Blackberry Farm

A country resort on a private estate of 4,200 acres, about 1,700 hectares, at Walland, in East Tennessee. The official history tells of a 6-bedroom inn the Beall family took on in 1976, grown into 68 accommodations; the family’s own page speaks of a 9-bedroom inn. It has been a Relais & Châteaux member since 1994.

The MICHELIN Guide awards 2 Keys, and the accolades page lists Wine Spectator’s Grand Award since 2006 and first place among US hotels for food and drink in Food & Wine’s 2025 awards. Google Hotels classes it as a 5-star hotel. Blackberry Mountain, 5,200 acres opened in 2019 by the same family, is a separate resort with its own gate.

13 types, 68 keys in all. In the Main House, the Queen and King Historic Rooms; in the Guest House, 9 Estate Rooms; then the cottage suites called Holly Glade, Singing Brook and Carriage House, the Hill Cottages and 6 houses of 3 to 5 bedrooms.

The hotel’s booking engine gives average sizes for 4 of them: 200 square feet, about 19 m², for the Queen Historic Room; 616 square feet, 57 m², for Holly Glade; 698 square feet, 65 m², for Singing Brook; and 1,080 square feet, 100 m², for a Hill Cottage. The other sizes are not published; floor plans are, type by type. From the cottage suites up every type has a fireplace, and Tripadvisor lists air conditioning among the room features.

At 1471 West Millers Cove Road, Walland, in a cove of the foothills at about 1,100 feet, says the hotel’s comparison sheet. The national park adjoins the estate; by road Townsend, on the way in, is 16 km away, the Cades Cove loop 41.2 km and the Sugarlands Visitor Center 47.5 km, on OpenStreetMap’s roads.

It is quiet and self-contained. Maryville, the town on the way to the airport, is 23.7 km away and Knoxville’s Market Square 47.6 km.

Most guests fly to Knoxville’s McGhee Tyson Airport, 30.4 km and 33 to 41 minutes away by our measure, or drive: the hotel’s fact sheet puts Nashville and Atlanta within 3 hours, while OpenStreetMap gives 3 h 12 min to 3 h 50 min from Nashville’s airport and 3 h 55 min to 4 h 33 min from Atlanta’s.

Check-in is guaranteed from 4pm and check-out is at noon, under the reservation policies. Guests moving on to Blackberry Mountain can drive themselves or be taken in one of the hotel’s Lexus cars.

Yes. Google Hotels lists parking as free and Tripadvisor lists free parking too; the hotel’s own pages publish no parking charge and mention no valet fee.

On the estate guests get about by golf cart: one comes with each suite and cottage, one or two with a house. Lexus cars can be borrowed with the hotel’s compliments by drivers aged 21 or over with a valid licence and US insurance, says the Lexus page.

No: this is a mountain estate, about 1,100 feet up and far inland. The nearest Atlantic beach we measured, Folly Beach in South Carolina, is 624.8 km by road, 6 h 17 min to 8 h 3 min at the wheel on OpenStreetMap.

The water here is fresh. There are 2 pools, a pond with canoes, and Hesse Creek for trout; from May to October the hotel runs canoe, kayak and paddleboard outings on lakes about 45 minutes away, and from June to September wake-surfing and lake cruises by boat.

There are 2, both outdoors, on the leisure page. The Wellhouse Pool is a heated saltwater pool with a hot tub beside it and a view of the ridge, for guests aged 16 and over. The Farmside Pool, in the lawns near Camp Blackberry, is the family pool, open to all ages.

A café at the Wellhouse serves light lunches, snacks and smoothies at the poolside. Swimming is among the activities the hotel lists as complimentary; neither pool’s dimensions are published. Boulder Cottage has an outdoor spa tub of its own.

The Wellhouse Pool is heated and open all year. It is open daily from 8am to 7pm, according to the Wellhouse’s spa page and spa etiquette page, read on 15 October 2026.

The Farmside Pool is seasonal, open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, that is from late May to the first Monday of September. The hotel publishes no water temperature for either.

Breakfast, 7.30 to 10.30am, and lunch, noon to 2.30pm, are served in the Main House. Dinner is by reservation at The Barn, in the 6pm and 8pm hours, for diners aged 10 and over, or at the Dogwood, inside the Main House, from 5.30 to 9pm, for hotel guests only and all ages.

