Did you know there’s a place fewer than two hours away where the temperature is always about 10 degrees cooler than it is in Knoxville? That’s because, while our elevation is about 900 feet above sea level, the elevation there is 5,000 feet above it. It’s The Swag, a beautiful 250-acre retreat located just outside Waynesville, North Carolina.
Alan was wearing a sweater vest a couple of weeks ago at The Swag just outside nearby Waynesville, North Carolina.
Alan and I were there for a few days last month and I thought you’d like to see what’s going on there now. We try to experience The Swag every year during three different seasons: spring, summer, and fall. They are closed during the depths of winter. If you’ve ever experienced the two-mile long “Swag Road” leading up to it, you understand why!
For me, the best thing about The Swag — other than the views, the food, and the hospitality — is the fact that despite it being so nearby, you feel as if you are far, far away from everyday life in Knoxville. There are no TVs in the rooms, which might partly account for that feeling. (But there is good internet service, so you can access almost anything using your devices.)
This is the Swag House, the center of most activity at the Relais & Chateaux resort. Our lodging this trip, called Gail’s Room, is located upstairs in the Swag House.
Here’s the view from our room, which is one of 18 accommodations available throughout The Swag property.
Every day at 3, cookies and nuts are served. We got there just in time for them: almond thumbprints, top, and triple chocolate. Executive Pastry Chef Brooke Cannon is amazing, as you will see from some of the desserts.
We love music, so we always try to include a Thursday as part of our stay because that’s when they have the most music — both before and after dinner.
This is Marc and Anita Pruett. He’s an award-winning banjo player and founder of the bluegrass group Balsam Range. They played on the Swag House porch before dinner.
The folks at The Swag are a social bunch and we almost always see other Knoxvillians like Dr. Christine Seaworth, left, and Barbara and Ted Cook. Happy hour is always fun.
There are a lot of bunnies at The Swag, and they almost always come out right before dinnertime. That’s why we often call it “hoppy hour!”
Also, this is a great time to see beautiful flowers there. These were blooming in the front yard: torch lilies, left, and aloe vera (according to my phone!).
The hors d’oeuvres are fantastic. On this date they featured a lovely charcuterie spread, top, fried zucchini, bottom right, and pineapple pepper and goat cheese dip.
Dig in!
Every evening, after an hour or so of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, guests come together in the Swag House living room for announcements led by the current “expert in residence.” In this case, that expert was Steven Reinhold, an experienced outdoor guide who was raised in this area of Appalachia.
During this time, folks having birthdays and anniversaries are recognized and the expert tells us what’s on the agenda for the following day.
And then: dinner! On Thursdays, it’s always a delicious barbecue buffet.
Two of the entree choices were Guinea hens, left, and St. Louis ribs. They also had pastrami brisket and Iberico pork rack.
But get a load of the side dishes: clockwise from top left, grilled broccolini, smoked cauliflower, deviled eggs, corn pudding, baked beans, and bok choy and sugarsnap pea salad. Wow.
Alan’s plate.
Remember that I said the pastry chef was amazing? Case in point, clockwise from top: cheesecake, walnut chocolate chunk cookies, and key lime tarts.
After dinner, Marc and Anita Pruett played again in the living room.
The after-dinner squirrel! He looks cute and innocent, doesn’t he? But the fat little guy is actually stealing bird seed from that feeder hanging beneath him!
The fantastic pastry chef strikes again! Every night there’s a little treat in your room. Alan and I each got one of these. Yum!
Pretty alstroemerias were on the tables when we went to breakfast Friday morning.
The clouds seen from the Swag’s front yard were big and fluffy — my favorite kind. (Especially after seeing the movie, “Sheep Detectives.” The sheep thought that they would become clouds after they died!)
We grabbed the lunches they had packed for us and headed to our favorite place at The Swag — Gooseberry Knob. It’s just a quarter-mile hike and we go up there every day when it’s not raining. (Even more clouds!)
Welcome to Roger’s Hideaway. It’s a tiny wooden overlook named after a scarecrow who used to stand guard over The Swag’s garden.
Alan at Roger’s Hideaway.
The view from there. They say you can see for 50 miles!
Hello friend! My phone says this is a North American wheel bug. Very aggressive to other insects, but “indifferent” to humans, according to Wikipedia.
Back at The Swag later that afternoon, this little glutton was still eating stolen bird seed!
Later, prior to dinner, our friends Doug and Kathy Peters had arrived from Atlanta. They were the next “experts in residence” on the schedule. He’s a fun and talented musician, and he and Kathy are great hike leaders, but he’s also one of the most successful criminal defense lawyers in Georgia.
Doug Peters has been named “Georgia Lawyer of the Year” for Criminal Defense for 2013, 2016, 2018, and 2022 by The Best Lawyers in America.
Check out the appetizers for the second dinner of our visit. Another delicious and interesting charcuterie assortment, top; tempura fried chestnut mushrooms, bottom right; and smoked chicken and blue cheese.
