It is difficult to imagine any man-made attraction in this country that is, at once, more than 200 years old, still growing by leaps and bounds and still welcoming guests every day in the grandest style. Such is the case at the Greenbrier Resort, a National Historic Landmark in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Even the jaded traveler must agree with Lynn Swann, Greenbrier’s director of public relations, when she says confidently, “We are just a four-hour drive away from a place [Washingtonians] won’t find anywhere else in the world.”
| If you go |
| The Greenbrier Resort |
| Where: White Sulphur Springs, WV |
| Distance: 240 miles from Washington DC |
| Info: 1-800-453-4858, greenbrier.com |
Indeed, the boast is a valid one at the Resort, which is more like the Alleghany mountain-valley kingdom of its owner, businessman and former basketball coach Jim Justice. Spread out like a town with its own ZIP code, Greenbrier’s 6,750 acres necessitate a map to navigate from one area to the next. To begin, there is the main building, with its gracious symmetry and impressive front columns that, from a distance, look very much like the grandest classical masterpiece of architecture this side of “A Shining City on a Hill.” Included within are 10 lobbies, and 682 rooms, statehouses and suites.
Yet, at the guest’s leisure, the rest of the compound, larger than many college campuses, awaits. The clinic, spa, hotel, golf club, croquet lawn and Spring House are just a few locations available for their use.
“We just opened a new ice skating rink this Thanksgiving — 70 feet by 140 feet,” Swann continued. “It has been very popular with our guests and families. There are skate rentals, music playing and a fire pit so people can take a brake and make s’mores.”
The campus also includes 96 guest houses, which feature one to four bedrooms, a living room, dining room and large gathering area. Golf is available on four courses, weather permitting. There is also horseback riding, sleigh rides and — believe this — falconing!
The very notion that nothing is too luxurious for the well-being of body, mind and spirit began with the opening of the Greenbrier in 1778 when the very first guests were pampered within its walls. Like all of life’s pleasures and conveniences, it has been about growth and moving with the times. Little wonder, then, that today’s Greenbrier Resort requires a staff of 1,830 to keep it running smoothly. These employees are found throughout the campus attending to its bowling alley, spa, game room, indoor tennis courts, indoor pool and a 350-seat theater where live performances alternate with movies.
“We are constantly adding attractions,” Swann said, citing the newest — the Casino Club, a 103,000-square foot gaming arena in the hotel’s underground area.
Tom Gardinier is one of four hotel concierges. While he admits most of the guests stay put on the property — who wouldn’t? — he often refers visitors elsewhere.
“There are wonderful restaurants in White Sulphur Springs,” he noted. “And great antique shops in town, like the Kitchen Corner.”
Located at a desk in the Resort’s main lobby, Gardinier makes sure that awestruck visitors are soon comfortable in what can be a daunting, somewhat confusing atmosphere.
“This is a place where families who have spread out can come and gather, generation after generation,” Swann said.
