I'm here with Sarah Shepherd, co -owner of the Heights House Hotel in Raleigh, and it's so lovely to be here again.

People know that this is a very beautiful, elegant, charming space, but what's the guest experience?

- You can stay in lots of different places in Raleigh, but we really like to personalize our guest experiences when they're coming here.

It's small and unique, and it's a historic building, which I think is really special.

And there's so many included amenities.

We serve a lot of local restaurants things like bolted bread, pastries.

You can use our bikes to explore the city.

Dix Park is just at the end of the road as well.

Lots of greenways here.

We will even make you a picnic to go that you can put in your little basket on the bike.

- Oh, I love that.

- And set it up in Dix Park.

We just want it to be a really special experience, and people leave wanting to come back.

- Tell me more about the parlor and the bar and how you engage with the community.

- Yeah, so the parlor is open to the public every day but Monday, and it is Italian influence.

The architecture of the building is actually Italianate, so we really leaned into that when we were designing the house and the bar and the menu.

We just came out with spring and summer.

It's a really refreshing, really high-quality ingredient.

And then we have a lot of small bites, really, really good charcuterie boards, Italian cheeses and meats.

- Well, Sarah, now that you've been open for five years, what are some of the things that are new?

- One of the things that we, almost every weekend, is our afternoon tea offering.

So we make our in-house tea sandwiches, and then we get pastries and scones from Lucette Grace, which is an amazing bakery downtown.

- You have something called Sunday Sauce.

What's that?

- Yeah, so not every Sunday, but a lot of Sundays we will host a local chef, and they will make fresh pasta.

It's usually two dishes of meat and a vegetarian, and you can come in.

It's a normal parlor night, but we're just gonna have these amazing pastas, and we'll pair it with wine.

It's just a relaxed, perfect evening, fresh pasta and wine.

- What are you hearing back from visitors?

- You know, it's so nice, because since we are small, we get to connect so closely with the people that stay here, and I love having people return.

We really feel like a doorway to Raleigh, right?

We're gonna tell you where to go and where to experience, and, you know, we make friends with everybody and wanna make sure that they enjoy their time with us, but also in the city that we love so much.

- Well, Sarah, I'm delighted to be here again, and can't wait to look around some more.

- Thank you so much for coming.

(gentle music) - You'll find Heights House Hotel, Downtown Raleigh, a short drive or walk from popular attractions.

The parlor is open to the public every evening except Mondays.

For more details about reservations and special events, visit them online at heightshousenc.com.