The outside of the Fairfield we stayed at in Asheville. Photo by: Marriott

For our time in Asheville, we wanted a hotel that was close to the entrance of the Appalachian Trail. Demand was high around Christmastime, but we found a nice spot to stay in Fairfield Inn & Suites Asheville Tunnel Road. The value was decent and the return was excellent! Overall, we enjoyed our stay here and would return if we needed a hotel close to the App Trail in Asheville.

This review of the hotel is a part of the Blue Ridge Excursion. For more information on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

Hotel: Fairfield Inn & Suites Tunnel Road, Asheville, North Carolina (This Article)

Hiking on the Appalachian Trail

Food and Drinks in Asheville

Conclusion

Intro:

Asheville is a hilly city in Western North Carolina that is known for a few things: proximity to the Appalachian Trail, a hipster vibe similar to Portland (with less homeless… I think!), the Biltmore, and craft beer. The city has expanded quite a bit but the downtown is relatively small. We opted instead to stay on Tunnel Road, closer to the App Trail entrance. The Biltmore is a popular Christmas destination so prices were high and availability was relatively scarse. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Asheville Tunnel Road. As prices were high, the return was as well— I earned 9,000 American Airlines miles from the trip! 

Booking:

I booked this hotel through Rocketmiles to earn lots of AA miles. The process is similar to using Expedia, hotels.com, or booking.com— you can search by location and filter by price or distance. However, I always filter by most miles earned then select the best option from that list.  

View:

The view was that of the parking lot and busy road outside. I knew going in this would be the case. Even if we had gotten a room on the other side, it would have been of the fence and back parking lot… there just are no great views in this hotel. 

In fairness, you aren’t staying here for the view: rather, you want to be close to the entrance to the App Trail.

7/10, So-So. 

Furniture:

The furniture setup was passable. The beds were comfortable though not stellar and there was a small desk provided. Thankfully work was light while there as the desk did not appear to be comfortable. 

8/10, Very Nice. Everything was comfortable, though nothing to write home about. While unremarkable, there was at least a small desk to work while staying in the room. 

Value:

As mentioned above, I booked this hotel for $513.17. $257 a night is by no means a killer deal but a last minute getaway to a popular tourist destination during Christmastime can be exorbitant anywhere. 

The 9,000 AAdvantage Miles I earned go a long way towards future travel. 

8/10, Very Nice. While we did spent a good bit of money, the price seemed reasonable for peak season and the AA miles are a great return.

Location:

My normal disclaimer applies here: location is inherently subjective. Fairfield Inn & Suites Asheville Tunnel Road is located funnily enough on Tunnel Road, about a 7 minute drive from downtown and a 5 minute drive to the entrance of the Appalachian Trail. 

If you want to walk to the shops downtown, this won’t be the best option but if being close to both downtown and the App Trail does matter, this is a great spot. 

9/10, Great. As mentioned, we valued the proximity to the App Trail highly and as such, this was great for our needs.

Electronics:

The wifi is free and has no password. I had no meetings but uploading files went smoothly as did loading anything on our phones and laptop. The TV was smaller but as previously noted, I rarely watch TV on vacation. 

9/10, Great. I take one point away from having no password in the wifi but was pleased with the speed of the internet. 

Food and Drink: 

Breakfast was not included, through we would eat elsewhere anyway. There was a small bar but overall was unremarkable. 

N/A, did not sample.

Bathroom:

As with most of the rest of the room, the bathroom was fairly spacious and well-apportioned. The toilet was next to the sink, and both were across from the shower. The shower was perfectly decent, though nothing to write home about. Hot water and an adequate water pressure are all that you can really ask for in a hotel!

9/10, Great. The bathroom was perfectly nice, though certainly not the best that I’ve had recently. Again, a waterfall shower head is what I’m looking for, so by nature without one the shower will slightly disappoint. In all, the bathroom was solid and what you hope for at a value brand chain hotel.

Overall:

8/10, Very Nice. This hotel was more than adequate for us to book and stay a couple of nights last minute during a popular time of year. The location was great and everything else was solid. Don’t expect the best stay ever and you might just enjoy yourself (and earn AA miles through Rocketmiles)!

Evan