Hotel: The Greenbrier

Address: 300 West Main Street, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Website: www.greenbrier.com

TraveLife Ranking: 4+ Stars

Rooms: 802

Room Rates: $542-plus

Awards: The Greenbrier has earned AAA Five Diamond Status and they’ve been awarded it for 30 consecutive years. It’s also been named to Conde Nast Traveler magazine’s Gold List and Travel+Leisure magazine has added it to its World Best ranking. The hotel has a number of other awards as well.

Highlights: This is the White House of hotels – complete with stately columns that welcome guests into a world of mountain luxury. This is more mansion than hotel and offers some homey features in a grand setting. The hotel is trucked away in West Virginia’s Alleghany Mountains and is one of the most revered hotels in America. The hotel is best known as a retreat for spa lovers and golfers and offers a world-class spa that offers treatments that feature the area’s famous sulphur spring water. There’s three golf courses attached to the Greenbrier and two of them, Old White and the Greenbrier course is the place where both the Ryder Cup (for men) and the Solheim Cup (for women) have been held. The Greenbrier compound flows into the town and offers some lovely gardens, gazebos and plenty of places where you can hide under an old oak tree and just meditate.

History: The Greenbrier boasts over 220 years of history. The area became popular in the late 1700s when sulphur springs were discovered and people began arriving to soak up their medicinal powers. Soon the Old White Hotel was built to accommodate them. That hotel was the forerunner to the Greenbrier. During World War II, the Greenbrier was used as a military hospital and after the war, it was completely refurbished into the grand lady it is today.

Interior Highlights: As soon as you walk into the Greenbrier, you get a sense of how important this hotel is. A National Historic Landmark, the Greenbrier is first class in every sense. The main lobby, known as the Greenbrier’s living room, is actually a series of lobbies and sitting rooms. This is like walking into your (rich) grandma’s home. The public areas are decorated with antiques and historic paintings, and furniture features bright colors and floral designs. The lobby’s high ceilings and cozy fireplace just adds to the welcoming feeling this place leaves guests with. The exterior is just as grand as the interior and its white façade stands out against its lush Alleghany Mountain backdrop.

In The Next Room: This hotel boasts an A-list of important guests, including 26 U.S. presidents, European royalty, corporate giants, politicians and celebrities. Many of Hollywood’s elite still come here to play golf, get spaed to death or just get away from the crowds.

The Rooms: The hotel offers a complete variety of rooms, from the cozy standard room to the grand deluxe suites, which come crammed with all the luxuries imaginable. There are also four luxury estate homes on property that can be occupied as well as some smaller guest houses. Four-poster beds just adds to the charm of this historic hotel and the elegant trappings and modern conveniences like wireless Internet make this a place you’ll probably want to spend more than one night at.

Amenities: You never get bored at the Greenbrier. There’s every activity known to travelers here, highlighted by the 40,000 square foot spa and three world renowned golf courses. The spa and courses don’t come cheap – but quality items seldom do. The Old White course is the oldest and just recently revamped for modern golfers. It’s a thrill to play, as is the Greenbrier, which was redesigned by Jack Nicklaus for the 1979 Ryder Cup. The hotel’s other course, the Meadows, was redesigned by the famous Robert Cupp, and while no match for the hotel’s more famous courses, it still provides a lot of challenges and offers the same jaw dropping scenery. The spa is renowned for its treatments using natural essences and minerals. The spa’s most noted treatments are the Greenbrier Signature Treatment, Detox Kur, Ayurvedic head massage, olive oil body scrub and mineral body mask. The Greenbrier also offers tennis, a culinary arts center, off-road driving school, sporting clays, indoor and a lake-size outdoor swimming pool, mountain biking, horse back and carriage rides …. Like we said earlier, you’ll never be bored at the Greenbrier.

Restaurants: In a place where they give cooking lessons, you have to know they have some great restaurants. The Greenbrier doesn’t disappoint, with dining rooms that range from the opulent Main Dining Room to the more casual Sam Snead’s room at the golf club. The legendary Snead was head pro emeritus before he died – Tom Watson now holds that honor. There’s also Draper’s, named after famed designer Dorothy Draper who oversaw the refurbishing of the public areas at Greenbrier. The Old White lounge, The Tavern Room and the Rhododendron Café completes the list of culinary delights at this cotton candy establishment.

Shopping: The town of White Sulphur Springs has some quaint country shops but guests never have to leave the Greenbrier for shopping since the hotel offers over 30 stores, featuring such famous names as Polo Ralph Lauren.

Close By All the natural beauty you can handle on one trip. West Virginia is one of those closely kept secrets that is becoming a lot more popular with travelers looking for something different. The Greenbrier provides that. Golfers looking for a real thrill should visit nearby Oakhurst, the first 9-hole golf course in the United States where they still play with original equipment. Its museum is one of the most fascinating you’ll ever visit.

Tips: Bring lots of money to Greenbrier. Golf there starts around $300 a round. This is not a place for those looking for a cheap vacation. But if you have a few dollars to spare, this is a gift your family will remember for the rest of their lives. The Greenbrier course is the more memorable of the three – don’t be talked into playing Old White. It’s 18th green is one of the silliest in the golfing world.