

Laotian food gets an evocative backdrop at Bida Manda. Or bike to town while staying in a nearby garden house ($85 per night), helpfully stocked with coffee and homemade muffins - and an ideal spot to enjoy both, among the grape arbors and fruit trees near the patio.

Over in Durham, stay in a converted warehouse and rent a private room in a loft apartment with exposed brick ($40 per night). Just 15 minutes outside of town by car, you can rent an entire house ($85 per night), complete with a vegetable garden and fresh eggs during the summer. Nightlife-seekers might consider a two-bedroom penthouse condo with a pool ($149 per night) that’s a quick ten-minute walk to many of downtown Raleigh’s vibrant bars and restaurants. Then bed down in one of the cleanly contemporary rooms, where the bathrooms come stocked with Malin + Goetz products.Įxperience Southern hospitality at one of the area’s diverse Airbnb options. Grab dinner at the Counting House restaurant, where rotisserie and roasting techniques take center stage in dishes like the chicken with aji amarillo, red beans, avocado, and lime ($22) and burned haricot served with red-eye aioli, crispy ham, and boiled peanuts ($7). The hotel boasts its own on-site museum with rotating exhibits and site-specific installations integrated into the public areas permanent works include a large-scale mosaic by Duke Riley made of cigarettes and mini-cigars, referencing the role of tobacco farming in the region’s history. It’s located inside the historic Hill Building, which was built in 1937 and, though renovated, maintains its Art Deco details, windows, and terrazzo flooring. Stay in downtown Durham at the new 21c Museum Hotel (from $199). Sleep amidst Art Deco architecture and new art installations at the 21c Museum Hotel.
