there is a massage therapist you can book, and that is what the ladies had managed to do without us guys seeing what they were up to. Clever girls. I think at the time there was only one masseuse, so they staggered their appointments one after the other, and the other lady spent time in the sauna while her friend received the massage.

While they were pampered, I and my friend jumped in the car to see more of the area outside of the resort. They were having some girl time,, so the boys thought we would have some fun too. Since it was just us, we did not go check out the many waterfalls in the area, we just kind of drove around and got a better understanding of where everything was for later so we would look like area guides to the ladies later.

Nearby Cashiers NC, is an ideal small town with a population of 157. Has tons of shops and locations and once the early morning changed over to the afternoon, we found the Whiteside Brewing CO. Which had locally made brews and great burgers that had magically called our name without any large signage or advertising.

Even with lunch, I was feeling no pain after a few Belgian Triple Beers given their 9.3% ABV, and smooth taste. I was OK to drive only because of my size and the size of my lunch. That is one thing about getting older and not drinking as much as you do when you are young. At least you can feel it come on and make safe choices.

If I had a 3^rd, I would have handed the keys to my friend for the short trip back to the resort. As it was, I was just feeling loose, not out of it at all. Safety first. Whiteside was clearly a popular local spot. This entire area screamed of neat places to hang out and visit, and it also screams MONEY. A quick look at real estate in the area and you will find more multi-million-dollar homes than most areas you may visit. Some homes were well over 10,000 square feet with price tags to match.

There are does not feel like the kind of place to open up its doors for a parade of homes, but maybe they do a garden tour or something that would let you access some of the amazing real estates here and take a look around. I like visiting real estate listings, even when I am not currently in the market. I just like touring homes and seeing how some people design their homes for their lives.
If the kind of tour opportunity is available during your trip, you may want to take a day and do it, because some of the views and properties here seem very impressive.

For travelers that love nature and fine dining, this may be your paradise found. After picking up the girls and refreshing at the resort, we headed out to see the sights and then go to a local restaurant that we had to get reservations for before our trip.

We thought the ladies would like to see some of the local waterfalls, so we headed first to Silver Run Falls. The area receives on average 75 inches of rain a year, so there are many waterfalls in the area. Most of the year here you will find a flowing waterfall with a 25-foot drop that you can easily access if you are game.

After a while, at this location, we headed for the Dry Falls in Highlands NC. These are even more amazing and there are walkways here that give you access to go under and behind the falls for an amazing view and experience. I highly recommend this stop. Well unless you are with a gal that was recently talking about a wedding, this spot is romantic and might get you into trouble guys.

We were in town in the springtime but if it had been warmer, I would have taken the group another few miles outside of Highlands to the Secret Waterfall but it is best visited when you can get in and get wet. So, we left that off the list on this outing. When it is hot outside though some of the waterfalls like the Secret Falls where you can get in the water must be amazing!

We did go to Bridal Vail Falls because I heard you could drive behind the falls. When we arrived, we found that the little road behind the falls was closed for the safety of cars, but you could walk under the falls on that same road so we did so. For an area that has so many pricy dining options and things to do, the area does offer some of the best waterfalls and natural parks that are free you will find anywhere.

The budget conscious who just wanted to get away from it all could come here and see all that mother nature has in store and cook for themselves in their villas and be happy campers for sure. Never feel weird about where you are financial. We all have ups and downs. Years where we might have no real limits on what we do, then other times when just renting the place to stay is a big expense. I was just glad to be staying through TZort and saving money on the resort itself, which I could use for fancy meals out, or whatever I wanted on my trip.

I guess it seems like I am writing to prep you for an outing to a very expensive restaurant for our dinner, talking about the cost of things so much. While the restaurant we are going to is not a low-cost family location, they do have many options, including gourmet-level grocery supplies for locals with some of the best cooking ingredients imaginable.

Our reservation for The Orchard was in about an hour so we got on the road and headed for dinner. Here the menu you see online does not offer any prices, but they give you hints in advance via their To Go menu pricing. What the locals love too is their Virtual Larder Shop and the food that they can get for themselves or in some cases their own private cooks can pick up weekly.

The menu here offered a great many seafood options as well as fresh local farm fare too. My meal started with crab cakes then I chose the 107 Fillet which was an apple bacon-wrapped fillet in a larger 9oz size. That extra ounce mattered because it was so good. It also had a pimento cheese crust on the exterior that made it unique and wonderful.

The others are the table chose their seafood and or a version of surf and turf as well. Some had trout, others shrimp and grits, and everyone was very happy with their meal. I enjoyed some North Carolina Cider Beer with my meal and the others at the table working on bottles of wine with their meals. I had already had those great beers at lunchtime and did not want to move to wine, instead choosing the easier-to-handle cider to make sure I was the safe driver for the group.

After a day of waterfalls and an amazing meal, it was back to the resort. There had been a ton of romance in the air and I felt like my buddy might be giving in to the jokes about marriage early in the trip. He looked perfectly smitten.

Day Three at the Resort

As the day started, I thought I was going to need a firehose for the other couple. Clearly, the setting and everything were impacting them. So in an effort to keep them on the move, we chose to go to Ashville today and let the ladies walk and shop, as well as visit some of the local galleries.

Ashville is not close it is about 1.5 hours from the resort. If you have not been before or like me it has been a while, it is a great place to visit. We were not up for the full Biltmore Tour and visit today but there is a ton to do and see in town for sure. If you have not done the Biltmore tour, I write about it in another trip I took and you likely want to consider booking a day trip there for the full tour and experience. It is one of those places that gets you as close to royalty as America has to offer. A very impressive location and a fun day trip.

Ashville has many galleries and over 200 shops of all kinds. They also have many great restaurants and locations to visit. We started our day with a 90-minute trolly-style bus tour of the city. It was affordable and well planned out and operated. I strongly recommend this as an option for people who want to see more, walk less, and get a quality guided tour experience. They point out 100 points of interest in the journey and the staff is very professional. The company also offers a hop hop-off kind of day pass, which is what we quickly upgraded to next.

When booking you can get discounts like the 50% Discount on Admission to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial as well. Which is a nice bonus. There are 10 stops along their route here and you can use your pass for 2 days if you do not see it all in a day. That is a great value for travelers.

We got off the Trolly at each stop and made a day of it. At Biltmore Village, we stopped and ate at the Red Stag Grill. Visually it was a most impressive restaurant and location. It is such a neat location that it is worth trying for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If you are counting pennies the lunchtime sandwich options are less than $20 a person and are offering great choices. The steaks here are amazing and priced above $40 per entrée, which given the quality is more than fair pricing.

The cocktail menu here is like a trip back in time. When bartenders worked their craft to its highest implementation. At this point of the day, I was ready for a few good drinks, and with hours before I had to drive again; I was all in on trying a few hand-crafted wonders.

We took our time here in this amazing location and I enjoyed 3 great drinks that made my afternoon for sure. Then it was back to the next passing Trolly and on to tour more of the city. A few hours and stops later and we had a wonderful day of it for a really affordable price all in. If we had more time or were staying in Ashville itself, I would certainly take advantage of the trolleys for day two.

After a full day, it was back to the resort for the night then check out in the AM, followed by a few more waterfalls (ladies’ request) before the drive back home and out of the area.

After the three days were done, I wanted to extend my stay and just live in the moment. Pretending that (for a while) this was my new lifestyle. But even the dreams of good men suffer deaths from reality from time to time, and I had to get back to my business and work.

If you want to take a wonderful mountain vacation in North Carolina or even get married, consider booking the stay via TZort, and staying at the Club Lodges at Trillium.