Surprise at White Sulphur Springs, WV

     

We've written before about the Greenbriar in White Sulphur Springs, WV. It's a place we've stayed every other year as an extension to a business meeting of Steve's.  This was our last meeting and it caused us to wonder if we'd be back for a visit on our own.

The Greenbriar history begins in the 1850's, when it was called The Old White.  For us it's always held the charm of the old south and, well, a racial divide that's less charming. It's a place that has both evolved and is stuck in time. 

There's plenty of options to be found on over 6,700 acres with more than 700 rooms in a mix of residential buildings as well as the immense  main white columned structure. Don't let the simple exterior fool you. The interior is a riot of patterned color made famous by Dorothy Draper and prototypical of what we think of today as typically southern decor. Let's just say  that without Dorothy, there would never have been a Lilly Pulitzer. 

There is every imaginable diversion here from renowned spa and fitness to horseback riding, skeet shooting, fly fishing, tennis (indoor & out), pools, bowling, croquet and even shuffleboard. Kyacking and rafting are close by and hiking through the property up to 3,000 feet provides amazing views. Did we mention the new, understated casino? Shopping, galleries and an artist colony offer diversion, along with cooking demos and multiple restaurants to tempt  - or send you back to the gym. 

Did we mention golf?  There are three courses, including the oldest in the PGA tour. And yes, that's us. Steve found his glove and dusted off his golf shoes. Me - well the last time I played 9 holes was over 2 days in Fiji three years ago. And before that? Probably a decade. But we did 8 holes together, only lost a couple of balls in the water and had a terrific time. 

Always looking for a place that might satisfy the ever expanding interests of our grandchildren and their parents - and at only 2-1/2 hours from DC - who knows? Maybe this southern charmer is just the ticket. 

West Virginia - "Color is Magic"

Every couple of years, we have a business engagement that brings us to Virginia's Allegheny Mountains. Here in the middle of nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE, is the Greenbriar - a most unusual resort hotel.

What makes it unforgettable, from the moment you walk in the door, is color AND pattern - everywhere and in abundance - on floors, walls and ceilings. Imagine Lily Pulitzer on steroids and you'll get the general idea. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

In 1778 this resort's sulphur springs offered the cure for its first guests, it closed for the Civil War and was then purchased by the C&O Railway who named it the Greenbriar Hotel. Used as an army hospital in WWII, it was then repurchased by the C&O, who in 1946, gave Dorothy Draper 18 months to transform it. Inclusive of everything from rooms, to uniforms and china, it was the largest redecoration of an American hotel ever undertaken. Architectural Digest declared the end result to be Dorothy Draper's Masterpiece - the Greenbriar had been "Draperized". For fifteen years, Draper personally continued to oversee its design. In the 1960's Carleton Varney joined her firm and has guided the resort's Draperized look ever since.

Being met outside this statuesque, white pillared entrance by black groomsmen gives one pause and a glimpse into a time you thought to be long gone. Throw in a well recognized spa, golf, croquet, tennis, trout fishing, skeet, off roading and a half a dozen in-house restaurants, all in a beautifully landscaped, mountainous setting and you will feel transported into a unique, otherworldly place where somehow it all works. Oh, and of course there is the US government bunker which was secretly built built in1959 and was active until the Cold War's end in 1992. Really.

Want an escape from the ordinary? Can't get enough Lilly P? Then the Greenbriar is for you. But hurry. It has survived bankruptcy and is now owned by West Virginia entrepreneur Jim Justice. Who knows how long this unique ode to color will survive? Catch it while you can.