Cataloochee Ranch, a well-loved retreat that borders Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will reopen March 14 as a Relais & Châteaux property. David and Annie Colquitt, who bought the Maggie Valley property in 2020, have undertaken an extensive renovation that includes redesigned interior spaces and wrap-around terraces where guests can dine and enjoy the warmth from a newly converted two-sided fireplace. Other changes are designed to enhance the views from atop mile-high Fie Top Mountain and allow more natural light to stream into the stone and timber structure, which first opened for overnight stays in 1939. Though the lodge has been closed, the Colquitts have continued to offer horseback rides, including lunch excursions to The Swag, their all-inclusive Relais & Châteaux property nearby.

Burnsville’s NuWray Hotel, North Carolina’s oldest continuously operating hotel, will begin a new chapter after a full-scale restoration of the 16,500-square-foot Colonial-style inn. In addition to the structural work, James and Amanda Keith are rescuing artifacts and collecting narratives from a history that dates to 1833. Once a stagecoach stop en route to Asheville, the hotel boasts a guest list that includes Mark Twain, Elvis Presley, Christopher Reeve and Jimmy Carter. In the meantime, overnight stays are available at the Carriage House, an adjacent property that the Keiths acquired and transformed into a dining spot/wine and cigar shop.

Omni Hotels & Resorts plans to build a 27-story, 550-room hotel that will serve the expanding Raleigh Convention Center. The luxury hotel, targeted for a 2027 opening, will include a rooftop pool, Mokara spa, fitness center and multiple food and beverage outlets. In February, the city announced plans for a $425 million Convention Center expansion that will add 500,000 square feet of meeting space and double the center’s capacity. The Convention Center’s timeline is consistent with that of the Omni, a partnership with Preston Hollow Community Capital and Provident Resources Group. The Omni is part of a wave of hotel development in downtown Raleigh. Projects include at Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites, Courtyard Marriott and Home2 + Tru Raleigh plus a 180-room Kimpton Hotel Raleigh on the site of a to-be-demolished Holiday Inn Downtown Raleigh, a cylindrical landmark built in 1969, and the 148-room Oberlin Hotel at the nearby Village District Shopping Center as part of Hilton's Curio Collection.

Margaritaville Resorts & Hotels will add the 103-room Compass Hotel Beaufort to the lodging options in this historic Intracoastal Waterway town. It will be the brand’s third hotel, following openings in Bradenton, Fla., and Medford, Ore. The hotel will cater to boaters traveling along the nearby Cape Lookout National Seashore. Compass, the newest addition to the Margaritaville lifestyle brand, are designed “to bring the fun and flavor of their full-scale resorts to a more boutique concept.” A mid-2024 opening is planned.