1. Cambria Suites Raleigh–Durham Airport
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (919) 361-3311
Address: 300 Airgate Blvd.
Description: Just a mile from RDU in Morrisville, the Cambria Suites is a great deal for business travelers working in RTP or western Wake County. Comfortable common rooms are decorated with details like drop lights and stonework walls. Its on-site facilities include a coffee bar, indoor pool, whirlpool, fitness center, a bar, and a restaurant that serves breakfast and dinner. Wireless Internet access and printing are available throughout the hotel.
2. Hotel Sierra
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (919) 388-5355
Address: 10962 Chapel Hill Rd.
Description: A small chain of about a dozen boutique properties, Hotel Sierra offers more posh amenities than most national chains for a reasonable rate. Bathrobes, flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations, sound machines, and high-thread-count linens come with every room. On-site perks include free breakfast with custom-made omelets, a business center with high-speed Internet, and a fitness center where the towels are kept chilled. The hotel’s Lax Lounge serves gourmet pizza and other light bites, and shuttle service is available to nearby restaurants and the airport. The patio area includes an outdoor pool, whirlpool, and fire pit. Hotel Sierra is just off I-540, two exits from RDU.
3. Marting Luther King Jr. Day Of Service
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (919) 460-8687
Address: 2400 Perimeter Park Dr., Suite 150
Description: In the past two decades, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday has morphed from a day dedicated solely to remembrance into a day dedicated also to service. In communities across the Triangle, thousands turn out on the third Monday in January to volunteer their time for others, with the goal of realizing one of King’s guiding principals: “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.” The United Way of the Greater Triangle, which includes Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, organizes service projects throughout the communities it serves. Volunteers might spend the day doing anything from collecting goods for the needy overseas, to repairing homes in impoverished neighborhoods, to assembling care packages for members of the military.
4. Lake Crabtree
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 460-3390
Address: 1400 Aviation Parkway
Description: The park’s 215 wooded acres sit next to the 520-acre lake. In the park are paved and rugged trails, including a 6-mile loop of the lake and a mountain bike trail. The park is connected to Umstead State Park by Umstead’s Lake Trail. The lake itself is open to electric motor boats. Boaters can rent sailboats, rowboats, pedal boats, canoes, and kayaks at the park during warmer months. Park hours are 8 a.m. to sunset. Admission is free.
5. Lake Crabtree
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 460-3390
Address: 1400 Aviation Parkway
Description: Lake Crabtree’s 520 acres are open to sailboats, canoes, kayaks, rowboats, pedal boats, and boats with electric motors only. The park rents boats May through Labor Day. Fishermen can cast from a fishing platform, a pier, or the banks.
6. Triangle Rock Club
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 463-7625
Address: 102 Pheasant Wood Court
Description: Triangle Rock Club has more than 9,000 square feet of climbing walls, more than 100 lead and top-rope routes, a 14-foot top-out boulder with 3,000 square feet of climbing area, a lead cave, and more than 100 boulder problems. Also on site are a gym with cardio machines and strength-training equipment, a lounge, and a viewing deck. The club offers camps for ages as young as seven and a range of courses for adults as well.
7. Saffron
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (919) 469-5774
Address: 4121 Davis Dr., McCrimmon Corners
Description: This is a special-occasion spot that distinguishes itself from the many Indian restaurants in the Triangle with a modern, understated décor that still recalls the far-away origins of its cuisine. Carved wooden details, an onyx bar, red-and-gold tapestries, and soft lights make this a great place for a romantic night out. The service and presentation are as well-executed as the cuisine. Familiar favorites like vegetable samosa and tandoori chicken share space on the menu with grilled salmon and smoked lobster.
8. Tower
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (919) 465-2326
Address: 144 Morrisville Square Way
Description: Vegetarians, your wishes come true at Tower. The chefs take incredible care in preparing vegetarian-only dishes in the traditions of South India. Try the Medhu Vidai, a fried lentil doughnut with sambar and coconut chutney, to start. Move on to Gobi Manchurian with Rice, which is marinated and deep-fried cauliflower tossed in soy and spicy chili sauce, or the curries of eggplant or okra. The decor is nothing spectacular. What keeps the crowds returning is the excellent food.
9. Capriflavors
City: Morrisville, NC
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (919) 462-9255
Address: 1012 Morrisville Parkway
Description: Owners Costanzo and Titina Vuottoare are an Italian couple who spent much of their lives on the island of Capri, where, it is said, Titina’s mother invented the caprese salad. Today the couple runs a thriving Italian food import business that provides pastas, flours, sparkling sodas, ceramics, and a host of other culinary products from their Italian homeland. Titina teaches cooking lessons on site, imparting secrets of Italian culinary arts.