I am floating weightlessly under shimmering rays of sun pouring through a skylight into a sumptuous pool, surrounded by stone walls, cascading dual waterfalls, and magical golden and rose light displays that turn the water a cerulean blue. I know now there are still fantasylands for grown-ups, and one of them is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains north of Asheville, N.C.

Here the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa rises majestically above the city skyline offering a spa environment that is, to say the least, otherworldly. The inn was built in 1913 with granite mined from nearby Sunset Mountain. The spa, which opened in 2001, offers 40,000 square feet of treatment space and sumptuous, escapist surroundings. Part of what makes the Grove Park’s spa so unique is that it is located almost entirely underground, with sculpted tunnels of granite leading from room to room.

But this is only one among many of Asheville’s unique and sometimes even decadent offerings. This small mountain city has experienced a renaissance in recent years. It is a destination in and of itself, boasting a downtown district rich with an eclectic mix of art, dining, music, and theater. The surrounding mountains offer enough activities to keep visitors occupied for weeks.

Architecture, arts, and simpler fare

And that’s probably why I keep returning to the Asheville area year after year on long weekend trips, never quite able to fit in all the activity. Not only is the city surrounded by some of the east’s tallest and most majestic mountains, but it also has some equally striking architecture, with more art deco buildings in the downtown district than any other southeastern city besides Miami.

These historic structures, many of them restored to their 1920s and ’30s heyday appearance, form an upscale, urban backdrop to the city’s many cultural offerings, including popular Pack Place, the center of Asheville’s hip renewal. Situated on busy Pack Square, this education, arts, and science center houses the Asheville Art Museum, Colburn Earth Science Museum, The Health Adventure, and Diana Wortham Theatre. No matter the interests of your traveling partners, there’s plenty for everyone to do here, from eyeing 20th and 21st century art and ogling gemstones to evening performances by traveling theater troupes.

One of the best ways to explore downtown is on the Asheville Urban Trail. Visitors can pick up cassette and headset tours at Pack Place and tour downtown on foot while exploring 30 sculptures depicting the city’s history.

My downtown wanderings led me to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial on Market Street. The Victorian boarding house that served as the boyhood home of the author of Look Homeward, Angel recently reopened following a lengthy restoration and provides an intimate look at the home immortalized in Wolfe’s best-known novel.

One block over on Broadway is a collection of antique galleries, bookstores, restaurants serving everything from sushi to pastries, and the always bustling Mast General Store, where shoppers can splurge on barrel candy and shop for outdoor clothing in an old-time general store setting. And be sure to test the mix of musical waters here, from jazz and blues at Tressa’s on Broadway to street musicians on drums.

On Patton Street, the old Kress and Co. five-and-dime today houses the Kress Emporium, where the works of dozens of local artisans are on display and available for purchase, including handmade jewelry, hand-thrown pottery, paintings, and stained glass.

Simpler spoiling is available in Asheville’s historic Montford district, where most of the city’s B and Bs are located, including the Cumberland Falls Bed and Breakfast Inn. Built in 1903, the home is decorated with beautiful original maple woodwork in the living room and foyer. Here, one can sleep in a 100-year-old bed and enjoy the popping and snapping of a real wood-burning fire or read a book in the private garden with its softly bubbling waterfall, delicate weeping willow, lounging chairs, and swings.

Outdoor playgrounds, manicured and natural

Of course, no visit to Asheville would be complete without a grand tour of the Biltmore Estate. A 250-room mansion modeled after several 16th-century French chateaux and built by George Vanderbilt just before the turn of the last century, Biltmore is the largest private residence not just in the United States but in all of North America. The house actually covers 4 acres and has gilded rooms, 65 fireplaces, enormous 16th-century tapestries, a 10,000-volume library, and 70-foot-high ceilings.

After a house tour that could easily qualify as overwhelming, retreat to the many offerings on this 8,000-acre estate with its carefully landscaped grounds designed by Central Park landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead. On site, guests can take carriage rides through manicured forests, sign up for fly-fishing school, go horseback riding, stroll the gardens, tour the winery, and even shop, sleep, and dine without ever leaving the estate. Throughout the month of April, Biltmore hosts the annual Festival of Flowers, when azaleas, daffodils, and tulips provide accompaniment to a host of musical concerts and dance performances.

And there’s more to do just outside Asheville city limits, including whitewater rafting the French Broad, Chattooga, Nantahala, Ocoee, or Pigeon rivers and exploring the Pisgah National Forest, where, if the weather is warm enough, you can enjoy a wide array of natural swimming pools, from the chilly dark waters below Looking Glass Falls to a natural water slide at Sliding Rock. But be forewarned: Even on the warmest days, water temperatures are only in the 50s!

Asheville is also only minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Milepost 411 provides a picture-perfect view of the real Cold Mountain, inspiration for Charles Frazier’s award-winning novel and the Oscar-winning 2003 movie. The mountain itself has hiking trails — but it’s not for the faint of heart, as the hike to the summit is more than 10 miles roundtrip. The 180-degree views from the top are well worth it for the experienced hiker. Those not into hiking can explore these blue-forested mountains by hot air balloon with a little help from Mount Pisgah Balloons in the nearby town of Candler.

After a full day, it’s time to head back to the Grove Park Inn, which houses the world’s largest collection of arts and crafts furniture and light fixtures, much of it from the inn’s original Roycroft collection. Each February, the Grove Park Inn hosts its Arts and Crafts Conference that draws architects, designers, collectors, and bungalow owners by the thousands.

I resort to one of the inn’s soothing spa treatments, all of which mimic the elements of earth and complement the spa’s natural subterranean design. Fire, Rock, Water & Light is my personal favorite and involves a full body exfoliation, a whirlpool bath in buttermilk and honey, a cream body wrap, and a waterfall massage.