Mountain views independent inns

A 19th-century farmhouse on Grove Street just north of downtown Rutland, Harvest Moon keeps its era close at hand — antiques fill the rooms, and Vermont's mountains fold into the view from the windows. Mornings begin unhurried with a continental breakfast before the Green Mountains pull you outdoors. With only a handful of guest rooms and a modest trail of reviews, it reads as the kind of small, personally run place travelers stumble on rather than search for.

Set on a hillside above Asheville at 290 Macon Ave, this stately resort looks out over the Blue Ridge and draws a steady stream of visitors — nearly 12,500 Google reviewers have weighed in, settling at a 4.6. Rooms and suites are plush and mountain-facing, with a full spa and a sports complex on the grounds. It's a grand-scale retreat rather than an intimate one, operated as part of the Omni Hotels portfolio.