The Henderson is a historic Bed and Breakfast located in downtown Hendersonville, NC. The hotel features charming rooms for overnight stays as well as Harvey’s Restaurant and Lounge, which serves up dinner and brunch in the on-site restaurant.
We stayed at The Henderson while in downtown Hendersonville and were thrilled with the location, as well as our meals. As one of the few places to stay in downtown Hendersonville, we highly recommend this property, however, it is definitely not for everyone.
Our honest review of The Henderson is based on our personal experience staying in the bed and breakfast. We share the best things about the inn, as well as a few reasons you may not want to stay here.
Hendersonville’s Historic Bed and Breakfast
The Henderson is located on a street corner one block from Main Street. This is perhaps one of the best locations to stay when you want to be close to Main Street for shopping, dining or attending one of the many festivals, such as the N.C. Apple Festival in September or Garden Jubilee in May.
The 17-room bed and breakfast is over 100 years old and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was built between 1919-1921 and has always served as a place to stay for visitors coming to western North Carolina.
Co-owners Michael and Jeanne Gilligan are movie buffs and you will find a lot of references to old movies and film history throughout the bed and breakfast.
The Rooms
There are 17 rooms at The Henderson located on three floors. A few rooms are located on the first floor near the lobby. A majority of the rooms are located on the second floor, with a few more rooms on the upper third level.
Each of the rooms is decorated uniquely. Some rooms have a queen size bed while others have a king size bed.
We stayed in Room #10 during our stay. It was a lovely King-size room decorated in shades of blue with artwork celebrating some of the most popular destinations in western North Carolina.
See our room, as well as several others, in our YouTube video review below:
The rooms were stocked with amenities such as:
- Bottled Water
- Slippers
- Toiletries
- Television
- Free WiFi
- Portable Heater
In the main hall, there was a full-sized refrigerator and freezer, which is great if you need to store food during your stay. A coffee bar was set up in the hallway, along with a library of books.
There is a pet-friendly room with a private entrance available, as well as a King-size room with a Jacuzzi tub.
We found the rooms to be comfortable and cool, which was important because we were there during hot weather.
However, this is a property over a century old. The wooden floors do creak with every step you take in the room. If that is going to annoy you, then you might want to choose a modern-built hotel.
There is no elevator in the bed and breakfast. If you reserve a room on the first floor you will not need to climb the stairs to your room.
Harvey’s Restaurant and Lounge
Harvey’s at the Henderson is a restaurant open from Thursday to Saturday for dinner, as well as brunch on Sunday.
We enjoyed dinner and drinks on the patio and were very pleasantly surprised at the food selections, cocktail menu and overall atmosphere of dining at The Henderson.
The food was excellent and much of it was locally sourced. For instance, I had the wild mushroom risotto made with freshly foraged mushrooms from nearby Pisgah National Forest.
The charcuterie board had locally sourced meats from Hickory Nut Gap, as well as local cheeses and honey from the beehives found on the second floor roof.
Even my cocktail had honey sourced from just a few feet away.
Patio dining is what makes Harvey’s unique in Hendersonville. You can enjoy dinner on the patio year round, even in the winter thanks to patio heaters.
Chef Michael Gilligan is also co-owner of The Henderson. His culinary background is quite impressive, with 25 years leading food and beverage teams at Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, the Ritz Carlton, Conrad Hilton and W Hotels.
There are quite a few theme nights and specialty dinners available at Harvey’s, so be sure to look into those for a fun date night.
We were so impressed with the quality of food at Harvey’s that we will frequently go back just for dinner and drinks. This is one place to eat in Hendersonville that is often overlooked but needs to be on your list!
Complimentary Breakfast
During our stay, we had complimentary breakfast in the indoor dining room. When checking in, you will be asked what time you would like to come to breakfast so that the chef will have your food ready soon after your arrival.
There were two breakfast choices to choose from:
- Avocado Toast and Egg
- Pancakes with Bacon
We chose one of each breakfast choice. They were both delicious!
There was a lot of food served at this breakfast and it was quite hearty.
Parking
There is no need to worry about street parking or where to park when you are an overnight guest at The Henderson.
A small parking lot across the street from the bed and breakfast is available for overnight guests. There is also a small parking area located adjacent to the property in the back.
Parking is free.
Bee Keepers
One of the unique things about The Henderson is that they harvest honey from bee hives located on the roof.
When on the second floor, you can peek outside and see the bee hives and the honeycomb being harvested for food and drinks in the restaurant. See the beekeeping area in our YouTube video.
The Henderson is one of my top picks for places to stay in Hendersonville. If you are traveling to the area, check out our local travel guides: