The Greenbrier Guide

Last week at this time we were checking into The Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The Greenbrier was a two night pit stop on our drive back to Chicago from North Carolina and was a perfect place to recharge our batteries before the remainder of our drive and of course, settling back into reality. The Greenbrier was introduced to me a few years ago by a dear friend in DC but the closest comparison in the Midwest that I can come up with is The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan.

The Greenbrier has quite a storied history dating back to 1778, some of which I was aware of and some of which we learned about while we were there. It’s original draw were the sulphur springs in the area, but it at one time served as a hospital, was famously decorated by Dorothy Draper and even houses a bunker that was part of the top secret nuclear fall out plan for Congress. It’s no wonder that this 11,000 acre resort, one of the oldest in the country, continues to attract visitors - it has a knack for reinventing itself! Nowadays, I believe the draw has something to do with its spectacular Allegheny Valley setting, the golf courses, nostalgia and it’s plethora of amenities.

Read on for my TAKE on a Greenbrier travel guide as I attempt to break down all the Greenbrier has to offer.

When to travel

The Greenbrier would be beautiful at any time of year but we went in early August. Thanks to I’m sure a large landscaping staff everything was in bloom, green and well manicured. The weather was perfect…cooler in the morning and evenings due to the mountain valley location and with little to no humidity! A stark difference from our time earlier in the week on the North Carolina coast.

How to get there

As stated before we stayed at the Greenbrier on our road trip back to Chicago from North Carolina. White Sulphur Spring is just past the Virginia border into West Virginia. It was an almost 7 hour drive from the coast but the drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains was quite beautiful and luckily the winding roads didn’t prove to be to extreme. Aside from traveling by car there is an Amtrak railroad station (White Sulphur Springs) directly across from the resort and the nearest airport is Greenbrier Valley Airport which surprisingly has direct fights on SkyWest from Chicago and not so surprisingly Dulles airport.

Where to stay

Perhaps I should rephrase this as to “where to stay” at the resort because there are options a plenty. The hotel itself is enormous (perhaps the largest in the States) and has multiple room options. In addition, on the resort property there are multiple types of cottages that can be rented. Despite not being directly in the hotel the majority of the cottage options are conveniently located. We stayed in a “Spring Row” cottage which is the smallest cottage offering but has a large Master bedroom plus a generous bathroom, dressing area and a sitting room with a pull out couch. This was perfect for our troop as our youngest is still in a crib. The kids honestly, slept so well here sleeping in till about 7:45am each morning which never happens at home! Aside, from the most adorable decor our favorite aspect to the cottage was the front porch where we could sit have a cocktail and watch the horse drawn carriage trot past us on their tour route. If coming in a cooler month the cottages do have a fireplace and come stocked with fire wood which would make for quite the cozy getaway.

What to do

There is so much to do at the resort that I’m afraid we didn’t even scratch the surface in our two days there. There is a daily schedule delivered to your room that was most helpful. Our priorities were swimming at the outdoor infinity pool and playing a round of golf but we made time for exploring the grounds, playing at the playground, checking out a few shops, croquet, the bowling alley and video arcade as well as catching an evening film in the resort cinema. If we had spent more time and the kids were a bit older I’d love to send them to one of the tennis or golf programs, take a tour of the bunker, rent bikes for a day and perhaps find some time for myself at the spa. The resort is also known for its tea service, fly fishing and falconry amenities in addition to its resort casino. The concierges can help schedule anything before or during your stay and pricing varies per activity.

What to pack

Traditionally, The Greenbrier has had a dress code of sorts which seems to have relaxed in recent years to what is known today as resort attire, but I still used it as an excuse to dress the kids up in some of their nicer attire. However, swim cover ups and Jackets for men (at dinner) are still some of the mainstays as well as no workout attire or pajamas in the dining room for breakfast continue to remain part of the culture. I love to go on vacation and dress up for the evening meal and at The Greenbrier, dresses are quite popular for women which gave me an excuse to leave my white jeans at home! Dinner can be quite the occasion at The Greenbrier and they even offer family photography on a nightly basis. Shockingly, we never took advantage of this as I felt like we were already pushing the envelope with our late meal times and the daily pictures I subjected them to.

Where to eat

There are 33 restaurants on the property and we only visited five of them. Like I said, we didn’t even scratch the surface of what The Greenbrier has to offer. However, the main dining room is an experience not to be missed for it’s decor and service alone. We went on Sunday morning and splurged on the buffet because our kids tend to consume the majority of their calories at breakfast. The buffet also worked in our favor as there was no waiting for food to arrive so no one was hangry aka the kids were well behaved during the meal. Other favorites were Drapers for the decor, ice cream and a laid back dinner. This place would be perfect before or after a set of bowling too! However, as the weather was beautiful we spent much of our time at the outdoor pool and dining at Tree Tops Cafe which offers both restaurant and pool side service and serves the kids meals in a plastic sand bucket! If traveling with kids and a sit down meal is just not going to happen (especially after a long day) The Forum restaurant delivers pizzas in an adorable blue and white gingham Volkswagen bug!

Want to learn more?

If you’re interested in traveling to the area but first want to learn more about the history and historical significance of The Greenbrier, I’ve found the following books:

The History of the Greenbrier: America’s Resort

The Greenbrier Cookbook: Favorite Recipes from America’s Resort

In the Pink: Dorothy Draper -- America’s Most Fabulous Decorator

I’d certainly love to come back someday when the kids are a bit older and take advantage of the golf and tennis programs as well as some more dining options. I mean another excuse to dress my kids up and perhaps stuff George into a navy blazer…yes please! As for our next little excursion post our annual North Carolina trip, well…I have my heart set on Colonial Williamsburg.