RUGBY

I need a quick weekend getaway for the wife and I. Neither of us have ever been to Charlotte - - - it's proximity fits nicely with our plans for a short flight from NYC.

Although the Ballantyne Resort seems highly recommended, I was hoping for some 'actual' feedback from the S2K members.

So, would you recommend this resort? I want to play a round of golf. We want to use as a base to explore the city.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Additionally, if you have any recommendations (food, places of interest, nightlife (for the 40+ crowd), etc...) for Charlotte or vicinity, please post them up.

If we come, it would be from May 30 to Jun 2 if that helps.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

**************************

Trip Update:

Thank you all for your recommendations. We had a great time in the city and really enjoyed our stay.

Didn

batguano

We have a very large group in the Charlotte area so yyou are sure to get some good info soon.
Enjoy yourself.

_rs_

Not sure if I can be a huge help, but I might be able to provide a little bit of insight.

Ballantyne Resort is in Pineville, NC. From there you are likely 10-15 miles to uptown Charlotte. About 1/2 way there is the Southpark area. Now I don't know what your interests are but I would guess these are the 3 areas you would spend most of your time. I would recommend renting a car.

Others will be able to comment more on Uptown Charlotte then I can. I actually live south of the city and don't get uptown very often.

The Southpark area has some great shopping and dining. The Southpark mall has all the high-end stores in it and there are a lot of speciality shops in the surrounding area if you and / or your wife want to drop some $. As far as resturants are concerned you have a lot of choices, Del Friscos, Ruth's Chris, Oceanic, The Palm, Maggiano's, Manzetti's, Upstream, just to name a few.

In the Pineville / Ballantyne area there is also good dining and shopping. Like uptown, I don't spend a lot of time out there so others here will be of more help then I can be.

As far the Ballantyne Resort is concerned, I have never actually stayed there. I have played golf there a couple of times, and my company has hosted 2 golf tournaments there. The course layout is both scenic and challenging without being over the top. I have yet to play there since last year's drought so I have no idea how well it held up. I do know that there are rumors that it will be closed later this summer for renovations. I have no idea how that will impact how well they maintain it prior to then. I'd be sure to check on that before you stayed there. The staff there was great to work with at our golf events so I would imagine that attitude is consistent throughout the resort (either that or they were just really happy they got our $). My wife has been to the spa. She is a licensed message therapist and is a pretty tough critic, but she said her experience there was good.

Again, I don't know what your interests are but the Biltmore House is just 2 hours away in Asheville. It's a huge historic estate that has been immaculately restored / maintained. They offer tours of the house and grounds, wine tasting, etc. If you and your wife are into that sort of thing you should really enjoy the Biltmore and the city of Asheville.

Hope that helps.

-Rick

RUGBY

Rick,

Thanks for taking the time for the feedback.

I'm sure Biltmore is spectacular - - - isn't in those Lowe's commercials - - - but I don't know about the the 2hr drive.

To give you a little more specifics, we would be looking for . . .
* Golf for both of us; Ballentyne or other recommendations
* Spa for my wife; she is coming off a 6 month system's implementation and needs a little R&R
* Some local history; battlefields, chruches
* Museums/Galleries; modern sculpture & painting
* Shopping; silver jewelery / local pottery
* Local sports; minor league baseball

Food is a big one. We both love to eat. We can go upscale or dive. Our favorite show on FoodTV is Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. We have gone to a number of the places showcased as well as other ""food pilgrimages". My big concern is "can we get decent BBQ"?

Thanks again for your input.

Michael

CFactor

ballantyne resort would be a good central location for you - you could drive about 20 minutes to a Charlotte Knights game (minor league baseball). There is good shopping in southpark as mentioned before.

In addition, the south suburbian area of charlotte is blowing up. If you get on mapquest take these directions for some great outdoor shopping:



Take a left out of ballantyne resort onto Johnston Road
Take a left onto Ballantyne Commons

PLACE A:
Take a left onto Rea Road and your next immediate left to get into Stonecrest

PLACE B:
Take a right onto Rea Road, travel roughly 2 miles, and Blakeney comes up on your right. Blakeney is HUGE now.

Discovery Place located in uptown is an AWESOME place to go.

For golf ballantyne resort is a great course, or you can go where the Wachovia Championship was just played.

CFactor

Oh and go to Five Guys for the best burger/fries you will ever eat in your life.

For uptown Rock Bottom and Ruth's Chris is great. I have also heard great things about the restaraunt M5

o2s2k

i second the five guys and it just so happens to be right across the street! good for a lunch not a romantic resteraunt

CFactor

yeah but once you get the burger the whole idea of romance just seems to disappear in the grease filled o-face that will take place.

smccoy

For your items # 1 & 2, Ballentyne would be fine. However, as your other listed items tend towards the truly interesting, I think you would find Ballentyne to be just another artificial, over-planned antiseptic suburb like you'd find in any mid to large sized city. There are some good restaurants there (Table) and an excellent movie theatre, but I'd encourage you to get closer to downtown and visit BT for the golf and spa. I'm not a golfer, so others can advise you better about other golf options.

If you dont' mind dropping some $$, you might want to check out the Duke Mansion B&B; it's close to downtown and one of Charlotte's oldest high-end neighborhoods. Lots of great eats and entertainment within a 5-10 minute drive. (I agree about renting a car.)

You'd be close to some of Charlotte's great "dives"; the Penguin, Cabo Fish Taco in NoDa and Lupie's. Try Mac's Speedshop on South Blvd for the great BBQ you seek. If the mansion's not your style, I'd say go for one of the hotels downtown (Westin, Marriott, or the Dunhill).

The NoDa (North Davidson) or Dilworth (where the Duke Mansion is) is your best bet for small local artists for jewelry, silver, etc. There's a "gallery crawl" in NoDa the first and third Fridays of each month. The LeVine Museum of the New South and the Mint Museum of Craft & Design are both also downtown.

How many weeks did you say you were staying?

Good luck! Hope you enjoy your stay.

http://www.dukemansion.com/

skeithr

i will agree with rick, i live in asheville and you cant find a more relaxing place to kick back for a week, alot of good golf courses, great restaurants, and richmond hill inn is the nicest place in town to stay a couple of days, plus the blue ridge parkway is right there, great drive, great scenery as well