Great visitor’s blog review of Ashvegas here:
So Christine and I went to Asheville for several days, and a good time was had by all. Downtown Asheville is essentially one skyscraper surrounded by a bunch of hippie shops. I really needed to discover this place about 13 years ago, back when I was all into hippie stuff. Lots of altered clothing shops as well, ranging from the really innovative and neat to the overpriced and banal. I appreciated the wide range of restaurants, as well as the fact that were three sushi shops on the same street in downtown, all within about 8 minutes walking distance of each other. Mmm sushi. There was a crazy bead store there, whereupon I acquired some UV-receptive beads. Also, chocolate shops. I heart fudge.
We got badgered for money a few times. A few scammers were running around with some holey stories about being a veteran and needing money for staying at a hotel who price had suddenly increased (my fabulous suggestion that he go to a hotel further out, as the prices were cheaper, was quickly rejected for a nonsensical reason). There were also a few pseudo-homeless about. By pseudo-homeless, I mean some young, articulate fashion conscious faux-gutterpunk kids prowling for dollars. I did end up giving some dude my leftovers for his dog, but then again, “dragon pt” wasn’t quite what it could have been.
We did the Biltmore. Expensive, though the house is interesting. Swimming pool in the basement is all sorts of bonus creepy. The food there is totally not worth it, they’re totally tarnishing the “we are a fancy place to visit” image by offering a turkey and swiss wrap for $8+, only to have the swiss be white american. It was one of the worst wraps I’d ever eaten. The pizza suffered from similar issues, the description told of lavish ingredients, but the reality looked like your standard flat ordinary pizza. Alas.
3 Comments
This place gives me the creeps the longer I’m here. I am spending until the end of my lease hiking, touring surrounding states, and staying far away from much of AVL.
Disney is just the word that’s been coming to mind lately for Asheville – even West Asheville. It’s very contrived.
Very accurate.
Asheville is kinda interesting. Head down Patton Avenue and it’s anywhere, America.
There’s pretense north and south of downtown. Downtown is often mistaken as being like Disney for some. I nearly run over those folks.
Frankly, I’m not the best person for touristas to meet. In fact, I’d like to have a few heads on a stick from the Chamber of Commerce.
And horror of horrors, I’m local. I’ll be one of the last natives to turn off the lights.
Well……This review pretty well summarizes the experience many tourists have in our little mountain metropolis. I find many visitors really like our downtown, but others are turned off by the panhandlers.
As for Biltmore, it is truly expensive. It is definitely worth a visit if you have never been there before….but after that, no way would anybody in their right mind want to pay the admission fee plus all the extras.
The food at Biltmore is total crap tourist food. Even the restaurants on the estate are bland and very overpriced. Biltmore gets tourists "behind the gates" and then screws the over royally with a mediocre product.