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Highlands · Hotel shortlist

High end hotels on the beach in Highlands

Sofia Marchetti

Sofia Marchetti Italy

Updated 1 September 2026 · 18 Highlands hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Highlands, out of the 18 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, all five scoring 4.7.

The Wells Hotel Cashiers is the one I would book myself.

The Wells Hotel Cashiers

Highest rated of the five

The Wells Hotel Cashiers

★★★★★4.7 from 317 reviews

The Wells Hotel Cashiers comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.7 from 317 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 5 star property, found under city centre and around $305 a night on the dates we checked.

18 hotels in Highlands qualified for this list and five made it. Pet Friendly Mirror Lake Retreat is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze
  • Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in

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All five, ranked

  1. The Wells Hotel Cashiers1

    The Wells Hotel Cashiers

    ★★★★★4.7 from 317 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

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  2. Pet Friendly Mirror Lake Retreat2

    Pet Friendly Mirror Lake Retreat

    ★★★★★5 from 321 reviews

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    • Old Edwards Inn and Spa3

      Old Edwards Inn and Spa

      ★★★★★4.7 from 966 reviews

      • Pool
      • Spa
      • Gym
      • Restaurant
      • Bar
      • Parking

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    • Bright, Cheerful, Spacious Home With Lovely Views Of The Great Smoky Mountains!!4

      Bright, Cheerful, Spacious Home With Lovely Views Of The Great Smoky Mountains!!

      ★★★★★4.9055557 from 288 reviews

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      • The Greystone Inn5

        The Greystone Inn

        ★★★★★4.7 from 395 reviews

        • Spa
        • Restaurant
        • Bar
        • Parking
        • Pet friendly
        • Kid friendly

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      How this list was put together

      18 Highlands hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

      Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

      The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

      What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

      Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

      Sofia Marchetti

      Sofia Marchetti Italy

      Refuses to fly anywhere reachable by rail. Four sleeper-train crossings of Europe, a collection of old transit maps, and building sketches drawn from carriage windows.

      Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.