We have very limited hotel options in our area. The only national motel chain within 10
minutes of the church is the Days Inn of Columbus, NC. They are located about 3 miles from my place
- at exit #36 of I-26. I have no
personal experience with them, but I have talked to several people in the area
that would NOT recommend them. They are
closest. Their pool is outdoors and
will NOT be open. They quoted a rate of
$45.87 plus tax. I spoke with the motel
and they currently have rooms available for that weekend. We did not reserve a block of rooms here
based on their local reputation, but I did want everyone to know it is
available. Their phone number is
828-894-3303 for anyone that is interested (and maybe brave).
For guests arriving from the north (by auto): We have reserved a block of 10 non-smoking
rooms for the evening of 2/15/03 (Saturday night, after the wedding &
reception) at the Holiday Inn Express of Flat Rock, NC (Exit #22 off
I-26). You may not find Flat Rock on
the map (best known for the Carl Sandburg home), it is just south of
Hendersonville - about 20-25 minutes north of the church. This motel has an indoor pool and offers a
continental breakfast. Their rate is
$58/night (plus tax). There is a
Cracker Barrel restaurant and a McDonald's within walking distance. The Hendersonville/Flat Rock area offers
plenty of sightseeing/shopping (antique and otherwise) opportunities. For anyone wanting to extend their stay,
rooms are still available (both Friday and Sunday) and they will extend the
same rate to anyone that is also staying Saturday. The motel will hold this block of rooms at the $58 rate until
Feb. 6th, so please plan to make your reservations before then. If you need to make a reservation after the
6th, just tell them you are with the Carpenter Wedding and they will still give
you the $58 rate if the rooms are available.
You can make reservations directly with the motel by calling
828-698-8899 and requesting the rate for the Carpenter wedding (or confirmation
number 68907268 if you can't remember the name!) Please guarantee your reservation with a credit card so they
don't use my number!
We have dozens of B&B's in the area that would love to have you as their guests if you are so inclined. We are using the Stone Hedge Inn for the rehearsal dinner and will be using 5 of their 6 rooms on Friday night. Jim and Sal indicated they are planning to stay there Saturday night also but they should have rooms still available for Saturday night. Their room rates run around $100-$150/night but are well worth it you are able to stick around long enough to enjoy it. You may call Shaula Dinsmore at 828-859-9114 to make your reservation. This Inn is about 10 miles from the church, in-between Tryon and Columbus, NC. The other large "Inn" in our area is the Mimosa Inn.
Airport Info:
Greenville/Spartanburg airport (GSP) is about
40-45 minutes south of the church. That
means the Holiday Inn Express in Flat Rock is about 1 hr. & 15 minutes from
GSP. For those who need to stay closer
to the airport, there are many chain hotels in the airport area. I prefer the Hampton Inns so I've reserved a
block of 5 non-smoking, double queen
bed rooms at the Hampton Inn-Pelham Road.
It is located at exit #54 of I-85 (Pelham Road) - about 4 miles from GSP. These are confirmed reservations - 3 rooms
under confirmation # 81992730 and 2 rooms under confirmation #85664058. I have guaranteed these reservations for
late arrival on the 15th of February, so somebody please remind me to cancel
the unused reservations before 6:00pm that evening so the rooms don't get
charged to my credit card! (Since the
wedding starts at 6:00, maybe someone could remind me before the wedding.)
Charlotte airport is
about 70 miles east of the church. Plan
an hour and a half drive. For anyone
that needs to get to the airport after the wedding Saturday night, you might
want to contact Craig and Abby for a ride to the airport since they will be
driving by the Charlotte airport on their way back to Davidson Saturday evening
and Jim & Sal will probably be headed that way Sunday morning. There are tons of hotel/motel options near
that airport so you're on your own finding one. (If you don't have any luck, let me know and we'll try from this
end.)
There is also a small airport
in Asheville, NC - about 30 miles to the north of Columbus. They have very limited options on flights in
and out of there, but it may be worth checking flights as it's less than 15
miles from the Holiday Inn Express in Flat Rock.
Rental cars are
optional. I'm sure we can arrange
transportation for anyone that needs it - just let us know. Michelle's family all live near GSP, so we
can get someone to the airport within a matter of minutes to meet you.
Weather: We're not able to make any guarantees here, but
we are praying for a sunny, 60 degree day.
(I mowed my yard last weekend.)
It could also be a windy, cloudy, 20 degree day. Check with us Saturday morning on the 15th
of Feb for our latest guess at the weather.
Hope this information is not too overwhelming. Again, just let me know what we can do to help with your travel arrangements as we would like to see enough people at the wedding to justify the cost of the caterer! 828-894-0318 (home) or 828-290-3551 (mobile).