We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Banner Elk Villa and also had a great experience at the winery. The location is beautiful, surrounded by rolling hills, and a quiet atmosphere. We found the staff to be very helpful in finding places to eat around town and different hikes to take and sights to see while in the area. They told us to make ourselves at home in the villa, and we did! If felt like we had the whole place to ourselves (which we liked). Our room was very spacious and clean with a nice view from the top floor of the house. The Jacuzzi bath was a great way to wind down after a day of exploring the outdoors and the bed was very comfortable. The staff was great and told us to contact them if there was anything we could think of to make our stay more enjoyable, and we took them up on it! On our last night there we enjoyed a bonfire down by the pond with a glass of wine from the winery and then took a dip in the hot tub before turning in for the night. We enjoyed eating the breakfast out on the back balcony with a nice view of the pond and winery. The breakfast was delicious and plentiful. Lots of coffee and tea available all day as well! All in all a great place to get away for a couple of nights. We plan on returning!

This review is for the Banner Elk Villa. The villa, including our room, was in fact very nice. Unfortunately managment has not invested the same level of attention and detail into the customer experience. As indicated below, we had a very poor experience. That being said, I should note that the B&B honored our request for a partial refund--although surprisingly there was no return communication to our email with a note of apology.

Having stayed at a number of bed and breakfast inns, we were not only surprised but also disappointed by the level of service (or lack thereof) that we received during our stay. Upon arrival at the villa, we were briefly greeted in passing while exiting our vehicle in the parking lot. No time or effort was taken to walk us into the villa or to show us where our room was located. Once inside, we noticed that our room was dimly lit, primarily due to several inoperable light bulbs that had not been replaced. We also found a used towel in our bathroom, which had been missed by the cleaning staff.

During the extent of our stay, we had absolutely no interaction with any form of staff. No one asked whether we needed anything or if we had been enjoying our stay; the B&B was completely devoid of any full or part-time help or management, no innkeeper. We were left to our own devices, which included finding extra towels and basic toiletries.

One of our biggest disappointments was the "chef-prepared gourmet breakfast," which is touted highly on the villa's website. This expectation was a major factor in our decision to stay at Banner Elk, as the "breakfast" in "bed and breakfast" is ultimately half of the experience. We had expected to receive our "chef-prepared gourmet breakfast" during both days of our stay, but unfortunately we did not. It was not until we arrived and read our welcome letter that we learned our Sunday breakfast would consist of self-served store bought, boxed pastries and a pot of black coffee. Our Monday morning breakfast included nothing more than a small amount of reheated frozen biscuits, cold scrambled eggs, and a few slices of cold bacon--again, entirely self served. Neither experience could or should be considered gourmet, nor the "chef," as we learned, who also served as the cleaning staff for the B&B.

Super busy Sunday afternoon but staff handled it well. They do not have "flights", just tasting for $10. You can order simple apps with the tasting; they were so busy we never got to order. Music, atmosphere was fantastic. Will definitely go back!