While all the food at The Swag is great, they really shine at their breads and soups. This is bicolor corn soup with Benton’s ham and garlic scapes.
Second course was smashed cucumber with sunflower seeds, feta, and herbs.
I loved the label on this wine which was recommended to pair with the cucumber: a 2025 Big Table Farm “Laughing Pig” rose of Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon. The wine was pretty good, too!
Alan and I both selected the North Carolina flounder with new potatoes, turnips and spring peas as our entree.
Two damn good desserts!
Our little surprises back in the room.
It was actually cool enough for Alan to light a fire!
Saturday promised more good weather. Just look at the beautiful sky that greeted us on Saturday morning!
I love the regular breakfast menu at The Swag, but they also add a chef’s special every day. Alan chose the special: a fried egg sandwich. He loved it.
Another thing we always make a point to do is visit the on-site garden. Between the garden at The Swag and the one at nearby Cataloochee Ranch, which also is owned by Swag owners Annie and David Colquitt, they provide a large percentage of the flowers and vegetables the two kitchens use. The Swag’s garden seems to concentrate on flowers and herbs in particular.
This seems appropriate because, interestingly, The Swag dates its origin to the turn of the last century when the land was first cleared for use as a potato farm. It has operated as an inn for the last 44 years.
Seen in the garden, clockwise from left: butterfly weed; possibly “foxley,” a variegated broad-leaved thyme; Oriental poppy. (All this is according to the identification made by my iPhone. The gardener wasn’t around for me to ask.)
Clockwise from left: daisy; foxglove; lady’s glove.
Clockwise from top left: marigolds; lily; borage; and rhododendron.
Someone else liked the flowers, too!
Shortly after the garden visit, Alan and I headed back up to Gooseberry Knob for another of our favorite Swag activities: the picnic! Weather permitting, the picnic at Goosberry Knob happens every Friday and Saturday for lunch. (If you don’t want to make the quarter-mile hike, the staff is happy to drive you there.)
Gooseberry in picnic mode.
Here’s the view from Gooseberry Knob of the ski slope over at Cataloochee Ranch.
Doug and Kathy Peters making announcements, etc.
Chefs Christopher Markland and Red Griffith were grilling up smashed hamburgers, bison burgers, hot dogs, sausage dogs, and fish burgers. With your choice of cheese and a wide range of condiments.
Alan and I both went for the fish option. It was delish. (There really is a fish burger under that giant tomato!)
But you wouldn’t believe the assortment of side dishes and desserts! At top: bok choy with black garlic miso. Second row, left to right: roasted zucchini and cauliflower with Red’s special sauce; deviled eggs; strawberry rice crispy treats; dark chocolate cream cheese brownies. Third row, left to right: brown sugar pecan cookies; Swag bars; oatmeal cream pies; and millionaire bars. Oh, and there also was fried chicken!
This crow was showing a lot of interest in us — and our food! But we did NOT feed him. We are rule followers. (Don’t laugh — we mostly are!)
Back at the Swag House, another view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Swag actually abuts the Park. In fact, it borders the Park for a mile.
At 4:30, Doug was back out on the porch — and so were we!
I love this guy — the smoking goat! He rules over the bar at The Swag.
As always, the hors d’oeuvres looked great. But I couldn’t eat a bite! Charcuterie at the top, of course, and beet hummus and smoked chicken croquettes.
At dinner, the amuse bouche was burrata topped with proscuitto and a mascerated blueberry.
The fabulous soup was broccolini with Parmesan crisp and chili oil.
Salad was Little Gem lettuce with pistachio, picked onion, and sugar plum vinaigrette.
Alan’s dinner of cobia with corn dumpling, spring onion, Swag tomatoes, and Maltaise sauce.
Unlike me, I selected filet mignon, with stuffed zucchini flower and zucchini with albufera sauce.
We had dinner with Doug and Kathy Peters. Check out these out-of-this-world desserts. Clockwise from top left: my local cheese board with Carolina Moon cheese, strawberry mostarda, and house crackers; Kathy’s lemon meringue with raspberry coulis; Alan’s Irish tiramisu that featured Red Breast whiskey-soaked lady fingers; and Doug’s cookies and cream.
Here we are, left to right, me, Doug, Kathy, and Alan. We had so much fun!
I just wanted to point out one thing. There’s something for everyone at The Swag. While we stick pretty close to The Swag House and enjoy the food and the quietness, we have two other friends (looking at you, John and R.J.!) who sometimes go there at the same time as we do and take a whole different approach. They love to hike. They leave Swag House at sunrise and are just so excited about the daylong hike they have planned. They grab their lunch to go and we don’t see them again until dinner time!
We actually normally do a lot more, but I was happy with some downtime. Alan did get a long massage. We could also have taken a cocktail class, attended a wine tasting, played pickleball, worked on jigsaw puzzles, relaxed in a hot tub, attended yoga, gone on a guided tour to see the famous synchronous fireflies (we’d already seen them this year), or checked books out of the Swag’s library.
So, you can make the trip anything you want. And, as I said, it’s ten degrees cooler!
Make your reservations now!
