STAY: Hotel Domestique, Greenville, South Carolina

 The Tour de France is a 21 stage men's bicycle race - with each stage being one day long - that is held primarily around France. The first Tour was held in 1903 as a promotion for the newspaper L'Auto and it's now known as "the world's greatest bicycle race". There are 22 teams of 8 men who ride - usually with each team having a sprinter, (very fast at short distances) a climber, and someone who each team thinks that could possibly win the race. The other team members are "helpers" or domestiques. George Hincapie is an American who was a domestique for the controversial Lance Armstrong and also Alberto Contador, competing in the Tour 17 times. He was  a professional rider from 1994 to 2012. Since retiring from the sport, he has settled in the Greenville, South Carolina area and owns a boutique hotel called Hotel Domestique.

Hotel Domestique is situated in a beautiful spot with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With only 13 rooms, it's not a large hotel but one with a concentration on detail and Old World Style. I was lucky enough to stay for one night at Hotel Domestique and it did not disappoint. Greeted with a glass of champagne, we then enjoyed sitting by the outdoor fire pit with views of the mountains. Since we were there in the winter, the swimming pool wasn't open but the hot tub was made available to us if we wanted. 

Dining is at Restaurant 17 with South Carolina Chef Ambassador Winner, Hadyn Shaack at the helm. We were there during Restaurant Week so we picked our dinner from a prix fixe menu and it was delicious. And popular. If you think you'd like to dine here, I'd suggest you make reservations as soon as you know when you're going.

One of the most unique things about Hotel Domestique is its world class cycling. Scott has partnered with the hotel to offer elite performance road bikes to rent and if you feel the need for a bicycling guide, then they can do that too.

George now also hosts four different Gran Fondo rides - with lengths of 15, 50 and 80 miles - around the US including one in October in Greenville. (Don't even think about trying to get a room at Hotel Domestique then) These rides are multi-day cycling celebrations with riding, music and a family festival.

And, of course, like any gorgeously located hotel, Hotel Domestique hosts weddings for up to 300 guests. I've not looked into their wedding venue but I'm guessing that it is fully booked also. 

A room at Hotel Domestique doesn't come cheap. I think it was well worth it for one night and I can say it's been one of my favorite hotels in South Carolina that I've stayed at. Wonderful to get a bit of Europe in the States!

Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand!