See Rock City...Again

Watching the Sunrise
Perched across the street from Rock City, ready to catch the sun's early light, Chanticleer Inn preens like a proud rooster. Just a couple of years ago the dilapidated motor court had degenerated into a flophouse. Then Bill; his wife, Joan; and their friends Chris and Susan Maclellan purchased the main house and its surrounding stone cottages to transform them into a charming inn.

The two couples called upon their love for mountain life when salvaging the storied inn. "It needed so much work," Susan says. "Rooms were $45 per night when we bought it."

They saved the solid cherry dressers original to each room and had new tops made. Susan and Joan scoured Atlanta's best antiques auctions for other furnishings. After adding exquisite linens, rooster-themed decor, and new plumbing and air-conditioning systems, they opened for business.

Like neighboring Rock City Gardens, Chanticleer is a family affair. Chris's mom lived in one of the cottages in the 1950s. Now Susan's parents, Judy and Kirby Wahl, serve as the genial innkeepers.

Breakfast and afternoon tea are special times here each day. Guests congregate in the remodeled main house's common room, where ceiling beams gathered from a 100-year-old barn were installed. The hosts serve beverages and home-baked goodies in the stunning surroundings.

Outside, mountain breezes stir rhododendrons that hug the patios, inviting you across the street to Rock City.