The lobby at the Grand Bohemian Asheville.
With The Hunger Games debut last weekend banking $152.5 million, tourists have been flocking to Asheville, N.C. — a small Appalachian town where much of the movie was filmed. And it’s about time you channeled your inner Katniss and explored the blockbuster Blue Ridge Mountains. Hotels in-and-around Asheville are offering Panem-centric packages that range from outdoor adventures to lavish Capitol-like lodging. Here are three packages worth fighting for:
The Capitol Experience. Book this Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville package for two and you’ll do more than survive, you’ll relax. When you arrive in the Capitol-style hotel, you’ll be handed a hunter’s plate decked out with assorted gourmet meats, cheeses and nuts. Wash down your rustic meal with two bottles of Evian “survival” water and explore the area with your new reusable Hunger Games tote bag in tow. After a day of exploring the mountains come back to two 80-minute hot stone Silvretta massages. Though the package doesn’t include activities, you can challenge yourself to ziplining, whitewater rafting and hiking in the nearby Piscah National Forest. The package starts at $499 for the first night and $199 for each additional night.
The Complete Panem Experience. While there are actually three packages offered at Hotel Indigo, where the cast stayed during filming, the Complete Panem Experience is the best of the lot—it combines the themes of District 4 (water) and District 7 (trees). You’ll go ziplining and whitewater rafting, stop for lunch in downtown Asheville, and have a few brews at Lexington Avenue Brewery, one of Asheville’s 11 breweries. Top it all off with a couple of souvenirs — a copy of The Hunger Games or The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook and a shirt from one of the three stops. The two-night package for two starts at $348 per person.
Walk Like a Katniss Everdeen. Hike through the wilderness of nearby Chimney Rock State Park as you use your imagination to fight for survival. This two-night package at the quaint At Cumberland Falls Bed and Breakfast Inn gets you into the park free of charge, so strap on your knapsack and get your hiking boots out of storage; it’s time to make Katniss proud. This deal will help you to get first-hand lay of the land — one of Asheville’s main attractions. The package includes two nights at the inn (located three miles from Biltmore Estate) and starts at $335.
Photo courtesy of the Grand Bohemian Asheville
