The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel. Credit: The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel
When you roll up to the stately Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, it looks like a longtime fixture in Ballantyne, an upscale and placid enclave in south Charlotte, North Carolina.
Set on rolling greens, the hotel has long drawn in locals and visitors with its PGA golf course and the excellent Four-Star Gallery Restaurant. But the property only opened in the mixed-use community in 2001; before then, it was family farmland.
To usher in its 17th anniversary in September, the hotel debuted a multimillion-dollar renovation, the largest such undertaking since its opening.
We checked into the revamped Ballantyne to get an up-close look. Here are the highlights:
Gallery Restaurant. Credit: The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel
The Public Spaces
Expect a grand entrance at the luxury hotel — the two-story lobby with a wall of windows overlooking the golf course is the property’s most striking space. Gray walls, white columns and a linked-circle chandelier give it a fresh, modern slant. Tufted sofas near a white stone fireplace with a painting of pink cabbage roses hanging above add coziness.
The Ballantyne didn’t want to forget its history, so it incorporated hand-painted gold accents throughout as a reminder of North Carolina being the first U.S. state to strike gold.
To make the lobby a place to linger, the hotel created small clusters of tables, wingback chairs and couches. It also set up a morning tea and coffee station to encourage you to stay for a cup or two. A wood communal table equipped with a bunch of outlets on top invites you to bring your laptop and work here.
The lobby spills into The Ryal, a new bar with a lengthy list of Scotch (a tribute to the original hotel owners’ heritage). Sit around the stunning white marble slab table with a glass of Laphroaig, Macallan or Aberfeldy.
Another gathering spot is tucked away next to the Gallery Bar. The Great Room’s redesign took inspiration from the Carolina Emperor — uncovered in a North Carolina farm, the gem is the largest-cut emerald ever found in North America. The sizable venue has emerald-hued seating and touches, along with gray coffered ceilings.
Inside a Ballantyne Room. Credit: The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel
The Rooms
Walk down the gray tartan (the updated take on the pattern is another homage to the hotel’s Scottish roots) carpeted hallway to the guest rooms. The accommodations match the lobby with slate textured wallpaper and white crown molding. Elsewhere, you’ll see framed vintage-looking prints, a Bose Wave radio, a Nespresso machine and a 55-inch television.
But you’ll encounter the room’s best feature at night, when you draw the blackout curtains, sink to the plush beds and burrow inside the white Frette linens.
Most of the tan marble bathrooms come with a spacious oval bathtub and separate glass shower. They all are stocked with Molton Brown toiletries scented with Indian cress and thick terry-cloth robes.
After turndown, keep an eye out for useful gifts thoughtfully placed throughout your room. A microfiber square emblazoned with a photo of the Charlotte hotel sits folded next to your glasses. And housekeeping also leaves a squeezer on your tube of toothpaste to help you push out your next needed drop.
A Facial Treatment at The Spa. Credit: The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel
The Spa
The Spa at Ballantyne received a facelift with a new color scheme of neutrals and powder blue, along with rustic wood furniture. But what excited us the most were the treatments. The spa dedicates a whole menu to lavender from the Carolinas. There’s a massage, a wrap, manicures and pedicures that employ the relaxing scent (and the latter three come with lavender-infused drinks, too).
During our stay, the spa hosted a Natura Bissé Pure Air Bubble pop-up. It gave Oxygen Renewal “flash facials” using products from the Barcelona skincare brand in a serene white tent that was pumping pure oxygen, which is said to purify and balance skin and eliminate toxins.
Although the treatment lasted only 20 minutes, the fast-working products and firm hands of aesthetician Daniel Rueff (“I don’t like wimpy facials,” he told us) left our skin radiant for the day. We saw more results here than from hour-long sessions. It makes us want to try the Natura Bissé Illuminating Diamond Facial, which promises similar results stretched over 80 minutes. We’ll be back for another strong facial with Rueff.
