Our family had hoped to stay at a state park cabin in the area, but quickly realized there aren't nearly as many as in our home state of Tennessee. We'd originally looked at Carl's place as second choice since we couldn't get a state park cabin, but now that we've stayed there it'll be our first choice when we revisit the area. It has the charm and coziness of a cabin, but the amenities of a vacation rental, all within an easy drive of Asheville, Swannanoa, and Black Mountain. We loved cooking in the brightly colored kitchen and watching movies in the evening snuggled on the sofa in the living room. Our dog loved having a big back yard to explore. Overall a lovely place to stay!