On Sunday, February 7, 2010 The Carolina Inn hosted its annual Bridal Fair showcasing the area’s hottest wedding trends. While touring the inn and sampling delicious hors d’oeuvres, brides were treated to a display of local wedding vendors including cake bakers, florists, photographers, rental companies, and much more. Candy buffets, unique linen, table-top design, and musical entertainment options were all on display. Check out our photo album to get some ideas for your own wedding!

In December my father, son, and myself visited Chapel Hill and went to a Carolina basketball game. This might not sound that amazing except for the fact that we live in Torrance, California about a mile from the ocean. Yes, the same Torrance that is home to Deon Thompson. I lived in NC as a young boy and hadn't been back for over 30+ years and my son has never been there. What an amazing experience and visit we had. The Carolina Inn is just beautiful and has that southern charm that makes you feel at home. The entire town and university is so historical, so beautiful, and truly moved me. My son loved it so much he even told me he would love to live there, and so would I. Thank you Chapel Hill for one incredible trip.

How many times have you stayed in a hotel and actually used the entire bar of soap or emptied the shampoo bottle?  Are you having trouble counting the number of times on one hand?  If your hotel doesn’t recycle or donate soap and shampoo, what you don’t use in your hotel room ends up in a landfill.  Hotels in the Destination Hotels & Resorts collection are joining the Clean the World program, an organization that recycles used soap and shampoo from hotels and donates the re-batched soap to impoverished countries and communities who need it most.  Hamilton Park Hotel & Conference Center, Carolina Inn, InterContinental Tampa and Embassy Suites at the Chevy Chase Pavilion are the first hotels in our collection to join this one-of-a-kind program.

Another great game in Chapel Hill last night – it was close for a while but we couldn’t close the deal.

Win or lose – the UNC Duke rivalry continues to be one of the country’s biggest sporting events.

Click here for a time lapse video of last night's game -- it's pretty cool!

We love our Tar Heels and we know that this young, talented team will have its day in the spotlight.

In Roy We Continue to Trust

Jane Bennett, Senior Associate Editor for Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, explains that the effects of the recession continueto hurt public colleges and universities as state governments cut funding for higher education.  The schools selected for Kiplinger's top 100 best values in public colleges and universities "deliver strong academics at reasonable prices, in many cases by offering the same or more financial aid as in previous years." 

UNC not only attracts and keeps the nation's top students, but it also boasts "an outstanding faculty and a historic campus" as well as "strong state support for financial aid." 

The Carolina Inn is very proud to be at the heart of one of the top educational institutions in the nation. 

Click hereto read the special "Best College Values" report from Kiplinger.