Wellness, Recovery, and Reconnection: Asheville Wellness Tours Comes to Engadine Inn and Cabins

Send us a text

Asheville Reboot – Episode 3: Wellness, Recovery, and Reconnection at Engadine Inn with Asheville Wellness Tours

In this episode of Asheville Reboot, Ward Henderson from Engadine Inn and Cabins sits down with Nicole Will, founder of Asheville Wellness Tours, to explore how wellness experiences are helping visitors reconnect with themselves, nature, and the Asheville community after Hurricane Helene.

Nicole shares:

• The impact the hurricane had on her team and operations
• How Asheville Wellness Tours adapted and stayed resilient through the storm’s aftermath
• Why partnerships, like the new one with Engadine Inn and Cabins, are key to rebuilding tourism in Western North Carolina
• What travelers can now experience onsite at Engadine — from private yoga and massage to tarot readings and goat yoga

Whether you’re planning a trip to Asheville or just need a reminder to slow down and breathe, this episode offers a grounded and hopeful look at the future of wellness travel in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

🌿 Learn more and book your stay at EngadineInnandCabins.com
🧘‍♀️ Explore wellness experiences at AshevilleWellnessTours.com

Follow Engadine:
📸 Instagram: @engadineinnandcabins
📘 Facebook: @engadineinnandcabins
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AshevilleReboot

Episode Transcript

Ward Henderson (00:00):
Hi everyone.
This is Asheville Reboot, wherewe talk with people and
businesses.
rebuilding Western NorthCarolina, stronger, more
grounded and more connected thanbefore.
I'm Ward Henderson, part of theEngadine Inn and Cabins team,
and today I'm talking withNicole.
Founder of Asheville WellnessTours, a company that helps

(00:20):
visitors slow down and reconnectthrough curated wellness
experiences like yoga hikes,forest bathing, massages, tarot
readings, and more.
I'm especially excited becauseEngadine is now partnering with
Nicole and her team to offerthese services right here on our
property.
Nicole, welcome.
For folks who may not befamiliar with Asheville Wellness

(00:42):
Tours, give us a quick overviewof what you offer and what kind
of guests you typically serve.
Asheville Wellness Tours, weoffer lighthearted meaningful
experiences that all have awellness lens you've mentioned
some of our most popular, wealso have goat yoga and mobile
massage.
We're doing sound baths thesedays.

(01:04):
Adding foraging soon.
Anything that falls into thatbucket of wellness, in a fun
way.
In the groups that we serve, weserve a lot of, women gathering
together to celebrate something.
We serve executive corporateteams.
We work a lot of weddings.
We've done quite a few bachelorparties, and some

(01:24):
multi-generational travel.
These activities can be tailoredto a bunch of different group
sets.
Primarily private groups, whichis one of the things we're
excited about in working withyou all.
I wanna ask you some questionsthe first one focused around the
hurricane.
Let's talk about the impact ofHurricane Helene and what
challenges the storm created foryou and your team, both
logistically and emotionally.

(01:46):
It's interesting to look back onthat time.
It feels like it was a decadeago.
The initial challenge for uswe're a very communication
heavy.
Company.
We work with our guests veryclosely so that we're crafting
the experience that that fitstheir vision and fits their
group dynamic to not be able tocommunicate with them because we

(02:09):
were without cell service,internet, water, power, for such
an extended period of time thatwas the most challenging we had
all of these people booked infor October, our busiest month
of the year, and we couldn'treach them.
Immediately post storm until thenews shared with the rest of the
world what it was like here.

(02:30):
That was a period of highanxiety for our guests'cause
they didn't know.
Thinking about that every day.
They're anxious and I can'treach them.
There's literally nothing I cando about it.
That was challenging.
Then of course, we're also inthe space of where are all of
our team members?
Are they okay?
We can't reach them, when weconnected with each other, we

(02:51):
were sending people out.
Who could reach thisneighborhood?
Can you drive by, here's anaddress of this massage
therapist or this forest bathingguide, and can we know that
everyone's okay?
And then our basic needs too.
That was the immediate, week.
Longer term, there's been anincredible decrease in visitors

(03:12):
to the community.
We're still down.
Significantly, 60% year overyear.
That's a challenge, we were setto grow and now we're going
backwards.
The first month after thehurricane, I maintained our
admin staff and said everybody,take care of what you need to
do.
Get out into the community ifyou can volunteer.