The Barn and the Dogwood each have a bar; meals in the room are à la carte from 6am to 10pm, and Meals Afield are 3 courses served out on the estate, by reservation. The wine and food page counts 3 restaurants and the anniversary page 4. The booking calendar shows The Barn closed from 15 to 20 February 2027, replaced by a dinner at Bramble Hall.

The «traditional rate» covers the room and meals in the restaurants at their normal hours, from dinner on the day of arrival, plus the snacks and soft drinks of the room’s pantry and unguided activities, under the reservation policies. The booking engine showed no other kind of rate on the dates we read.

Where the meals end is stated in 2 ways. The policies page and the room pages say breakfast on the day of departure; the policies sheet for travel advisers and the booking engine’s rate note say lunch on that day. Alcohol, room service, the all-day menu between meals and Meals Afield are extra.

The Wellhouse brings together treatment rooms, a steam room in each locker room, the Meadow Lounge for resting, a yoga studio, an activities room and a gym with Peloton bikes, stair climbers and a squat rack, according to the self-guided experiences page. Outside are the adults’ pool and the hot tub.

The hotel publishes neither its floor area nor the number of treatment rooms, and lists no sauna: the heat on offer is the steam room. Vogue’s Global Spa Guide named it among its 100 spas in the world in 2024 and 2025, the accolades page records.

For hotel guests the pool, the hot tub, the steam rooms, the lounge and the gym are part of the stay: swimming and the fitness centre are on the list of complimentary experiences. Treatments, private sessions and group classes at $35 are charged, with a 20% service charge and tax added. A Tripadvisor guest writes of enjoying the spa and its hot tub without booking a treatment.

No day pass is published, and none could apply: the hotel states that the estate, like Blackberry Mountain, is kept for registered guests and that access from one resort to the other is not allowed. Under-16s may not use the pool or gym.

Every day from 8am to 7pm, with seasonal variations, says the spa etiquette page; the gym is open round the clock. Treatments are booked through the concierge or on (865) 380-2086, ahead of the stay if a time matters, and guests are asked to arrive 15 minutes early.

Changes and cancellations are free until 7pm on the day before; after that half the price is charged, and all of it for a missed appointment. A service charge is added to every price, so no further tip is expected.

From the Wellhouse price list: massages at $220 for 50 minutes, $330 for 80 and $450 for 110, whether Wellhouse Soothe, deep tissue or herbal; a couple’s massage from $440; a massage in the room at $450 for 80 minutes. Facials run from $250 to $410, and the Appalachian Body Purification, a scrub, wrap and massage, costs $330.

Outdoors, yoga or meditation in the Deep Healing Woods is $165 for 80 minutes; private fitness sessions are $135. The junior menu starts at the age of 5 with a manicure at $65; facials are given from 16 and massages from 18.

Children of any age are welcome all year, the reservation policies state. Camp Blackberry takes them from the age of 3 for 4-hour sessions at $140, babysitters care for babies from 6 weeks at $35 an hour, and Youth Discovery classes start at 10. Under-4s stay free in their parents’ room.

The limits are at table and in the spa: The Barn from 10, the Wellhouse pool and gym from 16. Children of any age are welcome all year, according to the hotel’s policies page, read on 15 October 2026.

Yes, with notice given before arrival and a one-off fee of $250, billed at departure, under the pet policy. The booking engine marks the cottage suites, the Hill Cottages and 3 houses, the Farm House, Elkmont and the Garden House, as open to pets; the Main House and Guest House rooms are not.

A pet must be on a lead outdoors, may not enter the restaurants or common rooms, the Main House veranda at mealtimes included, and stays crated in the room while its owner dines, has a treatment or goes out with a guide. Blackberry Mountain takes service animals only.

The activities page lists hiking, fly fishing, horse riding from stables a mile from the gate, cycling, tennis and pickleball on 2 hard courts, wine and whiskey tastings, cooking demonstrations and the Farmstead tour. Clay shooting, archery and paintball take place at a range 45 minutes away.

The hiking page counts 12 miles of trails on the estate, the comparison sheet «more than 9 miles». Unguided walks, the courts, the pools and the gym cost nothing; guided outings are priced on the activity list, from $150 for a 2-hour hike or $250 for a trail ride to $950 for a boat outing for 2. Smoking is banned indoors everywhere, and the Oak shop sells the farm’s cheeses and preserves.

