The Greenbrier is an award-winning resort nestled on 6,500 acres in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains in Greenbrier County, W.Va. If your taste is for high-end, luxury resorts, The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs should be on the top of your list.

The 250-year old resort has been a gathering place of the most fashionable and powerful members of society, attracted to the healing waters of the sulphur springs since before the Civil War. Five U.S. presidents vacationed here to escape the pressures and heat of Washington, D.C. 

A National Historic Landmark, this full-service resort has 721 guest rooms, including 33 suites and 96 guest and estate houses.

The Greenbrier also offers more than 50 recreational activities, including a luxurious spa, three championship golf courses, the Golf Digest Academy, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, sporting clays, The Greenbrier’s Off-Road Driving School, croquet, horseback riding and carriage rides.

It also offers falconry, fishing, trap and skeet shooting, hiking, walking, jogging and bike trails, indoor and outdoor pools, bowling, nightly movies and more than 30 shops. Nonregistered guests can also take advantage of most of its amenities.

A rich history

To fully appreciate The Greenbrier, visitors must first understand the story of the grand resort first built in 1778 near a sulphur spring that was reported to have healing powers. Since then, visitors have come from far and wide to restore their health in the healing waters. In its first 125 years, the resort was known by the name White Sulphur Springs. Resort staffers currently offer history tours and tell the varied history of this grand place that has not only served its visitors but also its country well.

This is no ordinary resort. By the 1830s, the resort attained its first period of prominence as planters, judges, lawyers, and merchants from the southern states congregated in the mountain village.

By the eve of the Civil War, White Sulphur Springs’ reputation as the most fashionable social resort in the Southern states was well established. This led to the 1858 addition of the first large hotel on the property, officially named the Grand Central Hotel, but known to long-time patrons as The Old White Hotel.

Over the course of the Civil War, both sides occupied the grounds, using the hotel either as a military headquarters or hospital. For the next 100 years, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway brought visitors from all over the country. In 1914, President and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson spent their Easter holiday here.

Ten days after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, the resort was put into service again, this time serving as diplomatic headquarters and an Army hospital where 25,000 soldiers were treated.

However, The Greenbrier is perhaps most famous for its use as an emergency location for the legislative branch of Congress for the U.S. Government from the late 1950s until 15 years ago. The bunker remained a secret until 1992 when the facility was exposed. Visitors can take tours of the bunker at $30 per adult and $15 per child ages 10–18. Minimum age is 10. Cameras, cell phones and electronic devices are not permitted. For information and reservations, call 304-536-7810.

For information, visit www.greenbrier.com or www.greenbrierwv.com.