Old Edwards Inn and Spa

Where the Blue Ridge Sets the Table

At roughly 4,000 feet above sea level, Highlands, North Carolina occupies a particular position in American resort dining. The town sits along the Eastern Continental Divide, and its elevation keeps summer temperatures cool enough to sustain a hospitality culture built around lingering — long meals, slow afternoons, deliberate evenings. Old Edwards Inn and Spa, on Spring Street in the heart of Highlands, is the property most associated with that rhythm. Its 4.7/5 member rating signals consistent execution over time, not a single standout season.

The broader context matters here. American fine dining in mountain resort settings has historically lagged behind its coastal peers, with kitchens content to serve reliable steaks and regional comfort food to captive resort guests. That model has shifted considerably over the past decade. Properties from Asheville south through the Georgia mountains now field serious culinary programs, and the tasting menu format — long the province of urban destinations like Alinea in Chicago or The French Laundry in Napa , has migrated into resort settings where a captive, destination-minded audience is already primed for an extended evening at the table.

Southern Fine Dining and the Tasting Menu Turn

The American tasting menu movement took root in urban kitchens, but its underlying logic , local sourcing, seasonal progression, a sequence that builds toward a point , translates naturally to resort properties with land, altitude, and season working in their favor. Blue Ridge resort dining sits at an interesting intersection: the Southern kitchen's instinct toward preserved, fermented, and smoked ingredients now reads as sophisticated technique rather than regional habit, and chefs in this corridor are leaning into that reappraisal.

Old Edwards positions its dining program within that movement. Chef Chris Huerta leads the kitchen, and the cuisine type is listed as American Southern, a designation that at this level implies far more than biscuits and gravy. In contemporary Southern fine dining, American Southern has come to mean a kitchen that respects preservation traditions, engages with Appalachian foraging culture, and sources within a tight geographic radius. Comparisons belong less with casual regional cooking and more with the Southern-influenced tasting formats found at The Catbird Seat in Nashville or the ingredient-forward approach of Harken Cafe in Charleston.

On a national scale, the ambition implied by resort fine dining of this tier aligns Old Edwards with destination properties elsewhere in the country where the kitchen is a primary reason to book the room. Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown established the template for farm-anchored resort dining at the highest level; Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg built an entire property around the kitchen's seasonal program. Old Edwards operates in that same conceptual territory, where the resort and its dining room are understood as a single, coherent experience rather than separate amenities.

The Property and Its Setting

Old Edwards sits within walking distance of Highlands' small commercial core, which means it benefits from the town's concentrated hospitality culture without requiring guests to drive anywhere in the evening. The Tom Jackson-designed golf course extends the property's footprint into the surrounding landscape, and for guests who think of a resort stay as a sequence of purposeful activities rather than a collection of amenities, the structure works: morning on the course, afternoon at the spa, evening at the table.

The Blue Ridge context shapes the dining program in ways that distinguish it from coastal or plains-based resort kitchens. Altitude affects growing seasons, wild ingredients arrive in narrow windows, and the surrounding forest and streams define what a genuinely local larder looks like. Restaurants operating at this elevation in this region work with a different pantry than their peers in the Carolina Lowcountry or coastal Georgia. That specificity is part of what makes Highlands dining worth the drive from Atlanta , roughly 225 km via US 64 / NC 28 , or the shorter journey from Asheville or Clemson, approximately 75 km away by car.

Where This Fits in Highlands Dining

Highlands supports a dining scene disproportionate to its size, largely because its visitor base skews toward travelers who treat food as a primary reason to visit rather than a logistical necessity. The town draws from Atlanta, Charlotte, and the broader Southeast, and the expectation level is high. Old Edwards anchors the upper end of that scene, with Madison's Restaurant representing another reference point for American dining in the area.

For visitors building a Highlands itinerary beyond a single dinner, the town's full hospitality picture spans cocktail bars, wine-focused venues, and curated experiences that reward slow exploration. EP Club's full Highlands restaurants guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide map the broader scene. The Highlands hotels guide places Old Edwards in its accommodation context alongside the town's other overnight options.

Planning Your Visit

Old Edwards Inn and Spa is located at 455 Spring St, Highlands, NC 28741, with GPS coordinates 35.0524, -83.1968. The most direct access by car is via US 64 or NC 28, with Atlanta's international airport approximately 225 km to the southwest and Clemson, SC about 75 km to the southeast. There is no train service directly into Highlands; Clemson is the nearest station of note, though most guests arrive by car given the mountain terrain. For a resort property of this profile, booking well in advance is advisable, particularly for peak summer and fall foliage seasons when Highlands sees its highest demand. The 4.7/5 member rating across three reviews reflects a small but positive sample; first-hand expectations should be calibrated to a Southern resort fine dining format rather than a standalone urban tasting menu room.

Travelers looking for reference points elsewhere on the American fine dining circuit can benchmark the format against Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Providence in Los Angeles, Le Bernardin in New York City, Emeril's in New Orleans, The Inn at Little Washington, or Addison in San Diego , each representing a distinct regional expression of what American fine dining can mean when it operates with intention and place-specificity.