The hotel publishes no discounts. What it sells instead is a calendar of events: chefs and winemakers in residence, concerts, wellness weeks and the holidays, each with a fee on top of the room for the sessions that are not complimentary.

Nor is there a cheaper portal. We found no Booking.com or Expedia listing for the hotel, and the Walland cabins that carry its name there are unrelated rentals. Google Hotels showed no seller on 8 October 2026; the MICHELIN Guide quotes rates from $1,045 a night with no date and confirms bookings by phone. A stay split with Blackberry Mountain, 2 nights in each, can fill gaps the 3-night rule leaves.

Yes, as a takeover of the resort. The wedding offerings cover up to 140 registered overnight guests, their rooms and meals, the venues for the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, cocktails, dinner and reception, a menu tasting and, on 3-night packages, group activities on the Friday.

Ceremonies are held on the Main House lawn or at the «Steps to Nowhere» facing the mountains; dinners at The Barn, in Bramble Hall, which seats 140, or under the Yallarhammer Pavilion by the brook. No price is published: the group sales office answers on (844) 718-5034.

Yes, 3 of them. On 31 December 2026 the New Year’s Eve programme offers the Dogwood’s à la carte menu from 5.30pm, a set menu at The Barn from 6 to 10pm at no extra charge, or a gala dinner in The Barn’s wine cellar at 7pm, for guests aged 21 and over, at $595 a person with wines, before service charge and tax.

A champagne tasting at 3pm costs $395, and the party at Bramble Hall starts at 9pm with a toast at midnight. New Year’s Day begins with yoga at the Wellhouse at 9am. The holiday is booked by phone, on (800) 557-8864.

No. Google Hotels lists «Golf» among the hotel’s activities, but the official activity and price lists name no course, no green fee and no golf package; the MICHELIN Guide’s wording is «golf nearby».

The golf carts on the estate are transport. The sports on site are tennis and pickleball, riding, cycling, fishing and walking; shooting, archery and the lake outings are a drive away.

Yes: «open all year», says the fact sheet for travel advisers, and the booking calendar we read runs through the winter with no closure. What changes is the minimum stay: 4 nights at some holidays, 5 at Thanksgiving, from 24 to 29 November 2026, and whole dates given over to events and concerts.

Parts of the estate are seasonal. The Farmside Pool opens from Memorial Day to Labor Day, paddle sports run from May to October and the boat from June to September; the 3pm sessions at the shooting range stop in winter. The hotel’s pages say nothing of hurricanes: the farm is in the mountains, far from any coast.

The hotel’s booking engine, read on 8 October 2026 for 2 adults, gave these average nightly rates for the least expensive room free on each stay: $2,545 from 26 October, $1,845 from 16 November, $1,445 from 20 December, $3,295 from 27 December, $1,745 from 14 January 2027 and $2,045 from 9 March. Meals are included; a 20% service charge, 9.75% sales tax and 5% occupancy tax are not.

Every figure is for one night of a 3-night stay, the minimum, and the room behind it changes with what is left: a Queen Historic Room before Christmas, a King Historic Room in November and January, a cottage suite in late October, a Hill Cottage after Christmas. For the 5 nights of Thanksgiving only the Farm House was free. Google Hotels showed no price for any of the 115 nights it lists to 31 January 2027.

On 8 October 2026 Google showed 4.7/5 from 563 ratings, 87% at 5 stars; Tripadvisor 4.5/5 from 814 reviews, the only hotel it ranks in Walland, with location and cleanliness at 4.7, service at 4.6, rooms at 4.5 and value at 3.8.

Of the 296 Google reviews with text, written between April 2013 and October 2026, 90% of those discussing staff and services are positive and 94% of those discussing the setting. Guests who write about the bill point to what goes on top of the rate: the 20% service charge, the 2 taxes, wine, guided activities and room service.

3 things, by the reservation policies: a 20% service charge, 9.75% sales tax and 5% occupancy tax. A guest travelling alone pays $100 less a night, and each child aged 4 or over in the parents’ room adds $250 a night, meals included, plus tax and service. Spa and activity prices carry the same service charge.

A deposit of 3 nights is taken at booking. Cancelling 30 days or more before arrival returns it less a $100 fee; between 29 and 15 days the whole deposit moves to new dates within a year; inside 15 days half is lost and the rest moves. Concert fees go to charity and are not refunded.