Smoky Mountain News
April 28-May 4, 2021
news
Waynesville Inn sold, will see extensive rehab
Haywood County's
LARGEST SELECTION
COME BY TO SEE OUR
EXPANDED EXPANDED
INVENTORY INVENTORY THE CLASSIC
10
828.452 .6000 20 Church Street WA Y N E S V I L L E
BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR n iconic Waynesville landmark sold for nearly $9 million last week, but the new owner’s plans to renovate the 165acre property, the 111-room hotel and the 27hole golf course will also become one of the area’s most significant economic development investments — more than $25 million — once it’s completed. “We are fully restoring the historic Inn, we’re restoring the golf course,” said Grey Raines, managing partner of Raines. “We are doing all those things to make sure that it stays a major part of the Waynesville story. We just want to be good stewards in our time. It’s got a hundred years of history and we want to put it on the path for a hundred more.” Raines’ group will own, develop and operate the Waynesville Inn, which will expand the company’s footprint in Western North Carolina. Currently, their portfolio includes a number of hotels in the upstate area of South Carolina, bearing the flags of Best Western, Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott. In 2020, Raines was selected to manage the Foundry Hotel, an 87-room boutique property in downtown Asheville. That, along with the Hotel Florence in Florence, South Carolina, constitute Raines’ “Woven” brand, which the Waynesville property will now join. Commercially, it’ll be branded as part of the Trademark Collection by Wyndham, “an independently minded collection of uppermidscale and above properties,” according to a Raines press release. Ultimately, the
A
Cuisine at the rehabbed Waynesville Inn will be handled through a collaboration that’s already proven popular and successful. Seven-time James Beard Award nominee John Fleer, of Asheville’s Rhubarb and Benne on Eagle, will take the helm. Benne is located adjacent to the Foundry Hotel. Another collaboration that will hopefully yield good results is that of Raines with Bobby Weed Golf Design. Weed is a former PGA Tour in-house architect and disciple of the late Pete Dye, who’s designed or renovated dozens of golf courses throughout the Southeast. Plus, his wife’s from Waynesville. Weed will have his work cut out for him; perhaps the biggest changes to the Waynesville Inn will be visible out on the links. The 27-hole course contains an original nine — the “Carolina” course — designed by the legendary Donald Developers are teeing Ross in 1926. Ross, who died in up major improvements 1948, began his career at the 95-year-old at St. Andrews in his Waynesville Inn. native Scotland around Google Earth photo 1899 and designed Pinehurst No. 2, as well facility’s name will change, but Raines as Asheville’s Municipal Golf Course. through a spokesperson declined to provide The Ross nine will see some renovations, specifics at this time. and another nine holes will see a complete “We’re really excited about what we’re redesign by Weed. The remaining nine will going to be able to deliver — a top-notch be removed and rebuilt as a practice space golfing and hospitality experience in with extensive short-game areas, a lighted Waynesville,” Raines said. “Both will see a putting green and a range. complete renovation.” “Instead of taking the property and squeezing in 27 holes, we feel like we can bring a top-notch 18-hole experience, along “We just want to be good with practice facilities, unlike anything seen in Western North Carolina,” Raines said. stewards in our time. It’s If all works out as planned with the golf got a hundred years of and hospitality improvements, Raines projects that employment levels at the history and we want to Waynesville Inn will need to increase. “Absolutely,” he said. “Even pre-COVID put it on the path for a numbers, we’ll move well past those. Service hundred more.” is a big part of who we are as a company. Being a company that specializes in people, — Grey Raines, managing partner we realize that we’ve got to have the right of Raines people to present the guest experience we’re wanting to drive at Waynesville.” Those renovations will begin this sumThe level of investment by Raines, coumer and last 16 to 24 months, but the facilipled with any ancillary job growth, would ty is expected to be open during that time. position the company for significant ecoOn the hospitality side, the Inn’s room nomic development incentives. capacity will have to decrease initially, but “We are working with the county and the not permanently. city and to learn more about those,” Raines “One of the exterior buildings is a little said. “We do foresee those being a part of outdated and kind of beyond repair. We’ll the equation, and everybody we’ve dealt with lose those initially and then we’re going to so far has been absolutely fantastic and excitbuild rooms back,” Raines said. “We foresee ed about the project. We would hope that we more rooms than currently offered, but you would qualify for any type of incentives know, that’ll kind of just depend on the sucoffered by the local governments.” cess and how people respond to the property Follow project updates by visiting over time.” www.rainesco.com.
