Highlights: The Fearrington House Country Inn

•The Fearrington House County Inn is located amid pristine fields where Belted Galloway cows peacefully graze

•Inn offers lovely, super comfortable accommodations within Fearrington Village, home to year-round residents who enjoy this pastoral setting

•Mobil Four-Star restaurant, the Fearrington House Restaurant, is one of North Carolina’s most coveted for fine dining

•The "village" experience includes a bookstore, post office, café, garden shop, folk art gallery, and cooking classes

•Inn offers a picturesque setting for a casual business retreat

•Guests can hike or pedal Fearrington Village’s 1,100 acres of winding roads and ever-changing vistas

Amenities: The Fearrington House Country Inn

• 32 rooms, 2 story. Children over 6 years only. Complimentary full breakfast. Check-in 3 pm, check-out Noon. High-speed Internet access. Restaurant, bar. Fitness room, fitness classes available. Indoor pool, outdoor pool, children's pool, whirlpool. Tennis. Business center. Credit cards accepted.

General Impressions: The Fearrington House Country Inn

The Fearrington House Country Inn, located in bucolic Fearrington Village, is Southern Living magazine come to life. Inspired by trips abroad, the founders established an inn with European qualities adjacent to the original 1927 Fearrington home, which now houses its fine dining restaurant. Accommodations are Southern chic in a picturesque village carved from a 220-year-old farm that was originally 640 acres. Nowadays, full-time residents (about 1,800 or so) enjoy a slower pace; yet nearby is the vibrant university town of Chapel Hill, home to University of North Carolina.

Most delightful to first-time visitors are the resident "furry" cows. Dark on both ends with a band of white in the middle, the Belted Galloway cows are a picture postcard for country living, even featured on village signs. A dairy barn and silo from the farm’s early years still dominate the landscape.

The inn’s 33 rooms are clustered around a courtyard or overlook the rose garden, 17-acre park, or the Fearrington Village Center, and represent a unified design theme found throughout the community.

Inside, its pine floors come from planks salvaged from a workhouse along the River Thames, and ecclesiastical doors have been fashioned as headboards. Lovely antiques include hand-crafted wooden armoires, dressers and tables and plush, comfortable couches. Marble vanities, featherbeds, and heated towel racks are comfort features in individually decorated rooms featuring English antiques, original artwork, luxe bedding, and large Jacuzzis.

With its distinctively decorated rooms, stunning gardens, and fine-dining restaurant, this seems the perfect place for a romantic getaway. Though this pastoral setting restores and relaxes, families searching for a vacation spot with lots of activities for young children may not find the inn the best choice. Business travelers might be more at-home in a hotel closer to Chapel Hill, although Fearrington Village makes a quaint spot for a corporate retreat.

(+) The pastoral setting is tranquil and the village and inn within match the peaceful theme/design
(-) Limited activities for young children

Guest Services: The Fearrington House Country Inn

When arriving to the Fearrington House Country Inn, I was greeted within one minute and staff offered their assistance. Registration was efficient and I was provided an orientation to the inn and the property. Staff conducted themselves professionally, but some lacked warmth and the personalization that I have come to expect at this gracious inn.

The Concierge was able to assist me with all of my requests and provided information on the local area. Although when asked about a luncheon option, she did not ask for my dining preference, the choice she provided was excellent and exactly what I was looking for.

During daily housekeeping service, my room was cleaned and neatly organized. Toiletries were arranged neatly and my used bathroom amenities were replaced with a fresh product and placed in the amenity tray.

(+) Professional and gracious staff

Guest Rooms: The Fearrington House Country Inn

Guest rooms at the Fearrington House Country Inn are plush and inviting, with lots of high-end magazines, an inn cookbook, and fiction books to peruse while relaxing in the guest room. The bed in my guest room was extremely comfortable and provided a wonderful night’s rest with a thick mattress cover, feather bedcover, bed skirt, and luxurious linens.

Furnishings are elegant -- a plush, comfy sofa and chairs with ottomans provided a relaxing setting for me to enjoy reading the Inn’s cookbook. A hand-crafted wood armoire and dresser, unique lamps, a gorgeous marble sink with a carved wood base in the bathroom, and traditional British bath fixtures for the sink and tub completed the warm and inviting ambience. A large Jacuzzi tub and high-pressure shower add to the comfort level. A wonderful variety of Molton Brown bath products are provided.

Rooms also include a CD player with surround-sound speakers, and CDs are also on hand. All guest room entries in this area open to the same courtyard. Although this was charming in design, I was able to hear the other guests as they came and went.

(+) Gorgeous, well-furnished room for the ultimate in comfort
(-) Guest rooms’ courtyard layout means a lack of complete privacy

Facilities & Activities: The Fearrington House Country Inn

The Fearrington House Country Inn is located on a large, stunning country-estate-type property that’s especially nice for long walks or biking. Since it is mostly a residential property, it is organized as a small "village" with its own post office, shops, bookstore, cafe, real estate office, and beauty shop. Days can be spent strolling the expansive grounds, browsing unique village shops, experiencing a soothing massage, or just relaxing on a front porch rocker watching the Belted Galloway cows graze.

Romantic getaway guests will appreciate the inn’s “away-from-it-all” appeal and the luscious furnishings and extremely comfortable and romantic rooms.

Guests can also keep up fitness routines at the Duke Center for Living at Fearrington, where guests can use the indoor, heated swimming pool and Jacuzzi, run on the indoor track, and train on weight machines or free weights. Aerobic activities include treadmills, elliptical and NuStep cross-trainers, steppers in the exercise room. Classes offering yoga, Pilates, and aerobics are also offered. Back at the inn, in-room massage therapy can also be arranged.

The inn invites quiet, contemplative exploration, and is probably not well-suited for families traveling with young children, as there are few services or activities for young guests. But adults will delight in the cooking classes, bookstore, the 1,100 or so acres of winding roads and ever-changing vistas to bike or roam on foot, plus the Olympic-sized outdoor pool (open from May to September) and garden shop.

(+) A great country getaway in elegant surroundings with a picturesque village, gardens, and fields to explore
(-) Not ideal for families traveling with young children due to limited activities and amenities, and a calm, serene atmosphere

Dining & Lounge: The Fearrington House Country Inn

After a wonderful nights sleep, I awoke looking forward to having breakfast. I was immediately and warmly greeted in the dining room for breakfast, and escorted to my table -- although I was not offered a choice of table. The hostess and other dining room staff addressed me by name throughout my dining experience. Tea service was elegant, presented in a small ceramic pot with separate silver strainer. When ordering, although helpful, the staff was not proactive in offering suggestions. Breakfast was served in a timely manner and the food quality and presentations were elegant. As the dining room became busy, service faltered, but was easily overlooked as the meal was delicious and I was relaxed in this charming country setting.

Although there wasn’t a dedicated phone line for room service, I was instructed to call the front desk for service. The staff person who delivered my food on time was pleasant and engaging. There are two room service menus -- one similar to the formal dining room menu, the other a limited menu of salads and sandwiches.

My dining experience at the Mobil Four-Star Fearrington House Restaurant was a different experience than at breakfast, since locals regularly frequent its four small dining rooms for birthday and anniversary celebrations and for romantic occasions. The chef offers a seven-course tasting menu or à la carte selections. The hushed dining rooms feature European antiques, Southern paintings, and rich-colored fabrics. During my visit, I experienced outstanding food, a highly-trained attentive staff and an award-winning wine selection.

A less expensive, palatable alternative is the Market Café.

(+) High-end Fearrington House Restaurant serves quality cuisine
(-) When the dining room became busy, breakfast service faltered

Business Services: The Fearrington House Country Inn

Though its rustic and relaxing location probably doesn’t fit the needs of most business travelers, the Fearrington House Country Inn does seem to be a perfect place for a casual-setting business retreat. The inn can accommodate a variety of groups in several meeting and dining spaces. Its four separate private meeting rooms offer options for executive retreats, product launches, and team building. The house is available for exclusive use for such possibilities. As part of its day meeting or night retreat packages, it offers complimentary wireless Internet and audio-visual equipment. During the day, fax and photocopy services are also available, and a concierge is available around the clock. And, the inn points out, that even though the setting is rustic, it’s still just a 45-minute drive from Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The inn will even arrange personal transportation for guests.

The inn does not have a business center. But meeting rooms (and the amenities those offer, such as wireless Internet) can be accessed. Guest rooms are not equipped with wireless Internet, but cords for Internet access are available.

(+) Good for casual corporate retreats wanting to be off-the-beaten-path