The Greenbrier Hotel And Resort Wrap-Up & Cindy Knee

On Friday Morning we again ate breakfast in the main dining room as our final meal at the Greenbrier and again we ordered from the menu (link above).  This is a shot about 2/3 of the room, the drapes and a chandelier.

Pat had Quiche Lorraine - Sugar Ham, Smoked Bacon and Onion in a Flaky Crust, Gruyere, Arugula Salad, Mornay Sauce

Bev had a BLT with egg – Applewood Smoked Bacon, Bibb Lettuce, Vine Ripe Tomato, Over Hard Egg, Tarragon Mayo, Texas Toast, Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes

Steve had bacon, eggs and potatoes for the third time - Scrambled, Shirred, Poached, Fried, or Boiled Served with Red Potato Home Fries - no pic.

I considered biscuits and gravy but I can get that many places so I opted for the Crab Eggs Benedict – Lump Crabmeat, Creamy Spinach, English Muffin, Mornay Sauce, Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes.  Farm Fresh Eggs Prepared Any Style.

The meals were all delicious and I would definitely order mine again.

After breakfast we got ready to leave for our trip back to reality.

While somewhat dated, the Greenbrier is still a magnificent place with nice elegant rooms and an amazing assortment of common spaces and specialty rooms for conventions, parties and even basketball games – the place is huge and they have a bus to get you around the grounds.  One of the most interesting things to me in the hotel were the many, many chandeliers.  According to the history tour guide, they are cleaned every night.  Drapes also impressive.

Today, the Greenbrier is situated on 11,000 acres of land with 710 guest rooms, 20 restaurants and lounges, more than 55 indoor and outdoor activities and sports, and more than 35 retail shops.

While most of the furniture is older and marred, it’s a great reminder of the elegance of times-gone-by at the grand railway hotels such as The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, MI ), The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL , and the Banff Springs Hotel in Canada. 

But I believe the thing that really impressed me was the level of service as the staff folks were efficient, friendly, knowledgeable, and very accommodating.  I can’t imagine what it takes to look after the guests and maintain the facility and grounds but I would love to see their monthly payroll bill – I understand they have about 1000 employees. 

This was truly a unique experience, we all had a great time and I’m glad I stayed there once to see how the other half lives but I won’t need to go again.  However, if you want to see how the rich and famous of yesteryear spent their leisure time, you should check it out.  It seems comparable to The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO and perhaps a small step up from The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa in Asheville, NC - two places we've eaten at but didn't stay overnight.

A week after we got home while watching Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Bev said "I'm pretty sure I like diners better than elegant restaurants" and I agreed with her.

Cindy Knee

While we were in WV, Cindy had surgery to replace her right knee and it went well.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/1/25 event date