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Reader's Digest honors Waverly Inn as tops in N.C.

By Bill Moss, Published: June 7, 2018

The 1898 Waverly Inn downtown was tops in North Carolina in a Reader’s Digest list of the most charming small-town bed and breakfasts for all 50 states.
The Waverly Inn built in 1898 is the oldest surviving inn in Hendersonville. The inn is located at 783 N Main Street in Hendersonville’s historic downtown. Open 365 days a year, the inn serves over five thousand guests annually. Guest are treated to a gourmet southern breakfast each morning and an evening social hour that includes their famous pimento cheese, lemonade, wine and local craft beers.
“We are thrilled to be selected by Reader’s Digest for this honor in a state that is filled with amazing bed and breakfasts from the mountains to the coast," co-owner and innkeeper Tracey Burnette said. On what gives the inn charm, her husband and co-owner Mike Burnette added, “The charm is really with an ambiance that offers a ‘home away from home’ experience for our guests. Visitors come here initially captivated by a beautiful historical building but return because it feels like visiting family to them.”
Mike and Tracey, both native North Carolinians, have owned the inn since March 2016. They’ve made numerous upgrades to the inn in their first two years, added a monthly Sunday brunch and a monthly barbecue and Americana music series that features North Carolina barbecue smoked on site.

The property was founded by Maggie Anderson as the Anderson Boarding House. She later brought her sister, Bessie Egerton, into the business and they operated it for 40 years, surviving a fire in 1910 and the Great Depression. The name of the inn was changed to the Waverly Inn in 1915 and more recently to the 1898 Waverly Inn to reflect the inn’s rich history. There have been nine owners in the 120-year history of the inn and women have always been represented with each change of ownership.

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the property blends Victorian-era styles of Queen Anne and Eastlake and maintains a superior degree of integrity. The three-story frame structure has a two-tiered sawn work-trimmed porch, widow's walk, and inside features a magnificent Eastlake stair and woodwork. It is the only surviving example of a Queen Anne style hotel in Hendersonville from the 19th century.