By now, we’re sure most of you are aware of the impact Hurricane Helene has had on our beautiful Asheville community. Here in the mountains, it’s rare to experience a hurricane at all, let alone a storm of that magnitude.
We’ve had power and water outages (that are still ongoing for the majority of Asheville), and while these circumstances have been unprecedented and definitely taken us out of our comfort zones, it has also been an incredible time where we’ve seen people come together with a helpful, hopeful attitude. We’ve been so encouraged by our community and our guests, and we know we are going to rebuild and recover, taking things one day at a time.
We’d like to share an inside look at what life has been like since Hurricane Helene and our takeaways from the experience.
Sharing Meals and Enjoying the Company of Our Guests at Our Asheville Bed & Breakfast
When Helene Hit, our inn was full of guests, and losing power and water probably wasn’t what people expected on vacation! But we sure made the most of it.
Everyone’s attitude about the circumstances was just incredible. The consensus from everyone was “ we’re going to make the best of the moment.” So we continued our homemade breakfasts in the morning (eating by candlelight), utilizing our local veggie delivery that we had gotten on Thursday before the storm. We also pulled out the Alaskan halibut, black cod and sausage we had to make family-style dinners for everyone to enjoy on the front porch. Best of all, we were still able to have our weekly mountain music hour on Saturday evening.
To top off the weekend, we also had a wedding which infinitely boosted our spirits. Since we couldn’t order a cake, Shawnie made two dozen different cookies and stacked them into a tower in the shape of a cake outfitted with a wedding topper. We picked the best blooms we had at the inn and took some greenery from our landscaping to make a bouquet and boutonniere. With a bottle of champagne to toast, it was a wedding we’ll never forget.
The Strength of Our Asheville Community
We’re so grateful for the community of guests we’ve made throughout the years. We’ve had so many phone calls and emails from people who have wanted to check in on us, and it warms our hearts to see the love and care that everyone has for us and for the inn.
It’s been amazing to watch members of our community come together to support one another. Our Montford neighborhood is a tight knit community of residents and other bed and breakfast owners, and we’ve all been doing what we can to lend a hand. Folks in our neighborhood have popped in for a cup of hot coffee (it’s amazing how something so simple can do so much to lift our spirits and form connection) and our good friend Alicia (who’s another bed and breakfast owner) came by to enjoy live music on the porch with us. One of our gardeners even stopped by to check in on us, and gave us some persimmons and fresh basil to use. We were so grateful for some delicious, fresh produce!
The community has really been pitching in and helping each other, and it’s been incredible to witness.
Our Takeaways from Hurricane Helene & How You Can Support 1900 Inn on Montford
We’ve been so inspired by the support and positive attitude of not only the members of our community but of our guests as well. We all thoroughly enjoyed spending time together. Everyone was so positive and it really re-emphasized why we care about our guest experience so much. We love our guests, and power or no power, water or no water, we want to provide the best experience we possibly can.
We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to those who weathered the storm with us. Your resilience and warmth brought light to an uncertain moment, and we deeply appreciate your support.
We’re not sure when we’ll be able to reopen our bed and breakfast for business again, since it will take some time for our water system to be restored. If you would like to support 1900 Inn on Montford during this time, here are a few ways you can help:
- Gift Certificates: Purchase a gift certificate for future stays at the inn for you or a loved one, allowing you to enjoy Asheville while also supporting our recovery. Click here to purchase one of our gift certificates!
- Please consider postponing your reservation. We are happy to move it to a future date. We’ll be open and serving breakfast and hosting our Saturday Bluegrass social hours again as soon as we can.
Thank you again for your continued support and understanding. We miss hosting you as much as you miss being here, but we know that our community will heal and thrive, and we can’t wait to welcome you back again soon!