Last year, I escaped to High Hampton in the height of the July heat and, this year, I was lucky to replicate the cool air of the mountains yet again. I wrote two stories for StyleBlueprint this spring — one on all-inclusive resorts and another on Southern ranches — and two of the properties I covered invited me to stay.
The first part of our week was spent at the most idyllic property in Waynesville, NC called The Swag. This was on my round-up of all-inclusive resorts, which I didn’t even realize exist outside of tropical destinations. But, at this hideaway on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains, everything is included except spa treatments and alcohol. That includes all meals and activities.
A Stay at The Swag
The Swag is tucked away on a mountaintop, and you arrive at a welcome cabin where you’re greeted with a Southern accent and a drink before hitching a ride up to The Lodge, where we stayed in Lauren’s Room. Everything is absolutely magical from the moment you arrive, and we settled right in on the porch, awaiting their Wednesday mountaintop picnic on Gooseberry Knob, which is a tradition that’s beloved by return guests (of which there are many). There’s not much better than easing into a stay with a buffet of elevated classic cookout fare, a mountain breeze, and adirondacks overlooking views as far as the eye can see.
There is not a packed itinerary of activities to do at The Swag, and that was perfect for what I wanted (plus, we didn’t have a car, so we were truly forced to embrace the serene setting). Each morning, a list of the day’s offerings is posted, and you can pick what you’d like to attend. We weren’t there for some of the activities I would have loved to have tried — yoga, barista class — but we did get to enjoy the spa, the hot tub overlooking the mountains, an art class with the experts-in-residence, and Adam went hiking. The spa is small but absolutely lovely, and my massage was exactly what I needed. The experts-in-residence are such a unique addition to the property, and we truly lucked out that the experts while we were there were artists. The class we took was on printmaking — something I never would have tried otherwise.
When it comes to food, every morning, there’s breakfast, which was perhaps my favorite meal of the day. Their Swag Latte is my favorite latte I’ve ever had, hands down, and all of the breakfast dishes were delicious (even the oatmeal with the brûléed banana!). Lunch is served to-go style, either in a picnic basket or a big (why wouldn’t you choose the picnic basket?), then there’s an evening cocktail hour before dinner at 6:30 p.m. Then, every Thursday, there’s a casual barbecue dinner, which was a highlight of our stay.
One note that I think is important to know because some people will love it and others might not: when we were there, the other guests were extremely chatty. There are only 14 rooms, which lends itself to an environment where people will want to get to know the other guests, but I was surprised just how much inter-guest conversation there was. I expected it at the hot tub or the evening cocktail hour, but other couples even wanted to chat between tables at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Adam did not mind this at all, though, for me, as an introvert, I want my quiet time.