(03:33):
I'm gonna do my best to get intouch with all of the guests,
and then let's reconvene.
I'm thrilled to be able to saythat I've kept those folks,
still, they're still with me, Iknow personally from meeting
with your team and our countlessconversations, how well you've
maintained, your businessthrough this time.
That leads into my secondquestion, now that we're post

(03:53):
hurricane.
Things are looking a bitbrighter.
How we're building back better,how you're building back better.
My question is, how hasAsheville Wellness Tours
adapted?
Since the storm.
Have you made any changes to howyou operate or introduced
anything new as a result?
We are doing some boringprojects, standard operating

(04:13):
procedures.
Formalizing all of those things.
I kept the admin team andactually added, a third.
There are four of us.
Total trying to find ways tokeep us all engaged has been a
fun, creative project.
We are looking at 2025 as theyear of collaboration and
community, and that has been alot of fun.

(04:37):
It brings me joy to.
Crafts unique packages.
We have this new detox to retoxpackage with our buddies over at
Asheville Brewery Tours, we cando some yoga and some hiking in
the morning and then enjoy thecraft beer scene for a nice
balanced day.
And being in that space ofprogram development again has
been fun.

(04:57):
To be engaged in the communitywith partnerships like the one
that we're building.
That's the part of this businessthat gives me joy.
Having space and time toreconnect with that piece has
been incredible.
For me personally, I think as ateam, we're all trying on
different hats.
Maybe somebody who has no salesexperiences, given that a try

(05:17):
and marketing here and theaccounting it's limitless
possibilities of what do we eachindividually want to learn and
we have the time and space to doit.
Looking forward to the futurewith optimism and hope and
having fun in the meantime.
Of course we're also excitedtoofferyour company's experiences
right here at Engadine.
Everything from onsite massagesto tarot readings to private

(05:39):
yoga.
A follow up question to thatsecond one is, how do you see
this kind of partnership helpingboth travelers and local
businesses reconnect after sucha disruptive year?
A lot of the experiences weoffer have a nature element.
I think that not only is itimportant for all of us to slow

(06:01):
down no matter where we are,life is hurried some urgency
that it's important to escape.
That natural element, thatelement of connecting deeply to
nature too can be healingespecially in this area, we just
experienced this traumaticperiod.
With nature and how can wereconnect to the beauty of this

(06:21):
place and the waters and thetrees and all of that in a way
that's more grounding and inline with the wisdom of these
wise, old, gentle mountains.
That's the one piece.
I think also there's so much todo in our area that there's
value in having something cometo you so that you're not.

(06:42):
Rushing around not leaving spacefor yourself to actually enjoy.
We don't want the, you need avacation from your vacation.
Vibes to happen.
Fitting a little bit more inwhile still being able to take
time for yourself and to connectmore deeply with each other, and
the land.
Those are all really importantpieces and something that we're

(07:03):
thrilled to be able tofacilitate.
In coming out to your beautifulspace.
Thank you and I appreciate it.
For those who don't know, thisbackground's behind me, that's
of our ceremony site.
This is one of those locationsthat you're talking about where,
goat yoga or yoga massages,anything like that that'll be
happening there.
Nicole, thank you for joining usand for the work you're doing to

(07:24):
help guests experience, thisregion in a more intentional and
meaningful way.
It means a lot.
And if you're planning to stayin Asheville area, we invite you
to stay with us at Engadine Innand Cabins, and now you can book
wellness experiences likemassages.
Tarot readings or even privateyoga sessions right on site
through our partnership withNicole and Asheville Wellness
Tours.

(07:44):
We're also planning groupwellness retreats in the near
future and Nicole and her teamwill be a big part of that.
To learn more and the book yourstay visit Engadine Inn and
Cabins.com and to explorewellness experiences across the
region, head over to Nicole'swebsite, asheville wellness
tours.com.
Thanks for listening toAsheville Reboot and we'll see

(08:04):
you next time.