Conde Nast names East Tennessee resort among best in the world: 'Southern hospitality never felt so chic'
The awards just keep coming for Blackberry Farm in Walland.
The East Tennessee destination for luxury relaxation and fine dining has just been named one of the best hotels in the world. That's according to Conde Nast Traveler magazine's 2023 Readers Choice Awards, recognition that comes on the heels of earning a spot this spring on the Food & Wine Global Tastemakers list of the Best Hotels for Food in the U.S.
The Conde Nast Traveler awards were the result of votes from 526,518 readers to name the top 50 lodgings, which include such legendary picks as the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, the Ritz-Carlton in New York and La Mamounia in Marrakech. Blackberry Farm comes in at No. 33 after last making the list in 2021.
What makes Blackberry Farm so special?
"Dating back to 1940, this luxury Relais & Châteaux hideaway in the misty foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains is, for all intents and purposes, a 4,200-acre sleepaway camp for food lovers, where you can take cooking demonstrations, tour the farmstead, plan whiskey and wine tastings, and even meet the Lagotto Romagnolo dogs who are bred onsite and help the team sniff out truffles," the magazine noted. "The pièce de résistance is the James Beard–winning restaurant, which occupies a turn-of-the-20th-century barn where foragers, butchers, bakers, cheesemakers, sommeliers, chefs, and more collaborate on so-called 'Foothills Cuisine.' Southern hospitality has never felt so chic."
Transformed into a six-room country inn in the mid-1970s, Blackberry Farm has expanded to offer six different accommodations ranging from two-room cottages to five-bedroom houses with nightly rates starting at $1,045. Rates include dinner on the day of arrival through lunch on the day of departure with meals served in The Barn, a turn-of-the-19th-century outbuilding, or at the newly opened The Dogwood.
Blackberry Farm also features a brewery, spa and wellness offerings and a farm that produces fresh ingredients for its chefs, as well as its own collections of home, lifestyle and other items for sale.
What other Tennessee hotels made Food & Wine Global Tastemaker list?
Nashville got quite a bit of hotel love.
The Union Station Nashville Yards, Nashville's original train station, broke the top five by coming in at No. 4 on the list. "Union Station is one of the city's most recognizable buildings, and the hotel has a 65-foot vaulted lobby ceiling punctuated by century-old stained glass," the magazine noted.
The JW Marriott Nashville, one of the city’s first true luxury hotels, was ranked No. 45. "The hotel has it all: a gym, a spa, original art, turn-down service with local touches, in-room blow-outs, and a first-class steakhouse," the magazine wrote. The chic and trendy Kimpton Aerston, meanwhile, was ranked No. 39 and was called "a breath of fresh air in Midtown's hotel scene."
Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Conde Nast names East Tennessee's Blackberry Farm among best hotels
