The Grove Park Inn has been home to many famous guests over the past century, including ten US presidents. The most fascinating to me, however, is F. Scott Fitzgerald, who stayed in rooms 441 and 443 for two summers in a row, drinking his life away and chasing socialites as his wife steadily lost her sanity at a nearby asylum. In the ultimate case of life imitating art, F. Scott Fitzgerald became a character ripped from the pages of his own generation-defining novels. Ultimately, Fitzgerald left Asheville for Hollywood to become a screenwriter to pay for his lavish lifestyle. He only lasted two years in Hollywood... and on this earth.
If you ever have the opportunity to stay at the Grove Park Inn, request to be placed in the Old Building above the grand lobby. Better yet, see if you can get one of Fitzgerald's rooms. They're not nearly as nicely appointed as the new wings and Fitzgerald's rooms overlook the carpark rather than the mountains (rumor has it he requested the view so he could scope out prospective conquests as they arrived at the hotel) but they take you straight back to the jazz era as you walk in the footsteps of the giants who came before you.
Whatever you do, though, don't stay in room 545 unless you want to share it with the Grove Park Inn's resident ghost, the Pink Lady.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 2 drone with a GoPro Hero 3+ Black camera.
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